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Citrus fruit farming turns sour
Mexican beetle can check parthenium spread
Shiv Sena, MNS draw ire from all sections
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2 Haridwar writers felicitated
Students get an update at IT mela
10 RIMC cadets top all-India NDA merit list
Annual Sports Day
RIMC’s Tiwari shoots silver
GEU-A, Dolphin Institute in finalTribune News Service
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Citrus fruit farming turns sour
Pitthoragarh, November 22 Interestingly, most of these fruits belts in these districts are away from road heads and farmers find it difficult to transport their product to the markets in the plains in time forcing them to helplessly watch their crop get destroyed. “These fruit trees were planted in big numbers after 1960 when these tree districts were carved out to make the economy of farmers of these districts self-sufficient. These districts have sub-tropical and sub-temperate climate,” said
Dr Bagwati Prasad Purohit, who once owned an orchard and is a lecturer in
Gopeshwar College in Chamoli district. BP Nautiyal, Director of Horticulture, Uttarakhand, confirms that citrus fruits are the main horticulture crop of the state involving more than 80,000 farmers. “In the state, citrus fruits are grown in 26,555 hectares having 25 trees per hectare and last year, we have produced 1,28,464 metric tonnes (MT) of these fruits which would have fetched, if properly marketed, a sum of Rs 75 crore to these farmers at contemporary market rates,” he said. The districts of Chamoli (41,245 MT), Pitthoragarh (15,368 MT), Champawat (3,985 MT) and Uttarkashi (949 MT) are main producers of citrus fruits which were planted by the Hill Development Department of Uttar Pradesh in 1978-79. The aim was to process these and make various products, export these to international markets and earn foreign exchange, but this scheme failed due to various reasons. In Chamoli district, the area of Ghat, Mandal, Pipalkoti, Gairsain, Thrali, Dewal, Narayan Bagar; in Rudraprayag district, the entire Mandakani valley; and in Pitthoragarh district, Kanalichina, Bhagichaura, Bans and Guruna areas are main citrus-producing areas in the state but in absence of proper marketing agency, these fruits have not brought prosperity to farmers. Trivendra Singh
Rawat, Uttarakhand Agriculture and Horticulture Minister, admitted that citrus farmers were not getting proper markets. “We have tried to procure the fruit through the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) giving a support price of Rs 5.50 per kg last year. The support price will remain this year also,” said Trivendra Singh Rawat. On the instructions of the Uttarakhand government, the KMVN started purchasing ‘malta’ and oranges from far-flung areas of Pitthoragarh, Nainital and Champawat districts last year. “We purchased a total of 1,62,600 kg of these fruits last year from Nainital, Champawat, Pitthoragarh districts suffering a loss of Rs 1,21,564,” said DK Sharma, an official of the KMVN. The same story is repeated by GMVN officials who purchased ‘malta’ from farmers of Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts but could not market it on time. The fruits decayed before these reached the ‘mandi’ of Bareilly and other places. The GMVN officials now are not enthusiastic about purchasing the fruit this year. “Fifteen per cent of our ‘C’-grade fruit, which needs support price, could not be purchased by the government agency last year as they announced the support price late. Due to the delay, we could sell only 100 quintal of ‘malta’ last year under the support price,” said Narendra Kumar, District Horticulture Officer (DHO), Pitthoragarh. “The absence of processing units at the doorsteps of farmers lead to the decay
of the fruits as hill farmers do not find it viable to carry these to ‘mandis’ in
the plains,” said Bhagwati Parsad Purohit, an orchard owner. “The state government has announced a subsidy of 40 per cent on total investment on installation of processing unit for these fruits in the state,” said Trivendra Singh Rawat, Horticulture Minister, Uttarakhand. But the government is not in a mood to give farmers subsidy and the minister said that the farmers will have to bring their products to the purchasing centres or processing centres. The local economic equation of these fruits, especially oranges and ‘malta’, is lucrative wherever farmers are able to take it to the market. “We are selling oranges at the local market at Rs 40 per kg and ‘malta’ at Rs 30 per kg. I have 10 trees of these fruits and I will make more than Rs 20,000 but if I give this lot to the government, it will get me Rs 5,000 only,” said Kailash Ram, a farmer from Roripali village in Pitthoragarh district.
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Mexican beetle can check parthenium spread
Dehradun, November 22 Parthenium hysterophorus, the weed got entry in the country in 1950 through a large-scale import of wheat and other cereals under PL 480 grant from the US. As much as 35 million hectare of land today is estimated to be infested with parthenium. With the weed entering the forest area after 1990s, it is proving detrimental to both floral and faunal diversity in forests. Since then, there has been a series of effective methods applied by the forest authorities to check the spread of parthenium menace, but with partial success. Sushil Kumar and Jay G Varsheny, scientists with the Directorate of Weed Science Research, Jabalpur, have revealed the scope of biological control through Mexican beetle in the parthenium, particularly within forest areas where the usage of any chemical pesticide is prohibited. The chemical use is neither feasible in forest areas due to undulating terrain nor is desirable for a risk to non-targeted flora and fauna. Thus, biological control seems to be only viable option to contain the spread of parthenium. Presenting their paper entitled “Parthenium invasions in forests and scope of biological control through Mexican bettle” at National Forestry Conference in Dehradun recently, the Sushil-Varsheny duo asserted that exotic Mexican beetle, zygogramma bicolorata, had achieved spectacular success to reduce the parthenium intensity in many parts of the country, including wildlife protected areas of the Rajaji National Park. This usage of bio-agent may be especially attractive in national parks and reserved forests where chemical cannot be used for weed management. Interestingly, a Forest Research Institute scientist is also credited with coming out with high-valued end use for this weed in the form of particle and fibre boards. An expert of composite wood, Dr DP Khali had uprooted partheniumand mixed it with adhesives and pressed. After treating it with a high temperature of 150 degrees centigrade, coupled with a pressure of around 21 kg per square cm, the parthenium comes into the shape of a board. This board can be used like any other wooden board. Dr Khali has also put 2X2-foot such board on display on the FRI campus.
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Shiv Sena, MNS draw ire from all sections
Haridwar, November 22 Criticism, protests and demands for banning of such parties have come from a varied section of society here. With recent attacks on media offices in Mumbai, a severe condemnation of these two outfits is pouring in and people are questioning the patriotism of these outfits that allegedly try to make Maharashtra and Marathi more important than India and Hindi. The Press Club of Haridwar has termed the attack on the media as a blow on democracy and sought intervention from the President of India. At a meeting of members of the club and mediapersons of the district, a memorandum was passed seeking a ban on the Shiv Sena and the
MNS. The memorandum was handed over to City Magistrate Archana Grehawar to be forwarded to President Pratibha Devi Patil. It was also stated in it that if such hooliganism continued, then the country would only move towards anarchy. Veteran journalist Shiv Shankar Jaiswal condemned the attack on the electronic media channel’s office and said if nothing was done in that regard, then other regional outfits, to gain
short-term political mileage, would also follow suit, which, in a country as diverse and varied as ours, was totally unconstitutional
and anti-national. Uttarakhand Mission activists carried out a massive protest against both Maharashtra parties and burnt effigies of Bal Thackeray and
Raj Thackeray. Terming it as a low mentality and an attempt to scatter the unity of India, which has been there for centuries, Mission’s activists demanded immediate arrest of the chiefs of both parties. “These outfits want Maharastrian’s only in all government entrance exams, Marathi to be spoken ahead of Hindi, signboards with Marathi writings. Despite such a tyrant attitude of theirs, the Maharashtra and Central governments are keeping silent. “If political gains and political play come before the unity of the country, then it’s totally wrong and unpatriotic,” Uttarakhand Mission chief Sanjay Chopra remarked. The Congress, too, has protested against the act of the Shiv Sena and MNS for trying to propagate hatred and regionalism in the name of Marathi. City party chief OP Chauhan termed the attack on the media in the name of Maharashtra as unconstitutional and an effort to tarnish the image of peaceful and patriotic Maharashtrians. Meanwhile, state Bharatiya Janata Party’s proposal of bifurcating Garhwal and Kumaon divisions into two more parts has invited criticism. The Uttarakhand Vikas Manch has termed this as an attempt to curb the Garhwali and Kumaoni culture. Recently, BJP state party chief Bishan Singh Chufal in Pauri Garhwal had stated that the party planned to have four divisions in Uttarakhand instead of the present two Garhwal and Kumaon. Terming this proposal as to cater to the needs of bureaucrats and politicians only, the manch lashed out at the BJP for mooting this proposal at a time when the state was already burdened with debts in crores. “Why bifurcate Uttarakhand into more divisions when Garhwal and Kumaon have been the distinct identity of this hilly state” Vikas Manch spokesman Tej Prakash Sahu said.
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2 Haridwar writers felicitated
Haridwar November 22 The award has been given by the Sahityik Sanskritik Kala Sangam Academy, Pratapgarh. This award is given annually and considered prestigious in the field of literature and art. Meanwhile, Acharya Sushil Kumar Tyagi has been bestowed with Vidya Vachaspati degree. Both awards come with a citation, shawl and a lifetime free membership of the library of the academy. The award was given by KL Deewan, founder of the Deepshikha Cultural Academy. Referring the contribution of Vidyalankar, he said he had been working assiduously for decades in Hindi literature and his poems had a distinct appeal among readers. Regarding Acharya Sushil Kumar, he said the degree of Vachaspati was an able recognition of his work and knowledge in Hindi literature. Reacting to the news, veteran writer Kamal Kant Budhkhar said this was a matter of pride not only for Haridwar, but also for the state.
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Students get an update at IT mela
Dehradun, November 22 Major IT players like Dell, Wipro, Hitachi, HCL, ONGC, Schlumberger, Strategic Marketing and Checkmark Computers participated in the show. IT students of local schools and colleges attended the mela. IT companies put up their stalls on the ONGC ground and informed visitors about their services. Students participated in an interactive lecture by Partha P Chakrabarti, Professor at IIT Kharagpur. DP Singh, an IT professor in oil industry, also delivered a lecture. A quiz was also organised for students later in the day. Chakrabarti gave students in-depth knowledge of computers. DP Singh also gave an lecture on “IT in Oil Industry.” Earlier, M Thyagaraj, Executive Director-CIO, ONGC, had inaugurated the mela amid a gathering of members of the association, ONGCians, teachers and students of schools and colleges of Dehradun. Thyagaraj complimented the team led by SK Das for organising the IT Mela and providing a great opportunity to youngsters to get an exposure of the IT industry through information sharing by major IT players. He called for converting the IT Mela into an IT Sammelan for people from all walks of life. SK Das, Executive Director-HOI, GEOPIC and President, Technology Alumni Association, hoped that the event would be upgraded in the near future and would attract more participation from colleges of Uttarakhand. “The 20th century belonged to physics and the 21st century will belong to IT,” remarked Das, adding that in today’s world, a student’s life without IT gadgets including desktop, laptop, mobile
phone and pen drive looks unimaginable.
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10 RIMC cadets top all-India NDA merit list
Dehradun, November 22 Every year more than 90 per cent of the cadets from the college go on to join the NDA. This time, too, cadets have done the college proud by securing the top positions in the NDA merit list. Cadet Ankit Siwach has stood third in the
all-India NDA merit list. He is an excellent scholar and also a good sportsman. He shaped himself as an all-rounder, excelling in all fields of sports from basketball, soccer to squash to hockey. He was awarded
College Blue for his excellence in squash. Among the first 50 selected candidates, the RIMC has got six other cadets as well. They include Cdt P Promoth, Cdt Praveen Mishra, Cdt Captain S Shyam, Cdt L Sera, Cdt Arvind Singh and Cdt Sunesh Sudan. The cadets have indeed prepared very hard for the NDA written examinations as well as for the SSB. Col H Dharmarajan, Commandant, RIMC, has congratulated the cadets and said the cadets should always keep the RIMC flag flying high.
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Annual Sports Day Tribune News Service
Dehradun, November 22
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RIMC’s Tiwari shoots silver
Dehradun, November 22 He took part in the .22 free rifle prone (junior men) and scored an excellent score of 588/600. He also took part in .177 air rifle (junior men). He is most likely to be selected in the national squad. His other achievements include a gold medal in the IPSC Shooting Championship. He also won gold medal in the All-India Inter-School Shooting Championship. Not only this, he has also bagged four gold medals in the State Shooting Championship. His list of achievements includes a gold medal in the State Inter-School Championship. He has been awarded sports scholarship by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Cadet Anshul Bansal also participated in the 53rd National State Shooting Championship in Jalandhar in the pistol event (junior men). He stood fifth in the event. He is also an excellent shooter who had won many medals in all-India level, state and inter-school competitions. Both cadets hold college colours in shooting. Col H Dharmarajan, Commandant, RIMC, congratulated both cadets for performing exceptionally well in the 53rd National State Shooting Championship in Jalandhar, Punjab. Cadet Ashish said they had done Uttarakhand proud. He motivated both cadets to do even better in the coming competitions in near future and bring laurels for the state and country as well.
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GEU-A, Dolphin Institute in finalTribune News Service
Dehradun, November 22 Today’s first match was played between GEU-A and GEU-B team. Batting first GEU-B team piled a total of 125 runs. GEU-B team began on a fine note as its openers made an important contribution of 35 runs in their first three overs. Opener Mandeep scored 34 runs on 20 balls, hitting five fours and one six in his innings. First down batsman Ashish made 13 runs. Mayank, who made 18 runs, supported him well on the other end. For GEU-A team Rommy and Varun picked three wickets each, whereas Anchal took two wickets. GEU-A team reached the target with six wickets in hand and six overs spare. GEU-A team lost their first wicket early, but made a comeback with a Varun’s knock of 26 runs. Thereafter, Amit scored an unbeaten 40 runs helping the team to win the match. Ahmed took two wickets, whereas Aditya, Zunaid and Anuj took one wicket each. Meanwhile, in the second match, Dolphin Institute team defeated SBS (PG) College by seven wickets. SBS (PG) College team batsmen failed to perform against disciplined bowling display of Dolphin Institute. Batting first, SBS (PG) College opener gave their team a fine start to make a 23 runs contribution. Puspinder scored nine runs whereas Shikher made 18 runs. After them none of the batsman could stay for a long and the team was all out for 68 runs. Dolphin Institute achieved the target with eight overs
in hand. Aditya was the top scorer for the team with 35 runs. For SBS team Virendra and Rahul took one wicket each.
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Pitthoragarh, November 22
Dehradun, November 22
Haridwar November 22
Dehradun, November 22
