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Prohibition on Quarrying Activities
Naini-Saini Airstrip |
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U’khand tech varsity holds 1st convocation
Campus Notes
Uttarakhand volleyball assn disaffiliated
Kabbadi: Double delight for Chakrata team
Inter-District Championship
Owners of Chinese handsets can get service restored
Lecture series on geology held
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Prohibition on Quarrying Activities
Dehradun, December 7 A major chunk of the Forest Department’s revenue comes through riverbed materials as maximum part of the state rivers fall within their jurisdiction. But the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests’ latest directive to get environment clearance before the start of any quarrying activity in these rivers has come as a big blow to the forest authorities as it considers it as totally a non-forestry activity. The forest authorities have repeatedly pleaded its case, but are yet to get any relief. While pursuing the case with the Centre, the they had categorically held that the department for the past many years had been undertaking quarrying and pointed out that the department only resorted to shallow quarrying and never indulged in deep quarrying. It also held that the quarrying was important to clear the rivers of these materials, which mainly caused flooding. The Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, on a number of occasions, including Shimla environment meeting, had put Uttarakhand’s genuine quarrying concerns before the Union Environment and Forest Minister. While the prices of building materials have risen phenomenally, those engaged in quarrying works are facing livelihood challenges. There have been repeated protests both in capital Dehradun and Ramnagar in Kumaon seeking prompt resumption of quarrying in state’s rivers, like Kosi and Gola rivers. The Transport Kalyan Samiti had staged a series of protests and expressed fears that ban on quarrying would affect the livelihood of as many as 50,000 people due to the closure of quarrying in the two rivers. While submitting a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister, the agitating samiti members that comprised both transporters and labourers threatened to intensify their agitation if the quarrying was not resumed at the earliest. Even in Dehradun, the blanket ban on quarrying seems to have set the debate on motion over its ill effects on general public. While there are many who may lose employment due to the continuation of the ban, even general consumers will face problems due to soaring construction material prices. Presently, the quarrying of sand, stones etc was on at various rivers criss-crossing Dehradun, including Doiwala, Saung, Dakpathar, Prem Nagar, Sahastradhara, Bajawala and Aasan
Barrage.
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Naini-Saini Airstrip
Demands
Pitthoragarh, December 7 “A total of Rs 32-crore expansion work has to be done, beginning with Rs 5 crore wall construction around the boundary of the airstrip which would be ready by Dec 2010,” said Parkash Pant, local legislator and Uttarakhand Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. “The villagers who have given their land to construct an airstrip for civil and Army purposes, have continuously been cheated by the government and local administration as none of the demands have been accepted,” said Kundan Singh, gram pradhan of Naini village. A total of 30 hectares of fertile land from 3,000 families of 10 villages in the Sour valley has been taken away by the state government to construct a 1,500-m-long airstrip promising the villagers jobs at the airport and at the district offices. “The government neither gave employment to our youths, nor fulfilled our other demands of three link roads, a hospital and opening of an inter-college in the area,” said Ganesh Singh Bhandari, leader of BJP youth wing. “Before the government took over this land almost all families in 10 villages around the airstrip used to cultivate sufficient paddy, wheat and pulses, but after we stopped cultivating this land, every self-sufficient household has been reduced to marginal cultivator having one-fourth of cultivable land which is not sufficient enough for our survival,” said Jeevanti Devi, a woman from Saini village near the airstrip. “We are talking to the villagers and ready to accept all their demands except the demand for employment for which we are looking for a broader framework to absorb them. We hope that the deadlock will end in the next three-four days and expansion work of the airstrip will start,” said Pant.
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Khalanga Mela
Dehradun, December 7 The fair was feted in the lush green forest of Nallapani (Sagartaal) where Gorkhas from Delhi, Moradabad, Darjeeling and Bhaksu had gathered to exhibit their cultural heritage and pay tributes to the martyrs who lost their lives in the battlefield. In this day-long fest, cultural programmes like Nepali folk dances and folk songs were presented by local performers as well as by schoolchildren. But Nepali cuisines were primarily the main attraction of the fair. Nallapani, the spot where Gorkha soldiers were martyred, is about 10 km away from the city. The Khalanga war was fought between Gorkhas and British in 1814-15. November 30 is marked as the 195th anniversary of the historic battle and December 6 is celebrated as their day of Independence. To pay homage to the warriors, a twin Khalanga War Memorial has been established at the Sahastradhara Road, which is under the maintenance of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI). Ram Singh Thapa, president of Balbhadra Khalanga Vikas Samiti, said the daylong mela was held every year to celebrate the brave Gorkha spirit. “Our samiti has been trying to seek funds and other help from the state government to organise the event and appreciate their work of making roads till the spot,” he said. Kiran Rasaily, advisor of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha, Delhi, has come here to participate in the fair. He is also secretary of the cultural society. He said, “The relics of the Gorkha warriors who lost their lives speak volume about their gallantry courage. Their arms, weapons, pieces of rifles, ‘khukri’ (Nepali daggers) and cannon shells have been found at Nallapani”. He resented the negligence of the Gorkha community and their festivals at the
national level. “We being nationals of the same country are treated as foreigners. We are in a minority and feel ignored, but the Gorkhas have proven their mettle in the battle and at political field too, added Rasaily”. “We request state and central government to render Gorkha Community with recognition in the society. The government should take some initiative to develop Sagartaal into a tourist spot. The spot should be handed over to the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) for the reminiscence of the soldiers,” Rasaily said.
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U’khand tech varsity holds 1st convocation
Dehradun, December 7 The UTU was established under the Uttarakhand Technical University Act, 2005, an Act passed by the state government and over these four years the university has been successful in providing education in varied streams to at least 30,000 students. The chief guest for the occasion was Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, along with Prof Durg Singh Chauhan, Vice-Chancellor, UTU, NS Napachayaal, state Chief Secretary, Prof HC Nainwal, Pro Vice-Chancellor, UTU, BC Tiwari, Finance Controller, UTU, and keynote speaker Dr YS Rajan, an eminent scientist, Secretary, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), administrator, leader, diplomat, writer, poet and former Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Technical University. At least 2,532 students, who had completed their Masters of Computer Application (MCA) and Masters in Business Administration (MBA), had gathered here from various colleges of the state. The Graphic Era Institute of Technology (Dehradun), College of Engineering (Roorkee), Omkarananda Institute of Management and Technology (Rishikesh), Institute of Management Studies (Roorkee), Dehradun Institute of Technology (DIT), Birla Institute of Technology (Nainital) and other numerous colleges affiliated to UTU were present. Dressed in black gowns, students looked all excited to receive degrees from the Governor. While for the MCA batch for 2006-2009, the first position was bagged by Neha Singhal, College of Engineering (Roorkee), the second position by Radhika Prabhakar, Graphic Era Institute of Technology (Dehradun), and the third by Amit Chauhan, College of Engineering (Roorkee). In the MBA batch for
2006-2008, the first position was bagged by Shelly Kalra, College of Engineering (Roorkee), the second position by Natasha Kalra, College of Engineering (Roorkee), and the third by Abhinav Goel, College of Engineering
(Roorkee). And for 2007-2009 (MBA), the first position was bagged by Isha Goyal, Graphic Era Institute of Technology (Dehradun), the second by Chintan Vadgama, Omkarananda Institute of Management and Technology (Rishikesh), and the third by Gaurav Tuteja, Institute of Management Studies (Roorkee). Expressing joy and excitement for standing first in the class and second in the state, Chintan Vadgama, a management graduate from the Omkarananda Institute of Management and Technology (Rishikesh) said, “I am very happy to receive my degree in the presence of such great
dignitaries and luminaries who are here to guide and motivate us”. Addressing the gathering, keynote speaker Dr YS Rajan congratulated the graduates and said as this was the first batch to graduate under UTU, it held an immense responsibility in playing a historic role in the future. Governor Alva also congratulated the students and said students played a crucial
role in the development of the nation.
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Dev Sanskriti University Investiture ceremony celebrated with elan Sandeep Rawat Tribune News Service
Haridwar, December 7 The first investiture ceremony saw then Vice-President Bhairaon Singh Shekhawat as chief guest followed by President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and this time it was the turn of Governor Dr Margaret Alwa. Meritorious students felicitated
During the ceremony a total of 1,085 students were accorded their respective disciplines, including 53 doctorates. Himadri Kumar Rao topped the university with 84.79 per cent in yoga science and total health, followed by Jaspal Singh with 72.13 per cent in basic yoga, Richa Pandey with 77.18 per cent in psychology, Iran Tiwari with 71.55 per cent in Indian culture, Megha with 71.09 per cent in MA in journalism and mass communication and Anurag with 75 per cent in manav chetna and yoga were the gold medallists.
French delegates pursue Gandhian ideals
Mahatma Gandhi’s principles and ideals are followed worldwide, still relevant in today’s times and inspire people the world over. This was once again specified by a French delegation which is currently on a visit to the Shantikunj. The 10-member delegation is here to better understand the moral and spiritual education in ShantiKunj and Dev Sanskriti University and propagate and spread their organisation Tera Dasel’s objective, which is spreading the Gandhian messages of ahimsa. The delegation is headed by Allen Chevlit with other members being Neil Claud, Nathle Pyuflim, Quelen Nathali, Theres Grenzer, Bernard Durofour, Bruno PauLord, Nedin Disveiser, Alen Mauro and Sadat Khan. The delegation is being accompanied by Ekta Parishad, New Delhi, convenor Ramesh Sharma. All delegates are well-qualified and some of them are engineers, pilots and managers. Welcoming the delegation, Shantikunj head Dr Pranav Pandya and Shantikunj chief Shail Jiji said people were turning from violence to peace and the efforts of the French delegate in spreading of the Gandhian ideals were truly commendable and helpful in this regard. The French delegate were apprised that Shantikunj founder Acharya Ram Sharma learnt the traits from Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram and used to collect 20 paise per day and thus laid the foundation of the Shantikunj Institution. The delegation is taking yoga classes and is involving themselves in the daily rituals of the institution.
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Uttarakhand volleyball assn disaffiliated
Dehradun, December 7 The federation has formed a five-member committee for selecting the state teams, which will participate at the national competitions. Differences have erupted between association president Avedesh Chaudhari and general secretary DK Singh months after the Uttarakhand Volleyball Association was formed. The difference between the two kept on increasing, so much so that both have filed claims of being legitimate authorities in the games with the Indian Volleyball Federation. The tussle between the two has grown to such magnitude that both groups had approached the court in the matter. Seeing the rift, the Indian Volleyball Federation was forced to disaffiliate the present body last month. The five-member committee include international player Arun Sood, who is appointed chairman of the committee. The other members include RD Sharma Mehar Singh, DS Karki and JS Rautela. Avdhesh Chaudhari, president of the organisation, accepted that the state volleyball committee had been disaffiliated, but he said that new committee would be formed with in two months. “Once the re-election take place the state association will restart its working and organise state-level competitions. But until then we could just wait.” The conflict between the two affected the players as the competitions were not conducted on regular bases.
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Rao Cricket Academy register seven-run victory
Dehradun, December 7 Batting first, Rao Cricket Academy-B team scored 193 runs in
35 overs. Opener Deepanker gave a fine start to the team and went onto play a confident knock of 36 runs, thereby setting the much-needed momentum for his team. He played some nice strokes which helped the team to
score fast. It was the middle order batsman of Rao Cricket Academy Sanjay who further accelerated the run rate by his wonderful display of batting skills and scored 61 runs. Ashish too played an important knock of 40 runs that helped Rao Academy to score a decent total of 193 runs. For DRC team Rahul was the lead wicket taker. He claimed two wickets whereas Vikash took a single wicket. Chasing the victory target of 194 runs, DRC team fell shot of the target by seven runs. DRC too made a fine start in the match as the opener of the team Akhil comfortably scored
28 runs. Middle order batsman Raju scored 16 runs. After Raju’s departure DRC team lost two quick wickets
to lose its momentum and confidence. A superb batting display by Deepak generated a ray of hope for the DRC team. But once he got out at 69 runs, none the batsmen occupied the crease for a long and team was all out at 185 runs. It was an entertaining match altogether.
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RPCA defeat Mussoorie Sports
Dehradun, December 7 It was a superb batting display by RPCA team’s Nitin that helped the team register a big victory over Mussoorie Sports. Batting first, RPCA scored 161 runs in allotted overs. Virat scored 32 runs in 38 balls, smashing three fours for his team. While Nitin played a knock of 72 runs in 44 balls, hitting 13 fours in his innings. Middle order batsman Prince scored 19 runs. For RPCA team Sagar took two wickets, while Vijay, Vinod, Pritam and Pankaj took one wicket each. Chasing the victory target of 162 runs, Mussoorie Sports team was all out for 118 runs. It was poor start for the team as both its openers had returned to the pavilion when the team score was 15 runs. Opener Vijay could only managed to score 10 runs. Middle order batsman Kapoor and Pankaj also scored 10 runs each. Lower order batsman Vinod played knock of 30 runs. None of the batsmen could play a long inning and team was all out for 118 runs. For Mussoorie team Amit and Virat took three wickets each, while Deepak took two wickets.
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Kabbadi: Double delight for Chakrata team
Dehradun, December 7 Shakti Singh, District Youth Welfare Officer, inaugurated the competition also present on the occasion was PS Lunthi, District Sports Officer. Day’s first match was played between Chakrata and Kalsi teams. It was a tough match as both teams gave their best trying to win the competition. But it was Chakrata team that excelled in the match in the end and won it by 28-19. The second match was between Vikas Nagar and Saharanpur teams. Saharanpur team registered a narrow 26-21 victory over the Vikas Nagar team. The Chakrata team won its second successive match at the competition by defeating Vikas Nagar. The Vikas Nagar team went down fighting 24-21. While in the last match Saharanpur beat Kashi by 24-20.
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Inter-District Championship
Dehradun, December 7 Batting first, Dehradun team piled a massive total of 303 runs in 45 overs. Pawas and Tushar were the star performer for their team. Pawas scored 91 runs in 100 balls, hitting 10 fours in his scintillating innings. Tushar Thakur scored 75 runs in 77 balls, smashing 11 fours. Middle order batsman Rahul scored 49 runs in 42 balls. For Rudraprayag team Kundan Singh was the lead wicket taker with four wickets. Chasing the victory target of 304 runs, Rudraprayag team was all out for 156 runs. Man Mohan scored 53 run in 50 balls while Dharmender Panwar scored 31 runs of 67 balls. For the Dehradun team Sunny and Pawas were the lead wicket taker with three wickets each, while Vivek took two wickets.
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Owners of Chinese handsets can get service restored
Dehradun December 7 As per the directions of the BSNL, KN Sharma, an officer of the BSNL, Dehradun, said: “The subscribers were given a deadline till 30 November to get their IMEI number validated. Services have been disconnected for those subscribers who have invalid identity of their Chinese mobiles”. Therefore, the department has given authorisation to only three retailers or shop owners of the mobile store. They are the authentic IMEI and number providers in Dehradun where people can approach for any assistance. These shops are Touch Wood Mobile Home at 219/1, Park Road, near water tank, Gandhi Gram, Oberoi Enterprises at 17A Paltan Bazar and Himanshu Telecom at ½ Bania Bazar, Garhi Cantonment, he added. “The subscribers can visit these outlets to get the problem of identity number solved by paying Rs 200 to the authorised mobile store owners.”
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230 students participate in painting competition
Dehradun, December 7 The competition was held at the state level where 230 students of 98 schools had participated. The contest was divided into four categories that is ABC and D. The winners of the painting competition are: Malti Pawar, who stood first in section A, Jyoti Sharma in section B, Nidhi Tomar in section C and Anchal Singh in section D. The overall trophy went to Bright Land School. Chief guest of the event was JP Bahuguna, Deputy Manager of the Union Bank. The judges of the competition were Santosh Gairola, Indira Gupta, Tripathi and Trivedi. Others present at the event were members of the club Raj Bhardwaj and Ramesh Chander Jain and teachers of the participating schools.
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Lecture series on geology held
Dehradun December 7 Addressing the meeting, Dr Verma said, “The job of oil and gas extraction is challenging as well as dangerous to perform. A lot of expenses have been made in India to drill out petroleum resources since 1956, but could not succeed due to geological problems”. “It is not easy to keep record of the statistics, data and information of the oil and gas extraction as drilling is quite dangerous at the Himalayan range due to which no foreign oil and gas company is interested in coming to India,” he added. He also informed students and the teachers of the department that only ONGC was drilling out oil gas and gas in India. He answered the questions asked by students in the meeting.
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