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Back-to-back Baths
Info-centres flooded with queries
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108 ambulances, mobikes in all readiness
Emergency 108 responder motorcycles leave for Kumbh duty on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
Poor education worse than no education: Expert
Pre-board exams to help students in the finals
College to discontinue Shikhar programme
GAIL CMD meets Nishank
Petroleum Institute win by two wickets
A match in progress at the District Cricket League in Dehradun on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
District Cricket League
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Mela admn passes initial test
Sandeep Rawat Tribune News Service
Haridwar, January 16 Around seven-eight lakh devotees thronged the Haridwar and Rishikesh mela areas on the occasion of Mauni Amawasya yesterday. Hours before the end of the solar eclipse, lakhs of pilgrims had gathered at the Har-ki-Pauri and adjacent Ganga ghats. And as soon as the eclipse was over, the persons there took a holy dip. Though many tourists and pilgrims took a dip before and during the eclipse, traditionalists waited for the celestial event to wane away. During the Mauni Amawasya snan yesterday, the administration and police seemed more relaxed. This was due to the smooth completion of the Makar Sankranti bath a day earlier. Elaborate and unprecedented security arrangements were in place during both days. DIG Alok Sharma had taken a meeting wherein the shortcomings of the first bath were discussed and these were rectified during Friday’s bath. Three companies of the Provisional Armed Constabulary were deployed - one at Har-ki-Pauri, Rodi Belwala and Saptsarovar police stations - in addition to Thursday’s mela force. For the entire period of the eclipse, temples in the city were shut. No rituals were performed and the famous Ganga ‘aarti’ at the Har-ki-Pauri was not held in the morning due to the eclipse. A little scare occurred when information about an unclaimed bag was received from the Shiv Moorti area. The bomb squad reached the spot within minutes and cordoned off the area. In the end, it was only a luggage bag and people heaved a sigh of relief. Mela officer Anand Vardhan, District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram, Kumbh Mela DIG, SSP Kumbh Ajay Rautela, SSP Sanjay Gunjiyal, SP traffic Ajay Joshi, DSP Traffic Shweta Chaubey and other officers monitored the proceedings the entire day.
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Info-centres flooded with queries
Haridwar, January 16 Keeping all this in mind, an unique project has been taken up by the Tourism Department during the ongoing Maha Kumbh. The Tourism Department, in collaboration with event management companies, has undertaken this project to help and provide assistance to pilgrims and tourists during the mega fair. There are eight information centres in Haridwar and
Rishikesh. Thousands of persons used these kiosks during the back-to-back holy baths
of Makar Sankranti and Mauni Amawasya. These tourist information kiosks are proving quite helpful and answering the queries and solving the problems of Indian and international pilgrims and tourists to a large extent. These information kiosks have been established at Rahi Hotel, railway station, Rishikul Inter-State Bus Station, Bhirawali and Dakshdeep. Four more will be set up as the Maha Kumbh progresses. These tourism information centres are operational 24 hours during festive baths. On normal days, these function from 8 am to 6 pm. The tourist centre at Rishikul seems to be abuzz with people, especially bus passengers. Being in the midst of two bus stations - Rishikul bus station and Rishikul-2 bus station - a majority of queries there were related to bus routes. As there was no training and no brochure was
given to the personnel about bus schedules and routes, they went to the bus station office and got the schedule. Deepak Kumar, an information officer at the Rishikul Tourist Centre said, “Now, we can give the right information about bus routes to major and nearby cities without seeing the schedule as we get queries the whole day.” District Tourism Officer YK Gangwar termed this as an initiative of the department and said that local youths were also hired in these centres thus providing them employment. Seeing a female receptionist, some persons ventured to pose some queries just for fun. “Whenever we feel a specific person or group is just asking questions to have fun, we switch them over to our male counterparts or ask for their identity cards. “This proves quite effective, but then, these are rare incidents and we are getting very good response,” said a
female information receptionist on condition of anonymity from Sanket Communications, a New Delhi-based event management company. Considering that the main bus station had been shifted and six temporary stations set up, new traffic plan is to be implemented during the festive baths and entry barred at
various points in the city, specially the mela zone, these info-centres have proved quite helpful. “Haridwar has changed drastically since the last Ardh Kumbh in 2004. On one side is the traditional Har-ki-Pauri area while on other side is the industrial area. It is fast assuming the shape and size of a mega city. During a mega event, these information kiosks prove helpful to outsiders who want to go about the city” said Ranbir Sethi, who has come with his family from Ludhiana.
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108 ambulances, mobikes in all readiness
Dehradun, January 16 “Our motto is simple. We are here to ensure the safety of pilgrims so that they go back home happy and content,” said Anoop Nautiyal, COO of GVK EMRI. He was speaking today at a press conference. Nautiyal said that at the ongoing Maha Kumbh, GVK EMRI has the task of providing comprehensive emergency response services. The staff from GVKEMRI has been deployed at the Central Control Room (CCR), Haridwar. It is aimed at strengthening
and smoothening the communication between GVKEMRI’s Emergency Response Centre (ERC) and the ambulances and motorcycles deployed
in Haridwar. These SPOCs (Single Point of Contact) act as guides to both ERC and the vehicles in the holy city. In addition, a blue print for disaster management and protocols have been developed to address any unforeseen disaster during Maha Kumbh. In case of a stampede, bomb blast or earthquake, GVKEMRI’s ERC will act like a nervous system and make sure that the ambulances and motorcycles act in accordance with the need of the hour. Extensive initiatives have been taken
to communicate the 108 number as the single point of contact during any emergency. Hoardings, posters, billboards and balloons have been extensively utilised in this exercise. The GVK EMRI has also trained over 2,000 police personnel in basic life support to enhance their skills.
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Poor education worse than no education: Expert
Nainital, January 16 In his keynote address at the beginning of the workshop, education entrepreneur Dr Rajeev Tandon
said education and training was in a chaotic situation in the world and in such a situation traditional strategic planning processes did not work. But from the viewpoint of an entrepreneur it was not chaos, but
an opportunity. Tandon said, “Entrepreneurial injection is required in education. Technology is not the answer. It is being looked at as a magic bullet that does not exist. It is a bicycle that can help in reaching destination B from destination A. Since people learn in different ways, technology can be used to provide us with ways to learn and to reduce costs”. Claiming the concept of universal education is an elitist idea and
that even a country like the United States has 25 million illiterates, he said poor education was worse than no education. He said the large youth population that India had should not merely
be described as a demographic dividend, but something should be done to convert it into a dividend in real terms. Dr Tandon said there was a paradox that was visible in India that on one hand there were millions of jobs being offered and on the other there were no people with appropriate skills to take up those jobs. He said the ODL programmes could go a long way in filling these gaps by offering something that the conventional universities did not offer. At the same time, he pointed out that it was impossible to improve higher education if primary education was not improved. He asked the institutions offering ODL programmes to use new mediums in new ways to impart the skills. Stating that technology was agnostic, he said it should just be picked up and used tapping emerging possibilities. He claimed that the next breakthrough in technology and innovation would come from India because of the vast scale of its diversity. He said the ODL programmes would have to focus on employability for its programmes to be a success. Earlier, Uttarakhand’s Chief Information Commissioner Dr RS Tolia, while calling for a discipline in ODL, said it should aim at tying up with existing institutions. He called for the development of the skill base of the students and its merger with the ODL. Stating that processes of globalisation could not be ignored, he said open universities needed to come up with programmes that enabled its students to deliver at international levels. The Vice-Chancellor of Kumaon University Dr VPS Arora said, “Open universities have a huge potential and clientele. In spite of starting professional programmes, such universities should also give priority to conventional programmes.” He said the need of the hour was to go in for programmes aimed at entrepreneurial development. He said since it would take another decade for Information Technology to reach every doorstep in Uttarakhand, a fair mix of media should be used to deliver the study material to the students.
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Pre-board exams to help students in the finals
Dehradun, January 16 Schools like GRD Academy, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Convent of Jesus and Mary, Marshal School, Scholars Home and
many others have already begun or will begin with their pre-board examinations. “In spite of my thorough revision and regular studies, I am apprehensive of scoring above 80 per cent in my class XII board examinations. My parents want me to pursue medicine after my higher secondary, but I am interested in music. They are always after me to study day and night, which is making me more worried,” said Ridhima Gurung, a student of Scholars Home. The voluminous syllabus, peer pressure to sail through the board examinations and struggle of getting admissions in the best college has made students nurture anxiety. But regular counselling and helplines have helped many students till now. Experts have recommended yoga, sound sleep, of at least six hours, and intake of nutritious food for the students. “Pre-board examinations are a simple way to curb stress, anxiety, nervousness, impulsiveness, apprehensiveness or suicidal tendencies. The question papers of the pre-board examinations are set and evaluated according to (CBSE/ICSE/ISC/Uttarakhand) board pattern and that helps students in appearing in the final examinations,” said S Ghildhiyal, a teacher of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Hathibarkala.
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College to discontinue Shikhar programme
Dehradun, January 16 Earlier in the day, student leaders of the NSUI and the ABVP gheraoed Principal OP Kulshresth for the management’s decision. They claimed that the decision was bound to affect college students adversely, who were enrolled in the Shikhar course and still had more than a year to successfully complete
the course. In relation to this, the Principal assured the student leaders that the students’ interest would be kept in mind. Students could complete their course without any problem, but the management would not allow any new enrolment in the course. Sources further reported that the Principal and college in charge of the course Piyush Mittal had a conflict over the payment of maintenance charges, which was later resolved and an agreement struck between the two. As per the agreement, as long as the college premises is used for “Shikhar”, Mittal would pay maintenance charges.
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GAIL CMD meets Nishank
Dehradun, January 16 Tripathi said Uttarakhand had a better environment for the establishment of industries and GAIL also wanted to actively participate in the developmental activities in the state. At present, GAIL had been supplying polymer, LPG and butane to the state. He also discussed the possibilities of establishing a petro-chemical park in the state. Tripathi said petro-chemical products needed to be encouraged in the environmental state like Uttarakhand. He told the Chief Minister that Dadri-Bathinda gas pipe line might be helpful in supplying domestic gas to Uttarakhand also. Nishank said GAIL should consider the supply of domestic gas to the remotest areas of the state. He assured Tripathi of all possible support from his government. Principal Secretary (Industry) PC Sharma and SIDCUL MD Kunal Sharma were also present on the occasion.
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Petroleum Institute win by two wickets
Dehradun, January 16 Middle order batsman Varun scored 35 runs off 53 balls, hitting four fours in his innings. Varun, along with Rituraj, who made a well-deserved 56 runs, stabilised the team’s run rate and helped the team reach 177 runs target. For the Graphic Era team, Opender was the lead wicket taker with five wickets in six overs, whereas Anand claimed three wickets. Chasing the target of 178 runs, Petroleum Institute reached the target with two wickets in hand. Its opener came up with a century partnership to pave the way for the team victory. Deepak made a 37 runs and Salabh made 53 runs. For the Graphic Era University team Varun and Achal claimed three wickets each. Meanwhile, in the second match, the UIT team won by 128 runs against ICFAI. Batting first UIT team scored 234 runs in 41 runs. Naval scored 69 runs in 56 balls, whereas Kuldeep scored 41 runs. For the ICFAI team Arvind took four wickets, Dipesh and Sundeep took two wickets each. Chasing the victory target of 235 runs, the ICFAI team was all out for 106 runs. Zishant was the scorer for the team with 32 runs, whereas Ajay made 26 runs. For the ICFAI team Rakesh
claimed 3 wickets, whereas Bupendra, Mukesh and Pankaj took two wickets each.
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Tourney becomes favourite pastime for retired officials
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, January 16 Every morning, SN Singh just cannot stop himself from taking a walk toward the stadium. He retired as a mineworker from the PPCL concern in 1997. Though he did not connect to cricket immediately after his retirement, he came in contact with PC Verma, who is a man behind the successful running of this league for the past 58 years.
It is not just the league that he eagerly awaits, he also looks forward to the Uttarakhand Gold Cup Cricket Tournament, which is one of the biggest cricket tournaments organised in the state, in which teams from various states participate. “Verma is a icon not only for me, but for the upcoming cricketers. The way he has been organising the league is commendable. At the age of 70, I am unable to do much work, but I try to contribute as much as I can from my side when they seek my help,” said SN Singh. He just wishes that the BCCI affiliates to the state as soon as possible in order to promote the state’s cricketing talent. BS Rawat is another retired person, who comes to the Survey Stadium every day. He retired from Survey of India 10 years back. He said, “In our time, cricket was not so popular as it is today and neither was I such an ardent follower of the game. But things have changed, and after retirement and I spend most of my time on cricket field. It is a pleasure to watch youngsters play.” Even Rawat wish that state get the much needed affiliation as soon as possible, so that young cricketers of the state get an opportunity to display their talent at the higher level.
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Haridwar, January 16
The emergency 108 services began making their presence felt on the first day of the Kumbh Mela itself.
The GVK EMRI 108 Emergency Ambulance Service received a total of 200 calls out of which 85 calls were from the Maha Kumbh area. The service also attended to 57 patients with the help of their ambulances and motorcycles.
Dehradun, January 16
It was because of his influence that he came to watch the league match at the survey stadium four years back. But thereafter he has become a regular spectator of the
league matches.