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Repairs, renovation help enrich yatras
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Tongawalas make hay during Urs
Cable car to be restarted for tourists
Pre-medical entrance test on May 22
Mehndi, rangoli contests held
DRCA defeat Rising Star by 5 wkts
Shivaji, Pratap Sections win in separate categories
124 students appear at Tibetan Homes
Board exams begin, parents relaxed
IMA seeks cages to trap leopards
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Repairs, renovation help enrich yatras
Pitthoragarh, March 3 Madhavanand Joshi, who recently took over as Vice-Chairman of the nigam, has now put forward a proposal to conduct the yatra on the traditional route. “The proposal for the traditional route, which passes through Champawat district and is being used by pilgrims for thousands of years, will be put up in the meeting of the board of directors of the KMVN on March 6,” said Joshi. The journey by the traditional route starts from New Delhi and reaches Tanakpur in Champawat district. Tanakpur has also been identified as Baramdev in ancient texts. After passing through main market of Champawat, the yatra reaches Rameswar in Pitthoragarh district. One of the oldest temples of Lord Shiva in the region is situated here. After having the ‘darshan’ of Lord Shiva at Rameswar, the pilgrims visit Jageshwar temple in Almora and then proceed to Patal Bhuwaneshwar after seeking the blessings at the Mahakali temple at Gangolighat. According to the yatra route described in Manaskhand of the Skand Purana, a text devoted to the elder son of Lord Shiva, the pilgrims then go to Hanseshwer near Askot and then start trekking to Kailash Mansarovar via the Dharma valley. “This route not only gives pilgrims the maximum religious satisfaction but also involves major temples and places of worship of Lord Shiva in the Kumaon region,” said Madhavanand Joshi. “When the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was resumed in 1981, the old route was adopted and pilgrims were taken via the Champawat-Pitthoragarh route, but after four years, it was noticed that the motor road at the 16-km track between Chalthi to Swala mostly remained blocked and slippery due to rains causing inconvenience to the pilgrims. So, the route was changed from Haldwani to Almora to base camp Dharchula,” said DK Sharma, Manager, KMVN. “Changing the route is not a privilege of the KMVN. If the board of directors wants to change the route, a proposal will be sent to the Ministry of External Affairs, government of India. The ministry will consult the BRO, the authority that maintains the route, and then decide,” said DK Sharma. He added that even if it is approved, the change in route will not materialise for this year’s yatra. Two years back, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) conducted a survey of the old route and proposed to maintain it. “Our team not only trekked on the old route used by pilgrims from Tawaghat to Kathgodam but also looked at the places where they stayed,” said APS Nimbaria, commandant of ITBP, in charge of the yatra route beyond Gunji. As the condition of the motor road on the old route has been improved and the track, which was single during 1980s, has been doubled, the expert now sees a possibility of the proposal becoming a reality. “The distance from New Delhi up to the base camp is same - either it be the route being used at present from Haldwani to Almora to Dharchula or it be from Tanakpur, Champawat, Pitthoragarh to Dharchula. It makes no difference for the arrangements being done by the KMVN for the pilgrims of the yatra every year,” said DK Sharma, Manager (Tourism),
KMVN.
Char Dham: After six years of renovation work by the ASI, efforts are now being made to promote Gopinath temple, situated between Badrinath and
Kedarnath, as a tourist destination during the Char Dham yatra this summer Dehradun, March 3 Under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the ancient temple is being spruced up ahead of the start of the Char Dham Yatra, which also heralds the beginning of the pilgrimage season in the Garhwal Himalayas. The temple is situated between the temples of Badrinath and Kedarnath in Gopeshwar town. Efforts are being made to promote it as an obvious destination for tourists and pilgrims this summer. One of the biggest and ancient temples of Uttarakhand, it is about 56 ft high. The temple boasts of its architectural marvel and is a cynosure of the eyes of local residents, pilgrims, architects and archaeologists. For the local people, it is an integral part of their daily life. The shrine is considered the most pious and auspicious pilgrimage spot. Its scenic beauty attracts thousands of tourists to pay a visit at this sublime destination situated at a serene place. The flooring of the temple is being redone by the ASI and the work is expected to the completed by March, 2010, before the start of the pilgrim season. “We have been working on the renovation of the ancient temple since 2004 and hope that the entire work will be completed soon. Work on the flooring of the temple, repair of the sabha mandap and the setting up of a proper drainage system have been undertaken and most of the work is complete,” said Ashok
Shrivastava, Assistant Conservator of the ASI at Gopeshwar. The Gopinath temple was built by Katyuri rulers and has certain unique features. Like most North Indian temples, it reveals distinctive features in planning and elevation. Intricate designs and detailing on the walls as well as on the doors exude grandeur of the classic era. The temple is surrounded by a quadrangle enclosure and its doorway faces the east followed by stairs descending to the court yard of the temple. The “garbhgriha” at the temple is constructed in a square shape. It has a mandap and antarala added later at the same axis. The “garbhgriha” with Shiva Lingam is located centrally and has entry at a step lower from the
mandap. The courtyards of the temple have smaller shrines of various deities and a series of austere and mystical lingams. There is an evergreen plant, the kunjabeli, in the courtyard of the temple which flowers round the year. In the same courtyard of the temple there stands a massive metallic trident, which bears some inscription, which is yet to be deciphered. The ASI has also worked hard to renovate the residence of the traditional Rawal of the temple. “We have renovated the residence of the Rawal who looks after the religious ceremonies of the temple,” says
Shrivastava. The temple is a unique example of architecture and faith. It houses the idol of Shri Rudra Nath Ji, one of the five Kedars, during winter for almost six months. The processions of the “doli” of the deity are carried with great religions fervour amid a festive atmosphere. The resplendent lighting arranged to illuminate the temple after the dusk creates an enchanting effect at the time of daily evening arti and parikrama in the temple courtyard.
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Tongawalas make hay during Urs
Roorkee, March 3 “These days, most of us are earning over Rs 1,000 daily,” said Madan Singh Khalsa, president of the Tonga Union here. He added that in one go, a tonga took 10 to 15 passengers easily charging Rs 15 per passenger. “We make five rounds on an average due to the rush of pilgrims these days,” said Madan. Seventyfive-year-old Mohammad Usman, another tongawala who has been in the business for the past five decades, said the attraction of a tonga ride had continued even in present times. “Earlier, the tonga was the only transport to reach the shrine, but now, people hire it for fun,” said Usman. Witnessing the huge demand, many tongawalas - from places like Saharanpur, Nazeebabad, Bijnor, Yamunanagar and other places - come to Roorkee during Urs to earn some quick
bucks.
“With this, we also get a chance to have darshan of the shrine daily. We have no specific demand,” said Madan Singh Khalsa. Meanwhile, contrary to the claim by the transport authorities regarding the plying of seven special buses from Roorkee Railway Station to the shrine during Urs, only two buses have been put into service by the department.
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Cable car to be restarted for tourists
Mussoorie, March 3 On the other hand, fears of residents near Jhoola Ghar about Hawa Ghar, adjacent to the ticket room, being sublet to the association running the ropeway are misplaced. According to Uniyal, the site was destroyed after a tree fell on it and it will be renovated. “There are no plans to sublet it to any party. It is a palika property and will remain so,” said
Uniyal.
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Pre-medical entrance test on May 22
Dehradun, March 3 The MBBS course will be offered at the SGRR Institute of Medical and Health Sciences (SGRR), Dehradun, while the BDS course will be offered at the Seema Dental College and Hospital, Rishikesh, Dehradun, the Sri Narayan Dutt Tiwari Hospital and Medical College, Dehradun, the Uttaranchal Dental and Medical Research Institute, Dehradun. The BAMS course will be offered at Uttaranchal Ayurvedic College, Dehradun, the Himalayiya Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital, Rishikesh, and Patanjali Ayurvedic College, Haridwar. The BHMS course will be offered the Chandola Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Rudrapur. The date for the test is May 22, 2010, and the exams will be held in Indore, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Delhi, Jaipur, Lucknow, Jalandhar and Varanasi. The application form can be obtained from the office of the above-mentioned colleges against a cash payment of Rs 1,150. One can get the application form by post also by sending a request along with a DD of Rs 1,200 in favour of the UCEE and payable at Rishikesh to the Secretary, UCEE, SDCH, Veerbhadra Road, Rishikesh 249 203. For more information candidates can log on to www.uceeindia.org. The last date for issuing application forms is May 5, 2010, which is also the last date for the submission of the form.
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Mehndi, rangoli contests held
Dehradun, March 3
In the rangoli competition, Indu and Kanchan came first and second positions respectively. The union week will conclude on March 5. “The participants took a keen interest in the competitions,” said Digvijay Singh, president, DBS (PG) College Union. —
TNS
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DRCA defeat Rising Star by 5 wkts
Dehradun, March 3 For RS team Rajat made 47 runs, Prinkal 22, Nitin 31 and Sachin scored 36. While Vikram, Sumit, Virender and Manish took one wicket each. In the second match played between Doon Combined Club (DCC) and Himalayan Cricket Club (HCC), Doon Combined Club won the match by 8 runs. Winning the toss and elected to bat first, DCC scored 129 runs in 20 overs. For DCC Kamal scored 48 runs, Bobby 24 and Sandeep 13. Vijay took 4 wickets, Shekhar claimed 3, Amit took 2 and Keshav claimed one wicket for Himalayan Cricket Club. In reply, Himalayan Cricket Club could score only 109 runs at the loss of 10 wickets in 19. 4 overs. Vijay at 20 runs and Keshav at 12 runs were top scorers for the team. For Doon Club, Kamal took 5 wickets and Manish claimed two.
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Shivaji, Pratap Sections win in separate categories
Dehradun, March 3 In juniors’ match, the Shivaji Section team emerged victorious with cadet Kumar Vikram scoring the highest (23 runs) and he was also the Man of the Match. Cadet Neeraj Maurya was the highest wicket taker (3) for the team. The match umpires were cadet Prasad Bagauli and cadet C Surya. In seniors’ match, Pratap Section emerged victorious by three wickets. Cadet Lalit Thapliyal and cadet Yogesh Ladache (25 runs) were the highest scorers for the team. The highest wicket taker was cadet Kumar Harsh (4 wickets). The Man of the Match was cadet Lalit Thapliyal. The match umpires were cadet Prashant Verma and cadet Abhinav Choudhary. Ranjit section scored 78 runs while Pratap Section scored 79 for 7 wickets to win the match.
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124 students appear at Tibetan Homes
Mussoorie, March 3 He also said 13 students enrolled in the examination were absent. The students nervously participated in the examination as their hard work would be tested with these examinations. The class X examination will begin from March 5, for which the centre was fully prepared said Assistant General Secretary of Tibetan Homes. According to Central School for Tibetans’ Principal VK Singh, to decrease the stress level and minimise misclassification among students. The CBSE from this year has introduced new grading system on the basis of marks. The grading system will be awarded on a nine-point scale, indicating the performance of the students’ subject wise. The performance of the student will be assessed through numerical marking. The prevalent system of declaring compartment and fail has also been
discontinued under the new grading system of the CBSE, added the Principal.
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Board exams begin, parents relaxed
Dehradun, March 3 In Doon, every year a large number of students sit for board examinations, supporting boarders and day scholars. Parents and relatives thronged examination centres to drop and pick up the candidates. Chetan, who had his class XII CBSE physics paper said, “In the past 10 years, this was one of the toughest and lengthiest papers. In a hurry to finish the paper, I even missed a 10-mark question”. However, while many other contemporaries of Chetan held the same opinion, there were a few who could successfully manage their time. “Yes, the paper was very lengthy, but as I had already acquainted myself with solving 10-year papers, I managed to complete it right on time,” said an elated Nishant, a class XII student. Furthermore, parents, who had been endlessly working towards creating a perfect ambiance for studies, finally seemed relieved with the beginning of the first board paper. “Till the time my son’s examinations had not started, I was getting very anxious, but today once he came back from the school, I am feeling all relaxed and positive,” said Neelam, a mother. Understanding the level of anxiety amid examinations, physiologists are of the view that every child is unique and should work on their weaknesses to avoid situations leading to unnecessary stress and unhealthy atmosphere for studies. The CBSE boards for class X is going to be the last ever from this academic year, as they will go optional from the next with grading system replacing the marks obtained by the candidates. Such a measure is expected to tone down the cut-throat competition as well as the stress faced by many during this period. Simultaneously, the ICSE board examinations were also conducted peacefully.
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IMA seeks cages to trap leopards
Dehradun, March 3 “While going for a morning walk, I came across a leopard at close quarters,” said Major Dagar asserting that leopard incursions inside the academy had become quite frequent in recent times. “The academy has been repeatedly demanding installation of cages inside the academy to set the trap for the leopards,” he added. He also pointed out that the IMA from time to time kept the Uttarakhand Wildlife Authorities updated whenever a leopard was sighted inside the academy. The IMA on February 20 had an incursion of a leopard, that too at the official residence of Lt Gen RS Sujlana, IMA Commandant. According to IMA sources, the wild cat broke the windowpane and attacked the domestic pets. The officers’ accommodation, which is in the near vicinity, had also witnessed the movement of the wild animal, consequent to which alarm was raised so as to keep people indoor.
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After it was resumed in 1981, the routes of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra have remained in the focus of the management of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam
(KMVN).
The ongoing Urs at the Sabir Baba shrine has brought broad smiles on the faces of ‘tongawalas’ as the ‘tonga’ ride from Roorkee Railway Station to the shrine has proved to be a hit.
Trotting along the Gang canal, the ride of around 6 km by tonga is an unique experience, feel the pilgrims. Many of them said one felt like a raja or maharaja while having a ride in a
tonga. And, as most pilgrims prefer the tonga ride to the roadways transport to reach the shrine, the business of around 150 tongawalas is at an all-time high.
Dehradun, March 3
Dehradun, March 3
Mussoorie, March 3
Dehradun, March 3
