Dehradun, March 27
On the occasion of Earth Hour, many institutions in the city such as Welham Boys/Girls School, Hilton School, Forest Research Institute, the Wildlife Institute of India, the Survey of India, Doon University, Graphic Era University, Asian School, St Judes School, Ann Mary School and many others participated in the Earth Hour, by switching off lights for an hour (8:30 pm to 9:30 pm), here today.

Moreover, WWF-India organised a marathon with Rashtriya Indian Military Academy (RIMC) and Uttrakhand Jal Vidhyut Nigam (UJVNL). The participants from these institutions and departments participated in the grand event. The marathon began from the Maharani Bagh, headquarters of UJVNL to the ONGC Chowk.

The marathon was started by Col SS Rana, Director, Operation, WWF-India, at 7 am. Colonel Rana said the growing problems for developments were similar all over the world. WWF-India and UJVNL were looking for natural solutions that respected the dynamics of the system, while helping people towards sustainable development in the face of climate change.

Pankaj K Kulshreshtha, DGM (Design), UJVNL, informed the consequences of depleting resources for Hydro Power Generation and its effect on development.

The Earth Hour is an initiative to raise awareness of climate change issues among people. And there’s more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year. It’s all about giving people a voice on the future of our planet and working together to create a sustainable low carbon future for our planet.

The winners of the marathon were awarded by SC Baluni, DGM (Small Hydro Project), UJVNL. Prashant Kumar from RIMC and Vinay Mishra, Shashank Pandey, Himanshu Tiwari and Rakesh Chauhan were from UJVNL who coordinated the event with WWF-India.

Dehradun, March 27
Nowhere do the differences between men and women fade away as in art and the powerful character of ‘Mai’ in the play “Jis Lahore Nahin Vekhya” is a testimony to that fact.

Fittingly so, the different moods of a mother, who undergoes intense trauma in the wake of the Partition, have been brought alive by male artistes from time to time.

Several years ago, the doyen of Indian theatre Habib Tanveer tentatively pushed a male artiste to play the character of Mai while directing the play “Jis Lahore Nahin Vekhya”.

Moving on, the practice was followed by stage artiste, director and actor late Nirmal Pandey in Nainital in 1994 who convinced Zahoor Alam to take a shot at the character.

The realistic portrayal of Mai, Ratan’s mother, not only won him accolades, but Alam’s sensitivity in handling the complexities of the character has been hailed as one of its kind in Indian theatre.

No wonder then, Zahoor Alam has quite a fan following among women and today, his team Yugmanch was invited to perform on the last day of the seminar “Sangharsh aur Sirjan” that traced the history of the feminist movement in India and also marked the birth anniversary of Hindi poetess Mahadevi Verma.

Giving credit to the ace actor Nirmal Pandey, Zahoor Alam, while speaking with The Tribune, explained that following in the footsteps of Habib Tanveer, Pandey too was convinced that the emancipation of women could be done through art.

“I was approached to play the role and with much deliberation and thought, I agreed to do it. Mind you, the realistic portrayal of the character of Mai, a strong Punjabi lady, was only possible after I learnt Punjabi. On many occasions, the character had to converse in Punjabi. My friend in Nainital, Baljit Singh Cheema, helped me hone the language,” said Zahoor.

He added that getting into the skin of the character begins quite early, even before he dons the make-up and wears the feminine dress.

“We artistes should be able to achieve that oneness with the character as soon as the director narrates the story. With the able support of Pandey, it was easy coming. I was completely at ease once the make-up man came in with his ware. Years down the line, it was a smooth and effortless exercise,” affirmed Zahoor Alam.

It has not been easy keeping theatre alive in Nainital, but Alam proudly said that Yugmanch has produced the maximum number of stage artistes who went on to train at the National School of Drama (NSD).

But surprisingly, Zahoor never went to any theatre school. It was, while being part of Yugmanch, that the theatre bug bit him.

“We were inspired by the likes of Mohan Upreti and Lenin Pant. The staging of Dharamveer Pal’s Andha Yug in 1976 in Nainital was the turning point,” he said.

Perturbed at the diffident attitude of the government, Zahoor Alam said that the cross flow of ideas between Kumaon and Garhwal seldom takes place. He predicted difficult times for theatre in the coming days.

Today’s presentation of “Jis Lahore Nahin Vekhya” was dedicated to the memory of Nirmal Pandey, who passed away recently and who had directed the play for the NSD in Nainital in 1994.

Dehradun, March 27
It was a spectacular sight to see gentlemen cadets holding lit candles in their hands in the beautiful premises of the Indian Military Academy (IMA). The IMA has taken the initiative to make a positive contribution for Earth Hour, 2010, by turning off all lights of the IMA for one hour.

Posters of actor Abhishek Bachchan as a brand ambassador of this noble cause reading the slogan of “Hope and action- a global demonstration about climate change” were lined up on one side. Earth Hour was celebrated as a symbolic joint initiative of the IMA and the WWF India. Therefore, all gentlemen cadets and officers were seen adorning the batches reading “60 Earth Hour” with the symbol of the WWF.

Major-Gen GS Bal, SM VSM, also graced the occasion and supported the cause by standing with the cadets holding candles. “It is a small step, but still a powerful message is delivered about the urgent need to address the climate change. And shows that it is possible for all individuals to make a difference,” said an officer.

The gentlemen cadets also spread the message through a cycle expedition and river rafting at Rishikesh during their scheduled adventure hike as part of mid-term break.

The entire IMA contributed in this drive by switching off lights for one hour between 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm today and stood by the world which united in a stand against climate change.

The Public Relation Department of the IMA sent the message that Earth Hour 2010 would be bigger and better when people would join together to celebrate and start a debate about the future of our planet.

This would help in spreading the powerful global message that it was possible to take action on global warming and the IMA stipulated to make its contribution in this regard by observing World Earth Hour in full letter and spirit.

Mussoorie, March 27
A two-day scouts and guides camp organised by the Central School for Tibetans began at Hathipaon here today.

More than 64 students are participating in the camp. The camp began with a physical exercise followed by inspection and flag ceremony.

The students were imparted training in disaster management, first aid and ways to conduct rescue operations. They also learnt about mapping and knotting techniques on the occasion.

Later in the evening, spare time activities and group work were also conducted. A camp fire was also organised in which the students shared their experiences with one another.

Cultural programmes were also held at night in which students presented folk songs and dances from various regions of the state.

Scout master Pradeep Kumar, Kdechen, B Singh, S Choegyal, guide captain N Dolkar, Y Lhamo and Principal CST VK Singh were present on the occasion.

Pitthoragarh, March 27
Residents of Pitthoragarh town are up in arms against the decision of the municipality to construct a mega shopping and parking complex on the historic Dev Singh Bisht Playground.

The move is being opposed by traders, sports associations as well as the Bar Council Association. These protesters say that the Nagar Palika Parishad is out to destroy this playground available not only for sports, but also for cultural activities and VVIP political rallies.

“This ground belongs to the common man of this border district and the Nagar Palika Parishad has no right to destroy it,” said Shamsher Singh Maher, president of the Pitthoragarh Traders Association.

The historic ground, which was evolved after 1941 out of the government land donated by Dev Singh Bisht, a renowned trader at that time, has witnessed many political rallies by Indira Gandhi in 1966 and other national leaders like Morarji Desai, Narasimha Rao, HD Deve Gowda, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, VP Singh and Rahul Gandhi over the years.

“This ground has not only facilitated the mass crowds, which thronged for these leaders, but has also witnessed district and regional-level cultural meetings of students, besides the autumn festival and state-level cultural bonanza Chaliya Mahotsava,” said Shamsher.

According to the plans drafted by the Nagar Palika Parishad, a multi-storeyed shopping-cum-parking complex will come up in this place by spending Rs 4.60 crore given by establishment wing of the Urban Development Department. “A sum of Rs 50 lakh has been released by the department for the initial construction, which will be done by the PWD,” said Rajendra Singh Rawat, chairman of Pitthoragarh Nagar Palika Parishad.

The opponent of the proposal argue that keeping the historic background and multi-purpose importance of the ground, the complex should either be shifted elsewhere and the ground should not be touched.

Haridwar, March 27
To generate environmental awareness among youth, an awareness campaign was organised in Rawli Mehdood tehsil by the Pollution Control Research Institute, BHEL.

The campaign took off at the Governmental Junior High School, Rawli, where various events were organised to make students aware of the dire consequences of global warming.

Inaugurating the campaign, MD Kayal, Additional General Manager, PCRI, highlighted the problems and solutions related to climate change.

He said after detailed research, it had come to light that in the 20th century, the global temperature had touched a new high.

He added that if temperature continued to rise at this speed, then there would be a drastic change in the distribution of rain which would result in some parts receiving enormous rain while others would face drought.

Several volunteers took part in the campaign and urged students to lessen their dependence on vehicles and plant saplings and trees for a greener environment.

A rally was organised by schoolchildren who had placards and banners depicting environment-related issues.

Tree saplings were planted and children were urged to take care of the saplings as they cared for their personal belongings.

School Principal Som Singh was given books on environmental issues by the institute for the school library.

Among those who joined the campaign were Dr Neelam Shrivastav, PK Vishwas, MK Ghosh, Narendra Kumar, Dr Keshav, Virendra Kumar, Vipin Kumar, Satyapal and CP Khosla.

Haridwar, March 27
Students affiliated with Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal Central University, specially in Haridwar district, are in a dilemma over the rescheduled examinations of graduate and under-graduate courses.

Earlier, the examinations were to start from March 25, but now these have been rescheduled and this has made the students angry.

Students’ main problem with the exam scheduled on April 13, is that it is just a day before the Shahi Snan, which is the biggest of the four Shahi Snans of the Maha Kumbh.

And considering the huge rush of pilgrims amounting in crores and the traffic restrictions at various place, at least, two days before such festive baths, the students are bound to have a problem in reaching the examination venues.

Students unions of various colleges affiliated with the university have lodged their complaint with the university officials against rescheduling of the examinations once again.

Chinmay College Union president Shrikant Kumar said by this step the university had once again shown how unconcerned they were for the students’ welfare.

He warned of students coming to the streets if the examination date was not rescheduled as thousands of students in Haridwar-Rishikesh and adjacent areas would get affected due to this.

While SMJN College Union president Shakti Tyagi has also stated that the union will cooperate with other colleges in putting the students’ demand with the university officials.

Also, the students have another complaint regarding the second schedule.

They say that on April 6, 7 and 9, examinations have been fixed which will only burden the students’ workload and that too in the midst of the simmering summer.

Dehradun, March 27
An Inter-Section Mock SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit was held at Rashtriya Indian Military College here today. This competition had four phases. In each phase one section represented India and other three sections had three representatives from different countries like China, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh.

The host section (India) had proposed some points and these representatives interjected their proposal and tried to gain benefit for their country. Each section got some information related to their topic from their respective section tutors. Each section got one topic each to discuss and propose. The topics were de-nuclearisation, terrorism, global warming and water sharing. At the end of this event, each section came back with a declaration that had satisfied all countries.

In the individual category the prizes for best speakers went Cadet Dhruv Gusain (Shivaji), Cadet Ashish Kapoor (Pratap) Cadet Sachin Lakhawat (Ranjit) and Cadet Vivek Yadav (Chandragupta)

As per the final positions, Ranjit House was first with 70.5 points. Chandragupta was second with 70 points. Pratap stood third with 69.5 points and Shivaji was at fourth place with 65 points. Cadet Arpit, Cadet Nishant, Cadet Supreet, Cadet Abhimanyu, Cadet Taral, Cadet Ankit, Cadet Himanshu and Cadet Arunabh gave a commendable performance.

The judges for the event were Col H Dharmarajan, SM, Commandant, RIMC and KS Ahalawat. Colonel Dharmarajan said he was very happy to see cadets perform in this event. He said these competitions enhanced cadets’ answering skills, improve general knowledge and come to know of various events held in the world. He also congratulated PK Sharma for coordinating the event successfully.

The other dignitaries present were CS Vishwakarma, UP Dalvi, N Kaushik and B Chauhan.

Dehradun, March 27
Indian Military Academy (IMA) officials have been asked to record their statements on April 6 at the Dehradun Division Forest office vis-à-vis the leopard-trap incident that took place on the academy campus on February 20.

Dehradun forest authorities, who have been probing the incident, have asked the officer commanding and the training in charge of the Bhagat battalion, where the leopard was found stuck in a trap, to record their statements.

A leopard was grievously hurt on February 20 inside the IMA when it got entangled in a metal trap identified as one of the metal structures set up by the IMA authorities supposedly put up for training purposes. The leopard could only be saved after the frantic efforts of the forest authorities who have now ordered an inquiry into the incident.

“The probe is in progress and the statement of the IMA authorities are to be recorded on April 6,” JS Rawat, Sub-Divisional Forest Officer, Dehradun, told The Tribune. He said that the forest authorities were strictly acting in accordance with the norms of the Wildlife Protection Act.

On the other hand, IMA authorities have constantly maintained that the trap in which the leopard got struck was a structure meant for jungle warfare training of the cadets. However, forest officials, who were part of the rescue operation, contest the IMA claims asserting that the trap was evidently meant for trapping wild animals and could have been put to trap wild boars.

The academy had even written to the Dehradun forest authorities seeking permission to shoot wild boars. However, forest authorities had categorically held that the shooting down of wild boars is an offence and even in case when such permission is given, it is carried out in consent with certain norms that have to be followed.

Dehradun, March 27
Chander Pal’s all-round performance of 66 runs and 3 wickets helped Ajabpur Youngsters beat Delhi Giants by 97 runs in the 40 over match during the ongoing 3rd All-India Uttarakhand Cup held on the Rangers College Ground, here today.

After winning the toss, Delhi Giants elected to ball first. For Ajabpur Youngsters, Ajmer Singh (46), Chandera Pal (76) and Arvind Sajwan (52*) were the principal scorers. The team scored 263 for eight in 40 overs.

Dev Kumar, Rakesh Rana and Chander Thapa of Delhi Giants took two wickets each. Nikhil Pandey also got one wicket.

Batting second, Delhi Giants were bowled all out for 166 runs in 33.4 overs. Ankur Verma (37), Pawan Kumar (35), Rakesh Rana (32) and Chander Thapa (30) couldn’t score big otherwise things would have been different for the Delhi Giants.

Man of the Match Chander Pal scalped three wickets, Manish and Ravi took two each and Navneesh, Lalit and Yuzvendra also got one wicket each.

Dehradun, March 27
The 2nd BS Negi Memorial Prize Money State-level Football Tournament-2010 will be held from March 30 to April 11 at the Dr BR Ambedkar Stadium, Kaulagarh Road. The tournament is being organised by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC).

Addressing a press conference at Tel Bhawan, ONGC, Tauqueer Hussain, Chief HRD, said as many as 20 teams were participating in this football tournament. Semifinals would be played on April 9 and 10, while the final would be held on April 11. The inaugural match would be played between Garhwal Sporting and XI Star tomorrow at 3 pm.

The winning team will get a cash prize of Rs 70,000 and runner-up Rs 50,000, besides mementos. The individual prizes have also been set up for the best players in different categories.

The Man of the Tournament title will fetch a cash prize of Rs 11,000. While the best goalkeeper, best defender, best midfielder and best striker will get an award of Rs 5,000 each. In the last tournament, the Man of the Tournament was gifted a motorcycle, but this year it was preferred to give cash prize since the teams coming from far-off places used to have problem taking the bike back to their place.

The first leg of the tournament was held in 2008 and it was to be annual feature as per the organisers. However, the ONGC couldn’t organise it last year due to some financial problems. Hussain said though they couldn’t hold a tournament last year, but it would be an annual feature from now. He also said efforts were being made to make the 2nd leg of the tournament even better than the last one.

Answering a query that the BR Ambedkar Football Stadium was not maintained enough and it was uneven, he replied that they had made full arrangements to make the ground better.