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Bane of wildlife, teak trees in Rajaji Park face axe
Another elephant calf killed by tiger
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Bijendar Panwar panel wins Press Club elections
Sitar player Shujjat Hussain Khan performs at Swar Ganga cultural fest in Haridwar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
Fruit growers form federation
(From right) Dr Anil Joshi of HESCO with Kundan Singh Punwar, President of the Bhadraj Fruit Growers Federation addresses a press conference in Dehradun on Sunday.
A Tribune photograph
Akhada Parishad, state govt meeting postponed
A shobha yatra being taken out on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
Hanuman Jayanti celebrations begin
A scene of the Hanuman Jayanti shobha yatra in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photo
Uttarakhand-UP Real Host Cup Cricket Tourney
RIMC
Inter-Section Cricket Competition
JJ team defeat DCC
Another Tragedy
Maple Bear celebrates graduation day
Tiny tots perform at the annual function of the Maple Bear school in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
YWCA students get certificates
Flower Dale School celebrates annual day
Little girls participate in a dance during the annual function of the Flower Dale School, Garhi Cantonment, near Dehradun, on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
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Bane of wildlife, teak trees in Rajaji Park face axe
Dehradun, March 28 Encompassing 820 sq km, the park is spread across Dehradun, Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal and is famous for its Asian elephants apart from being home to a few tigers, leopards, cobras,
cheetals, sambars, boars, kakars, pythons and lizards. The origin of teak in the elephant famous Rajaji National Park dates back to the late fifties and early sixties when these were planted on the forest tracts of the park, including Dhaulkhand East, West and Chilawali ranges and Bulandiwala beat areas as part of commercial plantation. These teak trees over the years have proved detrimental to its flora and fauna. While supporting no wildlife, teak has even attracted wood smugglers inside the park proving to be a constant irritant for the Rajaji authorities, who have now recommended phasing out these trees. Park officials have written to the Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator Office seeking its permission for carrying out of the felling of teak trees for making way for grassland. “As these teak trees least support wildlife, we have sought for their replacement with grassland, most ideal for supporting the wildlife,” said Dr Paramjeet Singh, Director, Rajaji National Park. Teak by its very nature supports no undergrowth and the area where it grows is devoid of grass, affecting herbivorous, that are main prey species of carnivores like leopards and also a few of tigers inside the Rajaji park. “What to say of bigger animals, even avian fauna keeps away from the teak trees. Even dry leaves on ground are avoided by wildlife,” said Paramjeet. Wildlife Trust of India official and an authority on wildlife in the Rajaji AK Singh terms teak plantation as detrimental to herbivorous fauna in the park. A lack of feed for herbivores affects the entire food chain in the wild, he adds. The landscape beneath these teak forest areas give a barren look, amply revealing the adverse impact on undergrowth. “Teak’s negative impact from the wildlife can be gauged from the fact that being a tree with little branches it proves to be of no use for avian fauna. While these teak trees could have kept relevance when these were planted but today these are of no use to the Rajaji,” Paramjeet adds. To make matter worse, these teak trees have also added to the law and order problem inside forests. The teak, due to its high market value, often attracts wood smugglers. Thus putting extra security burden on forest guards. There have been instances of skirmishes taking place between forest guards and smugglers over teak felling. Incidents of forest smugglers coming into confrontation with forest guards are quite common in the teak predominant Dhaulkhand East and West ranges and the Chillawali ranges of the
Rajaji.
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Another elephant calf killed by tiger
Dehradun, March 28 The body of a calf was recovered from compartment 11 of the reserve. On March 24 too the body of an elephant was found in the Sonanadi area of the region. The Corbett authorities had then too attributed the death of the pachyderm to elephant-tiger conflict. A tiger at times attacks a baby elephant as prey. In other incidents of wildlife causality, a female leopard and deer died in road accidents in Uttarakhand on Saturday. While the female leopard was hit by a vehicle during wee hours on the Chidyapur stretch of National Highway No. 74 on the Haridwar-Najeebabad route in Uttarakhand, a deer was also killed by a speeding vehicle near Terai West division of
the state. According to the Haridwar Division Forest authorities, the national highway linking Haridwar to Najeebabad has become a killer road for the wildlife. As it falls in close proximity to both wildlife-rich Rajaji Park and Haridwar Forest Division areas, the highway witnesses frequent movement of wildlife. With increasing volume of the traffic on this highway, it has often resulted in an animal being hit by speeding vehicles. While bigger animals like leopards have been causality, cheetal and sambar too are killed quite often.
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Bijendar Panwar panel wins Press Club elections
Mussoorie, March 28 After the counting of the votes, Election Officer HP Saklani announced the winners. Bijendar Panwar for the post of president, Harish Kalra for vice-president, Satish Kumar for general secretary, Nimma Kant for joint secretary, Manish Gangoli for auditor and Mohsin Ahmed for publicity secretary were declared winners. Surat Singh Rawat was elected unanimously for the post of treasurer. The other members who won in the executive committee are Neeraj Singhal, Dharamvir Saxena, Pradeep Bhandari, Jabbar Singh and Sunil Sonkar. Election Officer Hari Prasad Saklani presented election winning certificates on the occasion. This is the first time in the history of the Press Club that one complete panel has secured victory on the issue of secularism and socialist ideals. Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola, former Palika president Manmohan Singh Mall, Congress Mahila Morcha president Bharosi Rawat, Mussoorie BJP President Roop Singh Kathait, BJP Mahila Morcha Sarojini Kaintura greeted the newly elected body on the occasion.
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Shujjat mesmerises audience with performance
Haridwar, March 28 Even before the start of the performance the Cultural Centre was jam-packed and there was pin-drop silence as soon as the maestro sat on the stage. With rapt attention, the audience followed every performance of the maestro and many just couldn’t believe how efficiently and with ease Shujjat played different yet melodious chords.
Shujjat till date has churned out more than 60 odd albums, and got prestigious nomination for his album “Rain” in 2004 for the Grammy awards. Belonging to the Imdaadikhana
Gharana, Shujjat is the son of Ustad Vilayat Khan who was also a renowned sitar player. Thus music runs in his genes. He began his performance with Raga Yaman Kalian and then followed it with Lord Krishna hymn “Nagar Nand mukut par vari
jaun...” and another piece “ Darshan dehun Shankar Mahadev...” on the same raga. His Sufiyana vocal performance of “Mann kanto
moula...” and “Chaap tilak...” showed his versatility and also drew applause from the audience.
Shujjat vowed the audience by teaming up with the duo of Pandit Sudhir Pandey and Arunanshu Chaudhari on the
tabla. In all, the performance by Shujjat only upped the magnitude of the Swar Ganga daily cultural fest in the Maha
Kumbh.
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Fruit growers form federation
Dehradun, March 28 The federation will not only provide a front that will mediate between farmers and the government, but also address the issue of insurance. “As fruit growers are not covered under any insurance policy, our federation will push for insurance cover, construction of ropeways, food processing and packaging,” said Kundan Singh
Panwar, president of the federation, while addressing a press conference. He said most of their produce was lost in the forest fire last year. “We need a calamity fund that can easily see us through crisis such as this,” said Panwar. The members also spoke about the apathy of the government that has not conceptualised a policy giving impetus to horticulture, “We need to develop clusters and also propagate local root stock at the local level for different varieties of fruits, right now we are dependent on foreign root stock,” said Panwar. The federation came into existence yesterday when 125 farmers took its membership and Dr Anil Joshi, patron of Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), decided to lend support to the efforts of the farmers. Altogether, farmers of 100 villages in Nainbag are growing fruits in 600 hectares of land. The fruits comprising mostly of wild olive, plum, apricot, nectarine, apple and mango rot in the absence of cold storage facilities. “Ironically, we have not been able to provide cold storage that is cost effective and fulfills the needs of the villagers,” said Dr Anil Joshi, who was also present at the press conference.
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Akhada Parishad, state govt meeting postponed
Haridwar, March 28 As the Chief Minister couldn’t turn up due to some unstated official reason, state Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik led the delegation from the state government side to further convince the Akhada Parishad members on the contentious issue of the banning of hydel projects on the Ganga. But the Akhada Parishad didn’t prolong the meeting further citing the absence of its national general secretary Mahant Hari Giri Ji Maharaj. Sources say the akhadas want an instant clear-cut stance before the third Shahi Snan. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad too is not happy with the state government response to the Akhada Parishad and other saints’ demand and is pressurising the BJP-led government to take a stance which makes the ban on the Ganga in the whole of Uttarakhand state. Notably, the Akhada Parishad has been quite adamant on closing Lohari Nagpala and Bhairon Ghat projects, apart from demanding that in Uttarakhand no further projects be granted on the Ganga as it disturbs the sanctity and natural flow of the holy river. Accompanying the state Urban Development Minister were Mela In Charge Anand Vardhan, DIG Alok Sharma and other related nodal officers.
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Shobha yatra marks Mahavir Jayanti in city
Dehradun, March 28 Hundreds of devotees took part in the yatra that was followed by a bhoj for devotees. This year women’s enthusiasm for the yatra was great, unlike in previous years. They also served the devotees in the temple and during the bhoj. Moreover, the entire yatra was a pious ceremony for the followers as well as for the passersby. Jeenvani, holy book of Jains, was also carried in the shobha yatra. The remarkable part of the procession were chariots, tableau and horse riders. Chander Kumar Jain, Rajender Jain, Anil Jain, Rajeev Jain, Vinod Jain, Ashok Jain, Bina Jain, Rajni Jain and other members of the Jain Mandir Samiti were part of the procession.
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Hanuman Jayanti celebrations begin
Dehradun, March 28 Ajay Goel, general secretary of the samiti, said, “The particular procession was taken out to celebrate the festivity of Hanuman’s birth in advance. Like every year, this year also more than 400 devotees from the entire state have gathered on this occasion”. The ceremony was a conglomeration of tableaus, chanting of bhajans and reciting of kirtans. The procession culminated with the lighting of the lamp at the temple and on March 30 a grand festival will be celebrated in Jhajra. Moreover, the Vyapar Mandal had contributed to the celebration of the rath yatra and Hanuman Jayanti. Artistes from Ayodhya have come to participate in the pious occasion.
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Uttarakhand-UP Real Host Cup Cricket Tourney Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 28 According to the final positions, Pratap Section stood first, the second position was bagged by Shivaji Section, the third by Ranjit Section and the fourth by Chandragupta Section. In the individual titles Best Bowler was went to cadets Martand Dev and Akash Kumar and the Best Fielder went to cadet Karan Raj Sohi. In the finals, Pratap (Juniors) defeated Shivaji (Juniors). Cadet Mayank Dhama played a dashing innings with the bat, whereas Cadet Akash enthralled everyone with his performance with both bat and ball. Pratap Section batting first constructed a formidable score of 110 runs in 15 overs, which the Shivaji Section was unable to achieve and lost the match. A match between the members of faculty and winners of the seniors’ category was played in which the faculty emerged victorious by one run. Col H Dharmarajan, SM, Commandant, RIMC, hailed the performance of the cadets and encouraged them to continue excelling in the sport.
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RIMC
Inter-Section Cricket Competition Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 28 According to the final positions Pratap Section stood first, 2nd position was bagged by Shivaji Section, 3rd spot was won by Ranjit Section and Chandragupta Section got the 4th place. In the individual titles Best Bowler was went to cadets Martand Dev and Akash Kumar, Best Fielder went to cadet Karan Raj Sohi. In the finals, Pratap (Juniors) defeated Shivaji (Juniors). Cadet Mayank Dhama played a dashing innings with the bat, whereas Cadet Akash enthralled everyone with his performance with both bat and ball. Pratap Section batting first constructed a formidable score of 110 runs in 15 overs, which the Shivaji Section was unable to achieve and lost the match. A match between the members of faculty and winners of the seniors’ category was played in which the faculty emerged victorious by one run. Col H Dharmarajan, SM, Commandant, RIMC, hailed the performance of the cadets and encouraged them to continue excelling in the sport.
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JJ team defeat DCC
Dehradun, March 28 The JJ, Chandigarh, scored 263 runs at a loss of eight wickets in the allotted 40 overs. Harpreet Singh with scintillating 105 runs in 110 balls was the highlight of the match. He was the mainstay of his side and hit 14 fours and a six to complete his century. Charanjeet Singh also scored a valuable knock of 53 runs in just 43 balls. For the DCC, Raviner Rawat scalped four wickets, Shekher Bahuguna took two, while Akshay and Sagar Bohra chipped in with one wicket each. Replying, DCC’s batsmen couldn’t do much and the team was bowled all out for 214 runs. Ashish Panwar (41), Akshay (36) and Sagar Bohra (33) could score some respectable numbers for their side. Rahul Rana was the pick of the bowlers for Chandigarh claiming five runs. Sanjeev Kumar and Varinder Singh took four and one wicket, respectively in the match.
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3 students drowned in Nayar river
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 28 According to police officials, three friends, namely Kamaldeep Singh, a class XI student, Ashish Rautela, BCom student, and Yatiti, a BSc first-year student, had gone to the river to enjoy. As one of them started drowning, the other two tried to rescue him, but were swept away by the strong current of water. All three were declared brought dead by the doctors. The Chief Minister has condoled the death of the three students and asked the district authorities to enquire into the accident.
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Maple Bear celebrates graduation day
Dehradun, March 28 Mann awarded the graduation certificate to the students and also congratulated them for their strenuous academic session. His wife was also graced the occasion. Parents of the students, Principal of the school and teachers were present at the function.
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YWCA students get certificates
Dehradun, March 28 Rani Mehra, former chairperson of the YWCA, was the chief guest at the function. She said the YWCA had been running these courses for the past 15 years for girls who belonged to lower-middle class group. “The purpose of running these courses is to empower women both socially and economically,” she said. Anis-ur-Rehman, project development officer, gave a brief introduction of the course. Instructors Neelima Duggal, Vibha Sharma and Manju Sati were also present on the occasion.
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Flower Dale School celebrates annual day
Dehradun, March 28 Children performed many cultural programmes starting with Saraswati Vandana, rhymes by the tiny tots, western and folk dances. Students conveying the message of sharing also staged an English play. Vatsala Kharola delivered a speech on the occasion encouraging students and their hard work. Dighe, former Director, Campus of Open Learning University of Delhi, appreciated the students and awarded the winners too.
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Dehradun, March 28
To celebrate the forthcoming occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on March 30, the Kamlesh Mahadev Mandir Samiti held a shobha yatra from Mahadev Mandir Kanwali Road to Shri Hanuman
Mandir, Jhajra, here today. A large number of devotees participated in the procession and presented tableaus to mark the significance of the pious occasion of Hanuman’s birth.
Dehradun, March 28
Flower Dale School celebrated its annual day on the campus in Garhi Cantt here today. Dr Anita Dighe was the chief guest, who also inaugurated the function.
Children performed many cultural programmes starting with Saraswati Vandana, rhymes by the tiny tots, western and folk dances. Students conveying the message of sharing also staged an English play.
