Dehradun, April 8
They had a vision and in their heydays, they were at the forefront of social and environment movements in Uttarakhand. Now old and greying, these crusaders once again gathered to press upon the government to come up with a separate policy on the Himalayas.

The two-day gathering of social and environment activists began today at the initiative of Padma Vibhushan Sunderlal Bahuguna at Shuklapur near here.

Today, they discussed various aspects of agriculture in Uttarakhand. Urging the government to allow the people of Uttarakhand the right to live that could only be possible if they have access to water.

“While governments in Dehradun draw up plans to harness our major rivers and even agree to supply water to other states, ironically, the place from where the river originates does not have a drop to drink. Twenty villages in Tehri have no water,” said Bahuguna.

Under the leadership of Vinoba Bhave and his Sarvodaya Movement, Man Singh had started a similar movement in Uttarakhand among landless Bauxa tribals. He also spearheaded the anti-liquor movement in the hills, but at 83 and despondency writ large on his face he remarked, “We have failed to achieve ‘gram swarajya’ as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi.

“Villages were to function as holistic units, but what we have done is concentrated development in certain areas completely ignoring the villages. Things have come to such a pass that massive migration is taking place and villages are slowly becoming people-less.”

Ganesh Singh ‘Garib’ from Pauri started the Chakbandi Andolan (land consolidation movement) in hill areas in 1975 that were then part of Uttar Pradesh to put pressure on the government to start a similar exercise in other parts too.

“In 1989, Uttar Pradesh established land consolidation offices in Almora and Pauri indicating that the exercise will be started, but it was all in vain. Under pressure from politicians, the offices were wound up in 1996,” he said.

To this day, land consolidation has not taken place in Uttarakhand despite pressure built by the people through jan sunwais (public hearings). “The government has not brought the Land Consolidation Act. In fact, it could have acted as a deterrent against migration,” said Ganesh Singh.

A committee was also constituted by former Chief Minister BC Khanduri to look into the matter, but till date, no meeting has been held.

“If we have to match Himachal Pradesh in the agri-horticulture sector, small land holdings will not do. Agriculture should be able to sustain livelihoods. Unless chakbandi is undertaken, farmers will continue to move out,” said Ganesh Singh.

Vijay Jardhari, who started the Beej Bachao Andolan to revive the traditional cropping pattern in 20 villages in Uttarakhand, said that the policies of the government have always been anti-farmer.

“In Uttarakhand, an agriculture policy that takes into account the traditional method of cropping is the need of the hour, but unfortunately it is not being pursued by the government. Thankfully due to small efforts, villagers are once again sowing traditional crops.

“When we started growing bara anaj (mix-cropping system) in Hemwal valley (Tehri), people did not have faith in our efforts, but now most of them are adopting this traditional methodology that is soil friendly,” said Jardhari.

Agriculture in Henwal valley is totally rain-fed and farmers have persevered with the traditional form of agriculture using only organic manure and even preserving seeds as per traditional methods.

The maximum area is under rice production while the dry land is used for growing traditional crops like finger millets, bara anaj etc. Much of the produce also goes towards providing fodder for the cattle.

Haridwar, April 8
The Kumbh city was lured by the singing duo of Piyush-Kailash, who with their bhajans made the environment at the cultural hall more religious.

Recipients of MPhil degree, both Piyush and Kailash also have degree in psychology from Delhi University. Their debut album was “Raat Shyam sapne mey aye”, which was a huge hit among the listeners.

On the ongoing Maha Kumbh, the duo has conceived a special bhajan titled “Shiv Ka Damroo” and another album “Shiv Vandana”.

The first performance was “Chahe saarhe teerath kar lo” followed by “Shyam ke darshan pana ho to Hari naam bolo”, “Ram tujhe aisey na vaisey milenge”, “Devi teri mahima aprampaar”, etc., which dipped the whole atmosphere into religious fervour.

They captivated the audience with a fusion-bhajan in a form of ghazal. The whole auditorium applauded the fusion song “Yeh arz sawre sarkar hum tumhe sunatey hai”, which was an innovation of the two.

In the past few years they have churned out about two dozen albums of bhajans based on Lord Krishna, Lord Hanuman, Maa Bhagwati, the Ganga and other religious ones.

Apart from their stage performance, they also regularly sing at social and charity programmes. Be it the Kargil War, drought, flood, relief fund or tsunami, the duo have been performing at relief programmes generating funds.

Awardees of Bhajan Ratna and Bhajan Mani by Bharat Vikas Parishad Institution, they are also regularly featured in Doordarshan’s morning show titled “Subah-Savere Amrit Vaani”.

Accompanying the duo bhajan singers on musical instruments were Adhir Das, Rajesh, Omhi Chetan and Pankaj.

Nainital, April 8
Pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra this year will be treated to a range of South Indian and Kumaoni dishes while they are guests of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) for a major part of the yatra.

Talking to The Tribune, General Manager of the KMVN Ashok Joshi said: “We had introduced a couple of South Indian dishes for the pilgrims at the camp in Gunji last year which were liked by them. Hence, we have decided to extend these varieties to all camps this year. In addition to this, we have decided to introduce our guests to Kumaoni food, three or four varieties of which will be made available to them during the yatra”.

The KMVN is ready to conduct the yatra for this year and preparations have been made on all fronts to provide maximum comfort to the yatris undertaking the religious exercise which is among the toughest pilgrimages in the world.

The six camps en route to Mansarovar on the Indian side have been made up to the mark. Two additional rooms, which can be used as dormitories, have been added to all camping sites to provide more comfort to the travellers. “This will ensure that no bedding is put on the floor even in case of a heavy rush,” said Joshi.

This year the KMVN plans to transport the yatris through the Tempo Travellers fitted with air-conditioners along with two luxury buses which the nigam is in the process of purchasing. Last year the pilgrims had been transported in SUVs, much to the liking of the travellers but there had been some inconvenience in terms of certain vehicles reaching destinations ahead of others thus breaking the continuity.

The nigam has also decided to address the problem pertaining to safety and timely transportation of luggage of yatris when they move on foot beyond Dharchula. Earlier, it was often reported that while the yatris reached the camp, the ponies carrying their luggage reached late, thus causing them inconvenience, Joshi added.

This year a person will be deputed by the nigam to move along the ponies and ensure that the luggage reaches its owners safely and well in time.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) conducts this 28-day yatra through the KMVN. This year the yatris will be paying Rs 24,500 for covering the Indian part of the yatra. The Chinese authorities have given permission to 16 groups of pilgrims comprising 960 yatris to undertake the yatra every year.

A large number of yatris still prefer to do the yatra from the Indian side as it is mentioned in the Indian religious texts.

This year the authorities have also made an alternative site at Pangla ready in case the yatra gets disrupted on the Chjaitalkot stretch, which is prone to landslides.

Dehradun, April 8
To welcome a delegation of 11 students and five teachers from Finland, Nanhi Duniya, a school for hearing and speech impaired, presented a colourful cultural programme here today.

The celebration was conducted to put forth the cultural heritage of the country as well as of the school that has been running since 1946.

The gala celebrations began in the morning with the welcoming of the delegates. Recitation of songs and poems by students followed which later saw participation by the delegates.

A lamp was lit and guests were welcomed by applying ‘tilak’. Kiran Ulfat Goyal, chief promoter of Nanhi Duniya, highlighted the activities of the children.

The highlight of the day was a “bal sabha” in which a series of activities were showcased by the children.

From colourful dances, melodious songs to captivating skits, students got an opportunity to show their talent.

A small presentation was made by the volunteers of Nanhi Duniya, describing the achievements of the school.Kiran Ulfat Goyal emphasised on team work for the expansion of the school’s activities.

The function concluded with the chief promoter thanking the trustees, volunteers, and co-workers for the successful conduct of the event.

Dehradun, April 8
Trekking is often referred to multi-day hiking trips through rugged rural areas. In Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) here hiking too has always been very popular among cadets and occupies a special place in the curriculum.

Nagtibba is the highest peak in the Mussoorie range of hills. The Nag temple is also nestled in its lap and is considered sacrosanct among the local population.

Thirty cadets of Class XI set off for a hike to the peak on the morning of March 28. The first phase of the trek began from Tathyur from where the cadets trekked 10 km uphill along with their bag-packs to reach Manglori village. It is also worth noting that Manglori is one of the villages adopted by the RIMC.

After setting up their camp in the village, the cadets prepared themselves for the second and the final phase of the trek, which was to summit Mt Nagtibba.

The next morning, the trek began early morning, and after trekking continuously for 20 km the cadets reached the Nag temple with parched throats and sore feet. This was the time when the cadets were left in a quandary whether to scale the peak with insufficient water or call it quits and head back. The cadets took a stern decision and decided to assault the summit.

After a steep climb of another rugged 4 km, the cadets finally reached the peak and were overwhelmed about their achievement. The cadets also picked up the polythene wrappers during their trek, thus promoting environmental cause. The coordinator of the programme was PK Sharma.

Dehradun, April 8
Uttarakhand Police stormed into the final blanking DFA Nainital 2-0 in the first semifinal of the second BS Negi Memorial Football Tournament at the Dr BR Ambedkar Stadium here today.

The mighty police team, which won almost all its matches during the tournament easily, didn’t face much resistance from the DFA side.

Dominating the first half completely, the cops delivered two jolts to their rivals.

Deepak Kandari struck the first one in the 14th minute. His teammate Veer Singh netted the second goal in the 35th minute.

Both teams couldn’t score in the second half and the police team walked away with the win.

With this victory, the cops registered a berth in the final that will be played on Saturday.

The second semifinal will be played tomorrow.

Dehradun, April 8
The South Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship for boys and girls will be held on June 5 and 6 at the indoor stadium at the Maharana Pratap Sports College, Raipur. The championship is being organised by the Uttarkhand State Table Tennis Association.

Players from seven countries are expected to participate in the tournament. Eighty to 100 players from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India will take part in the competition.

The championship will be held in two categories: under-15 and under-18 in the team as well as in individual events. The top two teams from the championship will qualify for the Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship to be held in Bangkok this year.

The association has booked hotels in the city for the lodging of the teams and officials.

The association has also zeroed in on three alternatives for the venue, one of which will be finalised on April 14 during the visit of Dhanraj Choudhary, secretary general of the Table Tennis Federation of India.

Dehradun, April 8
The OFD registered an emphatic two-wicket victory over FRI here today in a league match of the ongoing Central Government Employees’ Welfare Coordination Committee Cricket Tournament underway at the Survey’s cricket stadium.

The FRI won the toss and decided to bat first. The team could not set a big target and in the allotted 25 overs scored 114 runs for nine wickets. CP Maithani (19) and Sakhil (19) were the main scorers for the side.

Himanshu was the pick of bowlers for the OFD. He was instrumental in taking five wickets giving away just 17 runs. Chirag and Sandeep took two wickets each while Vipin got one.

In reply, the OFD achieved the target of 115 in 17.4 overs at the loss of eight wickets. Vipin (29) and Himanshu Pandey (24) were the principal scorers in achieving the target.

Narendra captured four wickets of the OFD. Manoj took two wickets while CP Maithani and Sakhil, who were top scorers for the FRI, also chipped in with one wicket each.