Dehradun, April 16
Most water sources have run dry in Uttarakhand and tankers are being pressed into service to augment water supply in crisis-ridden rural and urban areas falling in Dehradun, Pauri, Rudrapur, Tehri, Haldwani, Nainital (Ramnagar) and Pitthoragarh districts.

The worst-hit areas are in the hills where a large percentage of natural water sources has dried. There is simply no water in these places and even the water table of a majority of water schemes has gone down.

In all 22 mohallas in rural areas of Dehradun, which include Mohebawalla, Dharawali, Bhuttuwali, Divya Vihar, Shastri Nagar Lane No. 6, Aman Vihar, Banjarwala, Ganesh Vihar Lane No. 2, Upper Rajiv Nagar, Badripur and Shalini Enclave, tankers are quenching the thirst of residents.

The urban areas in Dehradun that are facing water crisis are Niranjanpur, Machi Talab, Mohit Nagar, Vasant Vihar and Vijay Colony.

In Dehradun, 75 areas have been marked as possible water scarcity ridden. Out of these, 41 fall in urban areas and 34 in rural areas.

All urban areas fall under Pithuwala water supply zone in addition to the 17 rural areas that too are supplied water through this scheme.

The rising gap in demand and supply is also proving to be problematic for Jal Sansthan authorities. This is despite the fact that in the past five years, water supply has been increased by 40 million litres per day (mld). Dehradun city has a demand of around 275mld in the summer months.

“The total requirement of water in the city is 194 mld, but in the summer, it jumps to 250-300 mld.

“Due to the ongoing Kumbh Mela, a small percentage of the floating population, comprising tourists, have been flocking the city. Hence, the demand registers an increase.

“There are 1 lakh domestic and 500 commercial connections and the gap between demand and supply is 80 mld.

“According to United Nations norms, the government has to supply 155 mld in urban areas,” said DD Dimri, Chief General Manager, Jal Sansthan.

Jal Sansthan authorities have at their disposal 22 tankers, four tractor-borne water carriers, 11 private tractors and 10 tankers from the Forest Department for tackling the water problem in Dehradun while 63 tankers are for hilly areas.

The Jal Sansthan has at its disposal 22 tankers, four tractor-borne water carriers, 11 private tractors and 10 tankers from the Forest Department in Dehradun and 63 tankers for hilly areas

Under the JNNURM, tubewells at Raj Nagar, Pathri Bagh, Motherawala, Defence Colony, Ajabpur, Kedarpuram, Sahastradhara-2, Patel Nagar-1, Jhanda Mohalla, Curzon Road, Adhoiwala have been dug

Dehradun, April 16
Taking note of the water and power crises in the state, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today asked officials concerned to immediately normalise the water and power supply in the state. He also asked the Centre to provide 150 MW electricity in view of the Char Dham yatra about to commence in the state.

While chairing a high level meeting today, Dr Nishank asked the officials to come with plans to immediately address the problem while also initiating long-term planning so that consumers of domestic connections do not suffer. He said to increase the power supply in the state, the Central government is being urged to provide 150 MW.

Nainital, April 16
With mercury rising by the day, the woes of Kumaon on the power and water front continue to keep pace with it. The region is reeling under severe water and power crises.

Things have come to such a pass that people have taken to the streets in various towns of the region demanding restoration of proper supply.

They have been demanding that there should be no power cuts apart from the scheduled ones.

Despite reported assurances coming from the office of Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, there has been no respite to the people on these two fronts.

Instead, towns like Haldwani, Rudrapur and Ramnagar are witnessing agitations on a daily basis where effigies of the government and the Electricity Department are being burnt by the people to register their anguish.

In Haldwani, the power cuts are running into several hours. On Thursday evening and Friday morning, several parts of Nainital went without power.

Officials have been claiming that supply has been restricted from the national grid and several local-level faults are responsible for power supply disruptions at various levels.

With power supply being erratic, there has been a direct impact on water supply in the region. Officials said that without power, tubewells cannot function and even otherwise, the water supply pressure cannot be maintained. In several parts, people are dependent on water supply by tankers.

In parts of Ramnagar, water is being supplied through tankers coming from the neighbouring district of Udham Singh Nagar.

The biggest town in the region Haldwani is the worst affected by both water and power crises. Yesterday, an agitated group of protesters under the banner of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal warned that they would resort to the locking up of various offices of the Electricity Department if the power supply was not streamlined in the area.

The protesters are also questioning a relatively uninterrupted supply of water and power to the residences of the high-ups in the administration and the government.

Pitthoragarh, April 16
Uttarakhand is facing an acute shortage of drinking water because of the drying up of traditional sources which still fetch 17 per cent drinking water to its people out of total need of the state, claimed Prakash Pant, Uttarakhand Drinking Water Minister.

“A total of 132 drinking water schemes in the state have witnessed drying up to 90 per cent in their natural sources, while 386 drinking water schemes have witnessed 75 to 90 per cent shortage while there are 1,075 drinking water schemes in the states which have witnessed 52 to 75 per cent shortage of water in their natural source,” said Pant.

According to the drinking water ministry sources, 177 habitations in cities and 606 habitations in rural areas have been declared as areas where drinking water is not matching the needs of the people. “Even the hand pumps we have installed in the state are gradually drying up. Out of a total 23,850 hand pumps installed in the state during last five years, 3,306 have been declared as dry,” said Pant.

Haridwar, April 16
Hundreds of deities from across the state were taken for a Kumbh snan in the Ganga at Brahmkund, Har-ki-Pauri today.

1) Devotees carry deities from Kumaon and Garhwal regions for a holy dip to Har-ki-Pauri; 2 & 3) The deities being immersed in the Ganga; 4) The heavy rush at Har-ki-Pauri in Haridwar on Friday. Tribune photos: Rameshwar Gaur

This unique spectacle was witnessed at the Har-ki-Pauri when one by one, as per tradition, hill people brought the palanquins, holy signs and flags in a procession. The event added to religious significance of the mega fair in the Kumbh city. The date for the bath of these gods and goddesses had been fixed earlier.

Thousands of devotees accompanied their deities from Garhwal and Kumaon divisions.

This is probably the first time during Kumbh that deities from all over the state were brought for a bath in the Ganga.

Deities from Pauri, Srinagar, Devprayag, Tehri, Mussoorie, Kotdwar, Satpuli, Uttarkashi, Badkot, Almora, Nainital, Ranikhet, Pitthoragarh, Bageshwar and other districts were brought to the Kumbh city today. Palanquins of Shri Badrinath, Nanda Dev, Naina Devi and Dhari Devi also took a holy dip.

The procession was lead by Lord Badrinath’s palanquin. The procession started from the renowned Daksh Mahadev Temple situated in Kankhal. From the city’s interior roads, it reached the highway and then went on to Brahmkund, Har-ki-Pauri for a divine dip.

Chants by devotees filled the atmosphere at the Ganga ghats. People from various parts of the state accompanied the procession.

“The procession and the palanquins made me think of our hill culture. Such rituals should be conducted every two to four years,” said Sandeep Sharma, a trader at Har-ki-Pauri.

Pitthoragarh, April 16
The Uttarakhand State Invitation Boxing Competition, organised by the Uttarakhand Boxing Association and Sports Directorate of the state, began here today in the under-junior, sub-junior and youth girls categories at the DS Bisht Ground.

Bishan Singh Chufal, state BJP president, inaugurated the competition. Speaking on the occasion, Chufal said the Uttarakhand government is committed to promoting sports for talented youth in rural areas.

“The competition which will be held till April 19 will see participation by competitors between 12 to 18 years of age having a weight between 20 and 85 kg,” said Dr Dharmandra Bhatt, district sports officer, Pitthoragarh.

The teams from all 13 districts of the state besides the teams of Uttarakhand police, STC Kashipur and Army School, Almora, are also taking part in the competition.

The valedictory function of the competition will be held on April 19 and Prakash Pant, Minister of Drinking Water, will give away the prizes to the winners of the competition.

Dehradun, April 16
Cadets of the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) shooting team have made the college proud by proving their worth in the recently concluded Gen JJ Singh Shooting Championship held at Army Marksmanship Unit (Mhow).

A total of eight teams participated in the competition — Eastern Command, Western Command, Central Command, Northern Command, Southern Command, South Western Command, NDA and RIMC.

In a show of exemplary perfection, cadet Akash Kumar Yadav bagged the silver medal in the men’s air rifle category overcoming strong odds.

Cadets Akash Kumar Yadav and Divyaraj represented the college in air rifle category while cadets Shivam Sharma and Prathamesh in the air pistol category. Cadets Sourabh Singh and K Vikram participated in open trials and put up good scores.

Col H Dharmarajan, SM, Commandant, RIMC, congratulated the cadets for a wonderful performance and was sanguine that the cadets would do even better in the times to come.

Dehradun, April 16
Welham Boys School and Woodstock School registered final berth after winning their respective semifinal matches with an ease during the Afzal Khan Memorial Basketball Tournament underway at Doon School here today. The final will be played tomorrow.

In the first semifinal, hosts Doon School A was shown exit doors by Welham Boys School by beating it 85-52. Ravi was the top scorer for the winning side as he scored 34 points.

Kislay Jha and Rishabh of the same team scored 16 and 14 points, respectively. While for Doon School, Tushar Gupta scored the highest with 16 points.

Except the first quarter, all other quarters were dominated by Welham School. In the first quarter final, Doon School edged past its rival 14-13.

This was retaliated strongly by Welham School as it won next three quarters by 26-17, 26-11, 20-10.

Woodstock School also defeated Lawrence School, Sanawar, 43-23 to join Welham in the final.

Earlier in the morning, Doon School A had beaten Bishop Cotton School, Shimla, 51-19 and Woodstock defeated Pinegrove School 43-32 in quarterfinals. 

Dehradun, April 16
Gardner Inter-School Indoor Cricket Tournament for boys and girls will commence from April 17 at the St Thomas’ College, Dehradun.

This is the fifth year that the tournament is being organised by the college. The tournament has been named from this season as “Gardner Premier League” (GPL).

The idea of playing such cricket was first conceived in 1996 by RV Gardner, former MLA and Principal of the college. He was a keen cricketer himself. This form of cricket is considered as the best method of producing all-rounders.

The tournament was started with seven boys’ teams participating in 1996 and as the popularity of the game “Gardner” Indoor Cricket Tournament grew, the girls’ teams were introduced in 2000. Nine girls and 24 boys’ teams are participating in this competition. The matches will be played on a league-cum-knockout basis from April 17 and the final will be played on May 8. The total number of participants is 330 and in all 66 matches will be played.

Dehradun, April 16
Survey of India (SOI) thrashed Accountant General (AG) by six wickets in the ongoing Centre Government Employee Welfare Coordination Committee (CGEWCC) Cricket Tournament at the Survey Cricket Stadium here today.

AG opted to bat first after winning the toss. NK Subramanium (49) was the mainstay of the batting. His shots reached the fence seven times during his knock. Dharam Singh played a valuable knock of 20 runs.

The team scored 134 for eight in the allotted 25 overs. For SOI, V Malik emerged as the best bowler claiming four wickets. It was he who got the wicket of Subramanium who had become a pain for SOI. Devender Sharma, Vimal and Ashok Rana pocketed a wicket each.

Chasing the target, SOI had a good start as their opener SS Rawat stood like a wall and scored 92 runs to ensure his team’s victory. He smashed 14 fours and three sixes in his innings.

The team scored 137 runs at the loss of four wickets in 14 overs. For AG, all-rounder NK Subramanium, JS Sawant and S Jakhmola got a wicket each.

Dehradun, April 16
Yati Skates is organising the fourth Open State Inter-School Roller Skating Championship on May 1 and 2 at The Rink, Kasiga School, near Purukul, Dehradun.

As many as 250 skaters are expected to take part from all reputed schools of Dehradun, Mussoorie, Haridwar, Rishikesh and other districts of Uttarakhand.

Rink races, road races and artistic show will be organised in different categories for girls and boys. Races will be organised as per rules and regulations of the Roller Skating Federation of India.

Skaters under four years of age will participate the first time at this meet. The main attraction will be the first Uttarakhand State Roller Hockey Cup in which seniors and juniors roller hockey teams will take part from various schools including Kasiga, Asian, Aryan, Summer Valley and Mussoorie School.

Overall and best discipline, all-rounder and best effort trophies will be awarded. International coach Gulab Choudhry will be championship referee.

Kunal S Malla, Patron in Chief of the Roller Skating Association and the Director of Olympus School, and Sandeep, principal of Kasiga School, will inaugurate the event. Director Ramesh Batta will be chief guest for the prize distribution.

Mussoorie, April 16
Sports Authority of India (SAI) coach NK Sharma interacted with and gave cricketing tips to students of Mussoorie Public School today.

Earlier, he, along with the students of the American Cricket Academy, Gujarat, was greeted by students of the Mussoorie Public School in a simple ceremony. The students presented various cultural programmes.

Principal Mukesh Lal welcomed the coach from Gujarat, along with PD Gaikwad and T20 Youth Cricket Association general secretary Javed, and presented mementos to the guests.

Mukesh Lal said that students at the school would surely benefit from the guidance provided by a stalwart who had coached Parthiv Patel and Irfan Pathan.

He added that the presence of coaches like NK Sharma would enhance the cricketing talent in the state.

NK Sharma thanked the school for a warm welcome and advised children that cricket was a game of cool-headed sportspersons. Hence, it should be played without any aggression.

He added that parents should realise that cricket has become a professional sport and should be treated that way.

He was of the view that the cricketer and the coach compliment each other. Emphasising on getting the basics right, NK Sharma said that players under-16 should not be forced to go into the IPL mode. If children play T20, they would never learn the techniques of the game, he said.

He also gave tips to players from the Public School at the school premises.