Dehradun, April 18
For Uttarakhand to emerge a leading milk producer in the country an intensive genetic improvement programme should be launched through inter-mingling of genetic stocks.

The state’s contribution in dairy farming is confined to a few districts of in plain areas. To make it widespread by involving hill districts, selection of cow breed through genetic improvement is important. “Unfortunately, hill people rear only ‘desi’ cows that give less milk yield and are suitable for domestic purpose only. For boosting milk production activities, emphasis has to be on yield and our desi breeds can hardly achieve it,” said Dr SK Bhadula, an expert of dairy farming and top scientist of the country who has been Joint Director (Research) of GB Pant Agriculture University.

He said scientific studies on the right kind of cow breed that was high on adaptability according to different climatic zones was required so that it could be introduced here.

He was speaking today at a seminar on “Dairy Development Uttarakhand: Emerging Opportunities” organised by the Indian Dairy Association (North Zone).

Cautioning against the habit of randomly picking cow breeds that are internationally recommended, Dr Bhadula said the failure of Jersey cow was before us. “In the ’60s, the Jersey Cow Project was started. Some farmers were involved, but the experiment did not yield desired results,” Dr Bhadula emphasised.

He said in Uttarakhand, large-scale dairy activities were restricted to only districts of Nainital, Haridwar, Rudrapur and Dehradun. “We need to bridge that gap, besides setting up chilling plants and marketing facilities. Unless these two issues are addressed, the dairy farming activities are bound to be slow,” he said.

International dairy expert and breeder AS Bindra said in 1978 he had carried a study that proved that the Jersey cow was not suitable for Uttarakhand. “At that time, I had suggested introduction of a French breed that was both hardy and could cover large distances. But, at that time the Jersey cow lobby was so powerful that it prevailed,” said Bindra, who had come all the way from Chandigarh to participate in the programme.

Besides the five-star hotel project that Bindra is building in Uttarakhand, the next project he is planning is that of setting up a veterinary hospital and a research centre that will take up studies on cow urine.

Chairman (North Zone), Indian Dairy Association, MPS Chadha said today that precious little was being done for the dairy and animal husbandry sector in the country though it was part of the Agriculture Ministry.

Speaking at the inaugural session of one-day seminar on dairy development in Uttarakhand, Chadha said the agriculture sector continued to get the major chunk of financial allocations while the dairy and animal husbandry sectors, though being part of agriculture, found their share considerably reduced.

“Year after year allocations for this sector in both annual budget and the Five-Year Plan is reducing and none of the farmers has raised voice. The state governments, too, are tempted to do the same which is not in our interest,” he said.

Saying that those engaged in food production manage to have their say as they are united, he added “we need to raise our voices and demand concessions that are beneficial for our sector.”

He lauded the Uttarakhand milk cooperatives for increasing the milk yield that now stood at 1.5 lakh liter per day.

Chairing the session, Agriculture Minister Trivender Singh Rawat said the milk producers in Uttarakhand should form associations for accruement of mutual benefits.

He also said the interest in dairy activities needed to be revived in Uttarakhand. “We have launched a dairy scheme in which 600 persons have shown interest. Besides, we also plan to set up fodder banks in each development block. So far 47 have been constructed and seven are under construction,” the minister said.

Rural Development Minister Vijay Barthwal bemoaned the lack of dairy activities in hill districts.

On the other hand, Mohan Singh Bisht, Chairman, Uttarakhand Cooperative and Dairy Federation (UCDF), Haldwani, said to stop migration it was important to encourage dairy and animal husbandry activities in the state.

Bhuvan Dabral, Chairman, District Cooperative, Dehradun, stressed on the need to install a milk-testing unit to curb the supply of adulterated milk in the state.

A student who died when a tree fell on her while she was participating in the ‘Run to Live’ marathon on the Rajpur Road;

Dehradun, April 18
Tragedy struck a group of schoolchildren and a parent who were taking part in the marathon race “Run to Live” this morning.A 15-year-old girl died, while five others, including a parent, got injured when a portion of a tree fell on them here on the Rajpur Road. All injured persons have been admitted to the Doon Hospital.

Shruti (15), a student of Children’s Academy, died on the spot and her body was sent for the post-mortem examination.

The four students who were injured are Simran (16), Vandana (15), both students of Children’s Academy, Aman Saini (13), a student of Scholar’s Home, and Akriti (9), student of Seven Oaks, Garhi Cantt.

Akriti’s father RS Pal (36) also got injured. He was running with his daughter as she was quite young.

Policemen try to clear the portion of a tree that fell on six runners

The current power crisis facing Uttarakhand threatens to snowball into a major political embarrassment for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) state government.

While on the one hand, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has been claiming credit for the successful completion of the Maha Kumbh at Haridwar, on the other hand, the dismal power situation could prove politically costly for the ruling BJP as the next Assembly elections, scheduled to be held in February 2012, draw near.

The early advent and severity of the summer heat coupled with paucity of winter rain has added to the problem of scarcity of drinking water and flow in the rivers.

Power generation from the present hydroelectric projects has been low due to lack of water in the rivers.

It is tragic that in a state which is known as the ‘water tower’ of the country, having three big rivers namely Ganga, Yamuna and Sharda and hundreds of small rivulets, people are facing acute shortage of drinking water and power.

The inability of the respective state governments to come up with a well thought out comprehensive policy to tap the hydel potential taking into consideration the ecological, socio-economic needs, hopes and aspirations of the local people has landed the state in a mess.

After the formation of the state 
on November 9, 2000, the state was billed as ‘urja pradesh’ (power state) having the capacity to churn out 20,000 MW of power from its hydroelectric sources.

With much fanfare, the state embarked upon an ambitious industrial policy. Taking advantage of the tax holiday incentive given by the Central government, Uttarakhand invited industries to set up plants in Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar districts, the Terai areas.

A large number of big names and multinational companies attracted by the incentives and cheap power came to Uttarakhand. Interestingly, there was no plan to foresee the future energy requirements of the industry.

The first elected Congress government gave permits to power-intensive furnace units to set up their units in the state as a host of such units from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana shifted base en masse.

Moreover, unprecedented urban growth also added to the power requirements. From 9 million units daily requirement in 2000, the power requirement has shot up to 27 million units per day in the state.

At the time of formation of the 
state, Uttarakhand had the potential to generate more than 1,200 MW of power, but the actual generation 
was much less.

During the past nine years, the state government could only complete its Maneri Bhali phase-II project with a capacity of generating 304 MW. When the 1,000 MW Tehri hydro-electric project and 180 MW Dhauli Ganga project in the public sector and 400 MW Vishnuprayag project in the private sector were completed, the state could get its share of 12 per cent only from these projects.

The opposition of big hydro projects by environmentalists and Hindu rightists led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has led to the stalling of the 600 MW Lohari Nagpala project built by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and two state government projects namely Pala Maneri and Bhairon Ghati.

The state government has decided to take over the Lakhwar Vyasi project on Tons river, a tributary of the Yamuna from the National Hydroelectric Project Corporation (NHPC) but there is no hope that it would be completed in the near future due to paucity of funds at the disposal of state government.

With the current power situation, people facing long scheduled and unscheduled power cuts are up in arms and agitating in various cities and towns of the state.

The Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) that has been unable to fulfil the requirement has asked the State Power Regulatory Commission for more power cuts ranging from three hours in urban areas to 13 hours in rural areas.

The state government has no 
answer to the acute shortage amid burgeoning power demands in peak summer months.

Hoardings highlight cracks in BJP

The controversy regarding the removal of alleged unauthorised hoardings by Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli has brought the bitter intra-party rivalry of the city’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on to the streets of the capital.

Mayor Vinod Chamoli started a campaign against the alleged illegal hoardings put up at every crossing and private buildings facing major roads by advertising agencies and even individuals.

Citing rules and regulations and the power vested in him, Mayor Vinod Chamoli went about removing hoardings - most of them that were eyesores at busy crossings.

But his move annoyed his own senior party colleagues.

The state government intervened immediately and told the Mayor 
that any change in the hoarding policy has to be with the consent of the state government.

It was learnt that two senior party leaders of Dehradun city have stakes in advertising agencies and are bitter political rivals of Chamoli. Moreover, Chamoli is considered a die-hard follower of former Chief Minister BC Khanduri and has been stopped in his tracks by the Nishank government.

Dehraudn, April 18
It was spellbinding to see a group of physical challenged children giving a stupendous dance performance on the premises of Welham Boys’ School. Full of talent and right aptitude, the children, bedecked with masks and heavy dance costumes, presented a ballet with precision. This was followed by another dance performance involving sword fighting by two kids sitting on their wheel chair. Many more amazing performances were given by these endowed artistes.

This synchronisation of physical movements with suitable facial expressions and body movements came after a rigorous training imparted by the Ability Unlimited Foundation, India’s first professional dance theatre for the people with disabilities. Guru Syed Sallauddin Pasha is the driving force in discovering the potential, talent and abilities among the disabled children and is a recipient of the national award from the President of India for his outstanding efforts to empower persons with disabilities. He is also a world record holder of Limca Book of World Records for creating 100 dance theatre productions and 1,000 performances by the disabled across the globe.

He said: “These artistes have performed at House of Commons in London, Canada and the US where they have been praised for their indomitable spirit. I believe that these dance performances give messages of equality, dignity and equal opportunities about disabled persons in society”.

He summed up saying that what they need is the opportunity and not the mercy.

Dehradun, April 18
To reach every needy child in providing sound education, the Ascension of the Needful Through Kittenish and Integrated Training, the Ankit Welfare Society took out a rally from the Gandhi Park here today. In the rally, the welfare society appreciated the initiative taken by the Central government by implementing the Right to Education Act and requested the government as well as non-government schools to provide 25 per cent reservation to children from weaker sections of the society.

The rally was taken out by students of different schools in support of the Right to Education Act that got implemented from April 1 this year. The welfare society aims at working for rag pickers, poor, helpless, disabled and homeless children. Ankit also works on various vulnerable issues such as abuse, harassment, drug addiction, sports, education, health, vocational training for women and girls’ sanitisation programmes, etc.

The chief guest of the event was Additional District Education Officer (basic) Geeta Nautiyal who inaugurated the rally.

Spokesperson of the welfare society Anu Duseja, Rajkumar Jaiswal, Naseem, Rita, Ashish, Ankit and other volunteers were also present at the rally.

Dehradun, April 18
On the occasion of the Founders Day, the Beehive College of Advance Studies celebrated its eighth annual function here today. The celebration was entirely a fun-filled occasion. The three-day function consisted of sports activities, painting, debate and rangoli competition. The students of the institute presented wonderful cultural performances.

Amit Kapoor, Chairman of the Beehive Group, inaugurated the function by lighting the lamp. He appreciated the diligent participants as well as non-participants who gave performance with competence. He also encouraged the spirit of the students while boosting up their morale presenting their mettle on the occasion.

Vishal Garg, Dr Aftab Ahmad, Dr Vasudha Verma, Archana Sharma, Atul Kulshreshtha, Ankit Nanda, Varsha Gupta, Naveen Kathet, Gunjan Srivastava and others were present at the function.

Dehradun, April 18
St Georges defeated Aryan School 26-19 in the boys’ section on the inaugural day of the District Junior (U-18 ) Basketball Championship (Boys and Girls) held at Doon International here today.Hilton School beat Doon School 22-16 in another match. Arpit scored 11 baskets for the wining team and Rohan scored 16 points. Scholars’ Home edged past Seven Oaks 17-15 with Bharat contributing eight points.

Scholars’ Home also registered a win over Col Brown 23-19. Lobzung of the winning team emerged as the top scorer with nine points.

DIS thrashed SJA 18-3. DIS had a combined contribution from its players and gave no chance to rival teams to score. Pervez was the top scorer with six points in the win.

Dehradun, April 18
Grapplers from Delhi, Uttarakhand, UP and other states participated in a wrestling competition organised by Guru Ram Rai Akhara and the Akhara Siyanran Samiti on the Parade Ground here today.

Swati of Delhi defeated Deepa Singh of Faridabad in a tough encounter. While Nadin of Saharanpur played a draw with Anup in an eight-minute match, Bhoora of UP also played a draw with Tipu Khan.

Coach Pawan Kumar, who had set a prize of Rs 1,100 along with a winning shield, said the competition had been a successful event and in future too they would organise such championships.

Pitthoragarh, April 18
The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) is training youths of the Kumaon region to navigate on rafts the high rapids of the Kali river. The nigam’s adventure wing is focusing on training youths from rural areas to face challenges thrown up by the river during calamities.

The wing of KMVN has trained nearly 48 youths from Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital. “The first batch of 24 youths from Udham Singh Nagar, working as PRD jawans, was trained in March and the second batch of the same number of youths from Nainital district was trained in April,” said Dinesh Gururani, KMVN manager and in charge of the training.

The youths are first taught swimming. Then they are trained in handling the raft and cliff jumping. Training of water rescue operations is also imparted.

“Our three trainers have a large amount of experience of operating rafts in the Ganga in Rishikesh as rafting guides,” said Gururani.

“We had started training the youths on Saryu river, but later shifted to the Kali to enable the trainees to face the maximum challenge of rafting in Uttarakhand as the velocity of the Kali is maximum among the rivers of the state,” Said Gururani.

“We are training on a 14-km stretch on the Kali and 25-km stretch on the Saryu,” said Gururani. He added that the Army had contacted KMVN rafting experts to train their personnel. From next month, 10 Army jawans and officers will also get river rafting training on the Kali.

Players vie for the ball during a match of the RB Singh Memorial Football Tournament in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, April 18
Sunderwala blanked Bajrang Club 2-0 on the inaugural day of the 4th RB Singh Memorial Football Tournament being organised by the Uttarakhand Football Club on Pavilion Ground here today.Both teams played a goalless first half despite several attempts to score a goal.

In the second half, Sunderwala team sprung into action and scored two goals. Anil Rawat of the winning side first struck in the 43rd minute of the game. Shubhamjit netted the second goal in the 59th minute for Sunderwala.

The rival team could not equalise and lost the match.

As many as 16 teams are participating in this tournament being played on a knock-out basis.