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Trees on Roadside
‘Green lobby throws spanner in the works’
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Forest Act stands in way of 229 roads in state
U’khand hills likely to have moderate rain
Open varsity signs MoU with Hiltron
Kendriya Vidyalaya celebrates annual day
Over 200 get placements through ICFAI varsity
Grafest 2010 concludes
Students launch tree-plantation drive
Seminar on disability held
Pitthoragarh boxers win team c’ship
St Thomas College, Welham School girls in final clash
Vijay Cantt get better of Sarvodaya Club
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Trees on Roadside
Dehradun, April 20 Many trees on the roadsides are tilted to one side. Incidents of portions of trees falling on unsuspecting commuters have increased in the recent days. The situation becomes worse during storms. In less than a month, such incidents have claimed the lives of three persons and injured many in the city. On Sunday, besides causing the death of Shruti (15), five other persons got injured and they had to be admitted to Doon Hospital. They were taking part in a marathon “Run for Life” when a burnt portion of a tree fell on them. On March 31, a man and a woman died after a portion of tree fell on them when they were going on their two-wheelers near IT Park on Sahastradhara Road. They died on the spot and two others were admitted to a hospital in a serious condition. Several incidents have come to light in which commuters have got injured while travelling on a road with a dried-up portion of a tree crushing them underneath. The only question that remains is to why the Forest Department doesn’t mark and chop off these dried portions. Storms are adding to the problem. Last night, many trees fell on the road. A supervisor manning the removal of the tree from the road, on the condition on anonymity, said that it was negligence on part of Forest Department officials that these incidents were happening. “Regular checks should be made to identify withered portions of trees and these should be chopped off. But we also have a problem of Green Doon Society members who start protesting whenever we initiate our drive,” he said. Referring to Shruti’s incident, he said, “The responsibility also lies with Fire Department personnel as after dousing the fire, they should have informed forest officials to remove the dry portion. But this didn’t happen and the unexpected happened on Sunday.” Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Abhinav Kumar said, “The fire broke out at 4 am and the fire officials did their best. They cannot be held responsible.” He also maintained, “It will be wrong to say that the organisers didn’t have prior permission to organise the race. They had the no-objection certificate from the police.” Meanwhile, taking note of the matter, the Forest Department has decided to mark such trees and chop off the portions which have dried. “We cleared as many as four to five trees that had come down due to previous night’s speedy winds,” Dehradun Forest Division official JS Rawat pointed out.
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‘Green lobby throws spanner in the works’
Dehradun, April 20 After the death of a school student from a tree fall on Sunday, forest officials of Dehradun division today sent a team to take stock of diseased trees within Dehradun city and take prompt action in required cases. The forest personnel also brought down a number of trees that were precariously hanging after the previous night’s storm.
Widening of roads followed by the construction of cemented pavement are the major reasons behind the frequent fall of roadside trees. Cementing of the ground around the trees affects their health and turns these into diseased ones.Plus, there is no serious effort to either treat these trees in the initial stage or fell these dangerous trees on priority.
Dehradun Forest Division authorities, however, claim that they have been identifying dangerous trees in Dehradun from time to time, but these trees are not felled for constant opposition from green protesters. “We carry out surveys to identify dangerous trees, but then, forest authorities are forced to adopt a go-slow approach as green activists have been the stumbling block towards felling of these trees,” Meenakshi Joshi, Dehradun DFO, pointed out. According to Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation that carried out the tree felling exercise, many proposed felling of trees do not see the light of the day due to opposition from the green lobby on one pretext or other. “Any felling of trees in Dehradun is met with strong resistance and often puts forest authorities in unnecessary bother,” Forest Development Corporation officials argued. A need for a proper survey of tree wealth in Dehradun is being felt for quite some time. Such a survey can be done in assistance with experts of the Forest Research Institute. The institute had done such surveys in Delhi and the state forest authorities are still to utilise their services for the same. Interestingly, Uttarakhand Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Dr RBS Rawat had a week earlier called for better coordination between the Uttarakhand Forest Department and Central forestry institutions like the Forest Research Institute.
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Forest Act stands in way of 229 roads in state
Pitthoragarh, April 20 “Even if the government wanted to reach every corner of the state by concrete motor roads, the Forest Act does not permit it,” said an official from the Public Works Department of the state. Remote areas in Pitthoragarh district are waiting forest clearance for 96 motor roads of 350-km length. “At present, 60 per cent of 1,569 villages in the district are linked with motor roads or highways. If all these motor roads get the clearance, this figure will go up to 90 per cent,” said Karan Singh, Superintending Engineer, PWD, Pitthoragarh. In Barakote block of Champawat district, nearly 50 women from remote villages demonstrated in front of the SDM’s office on Sunday. These women were demanding the construction of a 33-km-long Tarigoan-Chaulape motor road which has been pending for the past decade. “If this road gets cleared, nearly 30 villages in the remote areas of Champawat district will be just 5 km away from the motor road. At present, they are 38 km away,” said Shanti Devi, Gram Pradhan of Tarigoan village in Barakote sub-division of Champawat district. “At present, nearly 11,000 villages in the state are connected with motor roads and 5,000 villages are to be connected. During the past three years, nearly 1,000 km motor roads have been constructed and this is a record,” said Prakash Pant, Uttarakhand Planning and Water Resources Minister. In Bageshwar district of the Kumaon region where 43 motor roads had been pending for a year, 20 have been given clearance this year. “Out of these, the motor road from Song to Khatigoan in remote Kapkot block and the 30-km-long Batham-Kapkot motor road in the same block will connect nearly 30 villages in remote areas which were earlier at a distance of 30 km from a motor road,” said Bishan Singh Tangaria, a public figure who had fought successfully to construct the Bageshwar-Someswar motor road last year. “In this district, nearly 400 villages are yet to be fully linked with a motor road,” said NB Bhatt, PUCL chairman, Bageshwar district. At present in the state, out of 581 motor roads, 326 have been cleared in principle by the government of India’s Ministry of Environment, but 229 are yet to get clearance. “Due to the delay in the clearing process, the state government has not been able to meet the aspirations of its people,” said Prakash Pant. In the Garhwal region, nearly 356 motor roads are awaiting clearance. Some of these are to be built on the Char Dham yatra route. “Chamoli district is the worst hit by the Forest Act where more than 144 motor roads have been stuck due to non-clearance, in Rudraprayag district, nearly 52 motor roads are pending, in Tehri district, more than 100 motor roads are yet to be cleared whereas in Pauri Garhwal district, 26 are awaiting clearance,” said Lokesh Sharma, Superintending Engineer, Uttarkashi. “We have formed a land bank of 10,000 hectares in the state which will be used for compensatory plantation in lieu of forest land used for roads,” said Prakash Pant.
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U’khand hills likely to have moderate rain
Dehradun, April 20 Rain also came as a big relief to the Forest Department that had been struggling hard to deal with forest fires. Rain doused fires at a number of places facilitating the efforts of the state forest authorities. Meanwhile, the last rain brought some relief to the capital city of Dehradun from the blistering heat. It also cleansed the city from dust.
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Open varsity signs MoU with Hiltron
Dehradun, April 20 Hiltron President Kashi Singh Airy and Vinay Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of Uttarakhand Open University, signed the MoU in Dehradun today. Describing the agreement to be of immense benefit for those pursuing Hiltron’s courses, Kashi Singh Airy said the youth of Uttarakhand would now be backed with Uttarakhand Technical University-approved courses. “We came across cases when the Uttarakhand youth was not getting employment due to a lack of professionally approved certificates,” Airy said, asserting that Uttarakhand Open University courses would now overcome this hassle. Pathak said the open university aimed to bring vocational courses to hill villages and Hiltron was backed with an infrastructure spreading all across the state. He said the open university for the first time had come up with the course that will cater to the youth getting placements in new companies being set up in the state. “The general worker course deals with basic workings inside these factories and facilitate the new inductions to adjust to those environs,” he said. Pathak said the university had over 5,000 students on its rolls but added that the university did not just go by strength but also believed in quality education. He said the university had recently introduced courses in horticulture, ayurveda, tourism, agro forestry, media and journalism apart from the general worker course.
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Kendriya Vidyalaya celebrates annual day
Dehradun, April 20 Sunder Lal, Chairman of KV ONGC and GGM-chief ER/HCA, was the chief guest who inaugurated the ceremony. The event began with the lighting of the lamp. Then Saraswati Vandana was performed by students and it was followed by the presentation of the annual report by the Principal. The students presented a cultural programme of dance, drama and singing. Meritorious students as well as children who had performed well in extracurricular activities were given prizes. JM Rawat, Assistant Commissioner, KVS (RO), was the guest of honour, while Usha Lal gave away prizes to the students. All guests appreciated the performances of the children that conveyed a message with it. The event concluded with a vote of thanks followed by the National Anthem. Students’ achievements highlighted
Kendriya Vidyalaya Survey of India celebrated its annual day function with fervour here today. The function began with the lighting of the lamp by chief guest Major-Gen PN Kaul, Survey of India, amid the auspicious Saraswati Vandana. The Principal of the school presented the progress report discussing the achievements of the school in various fields and mentioned the names of students who had brought laurels. Students who have been outstanding in the field of sports were awarded prizes, while other participants enthralled the crowd with Rajasthani and Garhwali folk dances and songs. OP Tripathi was also present at the event as the nominee chairman, while JM Rawat, Assistant Commissioner, KVS (RO), was the guest of honour. They presented the award of best student of the year to Khyati Rathore.
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Over 200 get placements through ICFAI varsity
Dehradun, April 20 Over 120 students have been successfully placed in 47 companies thus far and the recruitment process is still on. Brig ML Sabharwal (retd) stated the credit for a successful placement of so many students went to the placement cell of the faculty of management studies, ICFAI University, Dehradun, that remained proactive this time after it witnessed slightly subdued placement process last year on account of economic recession. The major corporates that visited the college campus were HCL Infosystem, Future Group, Infomedia18, Ceasefire, Yes Bank, Bikanervala, Kotak Securities, Redcell Technologies, Matrix Cellular, Ranbaxy, My Info Services, Indusind Bank, Amartex and so on. The institute is still placing students and the placement process will go on till June-end.
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Grafest 2010 concludes
Dehradun, April 20 The culture programme in the evening began with the lamp-lighting ceremony by Air Commodore PN Pradhan, chief guest of the event. AB Lal, DG (Rules and Manuals), Uttarakhand Police, was the guest of honour. Prof KP Nautiyal, Dr DP Girdhar, Vice-Chancellor, SC Sharma, registrar, RC Ghanshala, chief patron, heads of all departments, dean and other faculty members were present at the event. Girish Lakhera coordinated the event. Students of Graphic Era University perform at Grafest in Dehradun on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph
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Students launch tree-plantation drive
Dehradun, April 20 This programme is a component of I CARE’s enterprise aimed at reducing carbon dioxide levels and creating cleaner healthier surroundings for people of Dehradun. During the drive, 52 trees were planted on the academy premises as well as in the adjoining village. There is need to involve more institutions to be a part of this unique initiative to create a better awareness and sensitivity in order to replenish Dehradun’s fast-vanishing charm and serenity. “The organisation has set itself a target of planting 1,000 saplings at various places in and around the city this year starting today till June 5, which happens to be World Environment Day. This massive campaign spreads across various schools, colleges and institutions of Doon,” a spokesperson for the enterprise added. It’s noteworthy to mention here that I CARE’s parent body SUSWA, a non-profit organisation, started operations on the banks of the Suswa river and has done thousands of plantations since its inception in 1994. SUSWA supports conservation, education, research and outreach activities that further increase the understanding of the cultural and natural heritage of the Doon valley. Speaking on the occasion, Yudhishter Puran Singh, Director, Dehradun Hills Academy and founding member of I CARE, expressed delight on seeing the zeal about the environment among Doon’s youngsters. “It’s encouraging to see how the youth is so inclined to conserve Dehradun’s environs. We plan to involve more students and conduct more far-reaching drives across the city to restore the beauty of this pristine city,” he said. Sakshi Tomar, a student of Graphic Era University, said: “I think it’s important for all of us to reach out to each other the way I CARE does irrespective of our schedules and responsibilities. It’s amazing to see the kind of work I CARE is doing and the active involvement is altogether a reward for their hard work,” he asserted. “I am really happy that we are getting a chance to do something for our planet earth. It’s time we stop talking and start doing something. These small steps today will help our future generations,” said Rishabh Kant, a student of Graphic Era University. Principal of the academy Manish Gambhir was of the opinion: “There is a need for other schools and colleges in the valley to come forward and join hands for a greener and sustainable tomorrow. As a matter of fact we have already included Green Initiatives as part of our school calendar from this session 2010-11”.
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Seminar on disability held
Dehradun, April 20 “We need to support them and encourage them so that they become self-confident and independent for carrying out their day-to-day activities,” she said. She added that early detection of abnormality could help in the treatment of some disorders. Earlier, chief guest Savita Kapoor said, “We need to accept mentally retarded children so their integration in the society is complete”. Later, a website dedicated to mental retardation of Vikalp Rehabilitation and Training Centre, an NGO, was inaugurated. President of the NGO Bharati Pande said the website had been designed by Mudassar Mubina, Shuchita Pande and Nihar Sahey.
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Pitthoragarh boxers win team c’ship
Pitthoragarh, April 20 The boxing competition had begun on April 16. Uttarakhand minister Prakash Pant gave away the prizes. “Dehradun won the team championship in junior category securing 15 marks and Bageswar were runners-up. Sangeeta Vishkarma from Bageswar was declared best boxer,” said Dharmendra Bhatt, Sports Officer, Pitthoragarh. “In the sub-junior category, Ramnagar won the team championship and Lalita Khadka from Pitthoragarh was declared best boxer. “In youth girls category, Pitthoragarh won the team championship with 17 marks. Dehradun came second with eight marks. Jyoti Kharayat from Pitthoragarh was declared best boxer,” said Bhatt. As many as 112 boxers comprising 10 teams from across the state participated in the competition that was organised by the Sports Directorate, Uttarakhand. According to the results declared today in sub-junior girls category, Neha Jena from Nainital defeated Sapna Jena in F1 category; Amita Soniyal defeated Sapna Jena (F2); Manki of Dehradun defeated Shaly from Nainital (F3); Divya Kukrati from Ramnagar won gold in E1 category and defeated Suman Rana from Chamoli. In E2 category, Neha Arya from Pitthoragarh won gold defeating Manisha Joshi from Tanakpur; in E6 category, Usha Koranga from Haldwani won gold defeating Sonam Farswal from Chamoli. In E7 category, Mania Verma from Ramnagar won the gold defeating Purnima Pant from Nainital. In E8 category, Navisha Kiran from Udham Singh Nagar won gold defeating Shivani from Chamoli. In D1, D2 and D3 categories, Jyoti Dhami from Pitthoragarh, Risha from Dehradun, Lalita from Pitthoragarh won gold medals. In D5 and D6 categories, Rajni Arya from Champawat and Mamta Sharma from Ramnagar won gold medals. The gold medals in C1, C2, C3 and C4 categories went respectively to Neha Bisht, Shalini Verma, Kiran Kera and Neelam Mehta from Chamoli, Dehradun, Bageswar and Pitthoragarh. Gold medals among youth girls were won by Soniya Singh, Renu Kasniyal, Prema Bhotia, Jyoti Rawat, Jyoti Kharayat, Ranuka Rawat and Sarswati Bisht from Dehradun, Pitthoragarh, Bageswar, Udham Singh Nagar, Pitthoragarh, Dehradun and Pithoragarh respectively. Gold medals in junior girls category were won by Vijaya, Anmika, Neha, Deepa, Sangeeta, Ankita, Priyanka, Babita, Rama, Jyoti, Shivani and Anita from Bageswar, Chamoli, Dehradun, Bageswar, Bageswar, Champawat, Dehradun, Pitthoragarh, Haldwani, Tanakpur, Dehradun and Tanakpur respectively.
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St Thomas College, Welham School girls in final clash
Dehradun, April 20 St Thomas College outplayed Convent of Jesus and Mary by 24-8. Manisha emerged the top-scorer with 12 points while Aishwarya was the main scorer for the losing side. In another semifinal, Welham Girls School downed Hopetown Girls School by 51-13. The Welham girls showed no mercy while scoring the points and made a thumping entry into the final. Siddima was the principal scorer for the team. Earlier in the quarterfinal encounter, Welham Girls School drubbed WAS 40-10. Sunaina scored 11 points in the win. Doon School, Welham Boys to vie for trophy
Both teams won their respective semifinals played here today at Doon International School. Welham Boys School defeated Hilton School by 44-18 in the semifinal. Samarth scored 10 points for Welham while Arpit chipped in for the losing team. Doon School also beat Doon International School in another semifinal by 54-35. The win was fashioned by Rishab with 27 points. Kaushal of DIS scored 10 points.
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9-wkt win for IRDE
Dehradun, April 20 Opting to bat first, FRI scored 146 runs in the allotted 20 overs. Vishnu Prasad (30) and Narendra Aswal (26) were the main contributors. For IRDE, Vedwal captured three wickets, Gajendera took two and YP Singh got one wicket. Though FRI had thought that they had given a decent target to their rivals, it proved no challenge for IRDE batsmen. They achieved the target in 17.3 overs losing just one wicket. For FRI, Manoj was the only successful bowler.
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Vijay Cantt get better of Sarvodaya Club
Dehradun, April 20 Both teams played a goalless first half. The first goal came in the 50th minute through a penalty shootout. Bhuvan of Vijay Cantt converted the penalty to open his team’s account. Sarvodaya Club’s attempt to score a goal went in vain in the face of a strong defense of the Cantt team. Madhur in the 64th scored another goal to ensure the win of Vijay Cantt. Vijay Thakur was shown yellow card during the match. Meanwhile, Gypsy Young would take on DC Milan tomorrow at 4:30 pm in another knockout encounter.
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While Shruti’s demise on Sunday as a result of a burnt portion of a tree on the roadside falling on her has ignited a raging debate and given rise to a blame game among the school
management.
Constituted to create trained manpower for new industries in Uttarakhand,
Hiltron, a government of Uttarakhand undertaking, has entered into an agreement with Uttarakhand Open University, under which all courses run by Hiltron will be approved by the open university while the latter will be using the Hiltron infrastructure as its study
centres.
Students of Graphic Era University celebrated the concluding day of Grafest 2010 yesterday with great fervour and enthusiasm. They participated in several competitions the entire day, while engineering students presented a colourful dance
programme. Guests as well as students were enthralled by the mesmerising performances of the participants.
Pitthoragarh, April 20
Strong contenders Doon School and Welham Boys School are pitted against each other in the boys’ final of the District Junior (U-18 years) Basketball (Boys and Girls) Championship. The final will be played on April 25.