Dehradun, May 5
In the case of Mohammad Ahmad, a class VI student who was beaten up by his school Principal, the management of the school has sacked the Principal.

Mohd Iliyas Qureshi, chairman of the school, declared before agitated parents that the Principal had been sacked. The student was mercilessly beaten up by the Principal two days ago for not doing his homework.

The decision was taken after yesterday’s meeting between the management of the school and the complainants. The Teachers Parents Federation also took active part in the case and had supported the victim’s family.

Today in the morning, the agitated parents gathered at the entrance of the school waiting for a decision by the management. Soon, the management announced that Anuj Singh, Principal of Indian Cambridge School, has been sacked. Now, MA Javed, the father of the victim, and other parents have decided to send their wards to the school from tomorrow.

The school had been closed since the case of corporal punishment to 11-year-old Ahmad, for not completing his assignment, came to light.

Dehradun, May 5
The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), India’s largest power company, today said it hoped an early resumption of works at the 600 MW Loharinag Pala hydro project in Uttarakhand even as the company refused to elaborate much as the subject is sub judice.

The Centre has stopped the works on the Loharinag Pala hydro project on the Bhagirathi river in the wake of protests by environmentalists who alleged that works on the project were disrupting the natural flow of the river to a great extent.

Addressing mediapersons in Dehradun, Arvind Kumar, Regional Executive Director, NTPC Hydro, said the NTPC was hopeful of an early start of construction works at Loharinag Pala.

“We have spent a total of Rs 650 crore on the project and the works are already in an advanced stage,” Arvind Kumar said adding that 8 km of tunnelling works had been done and lining too had been done partly.

Responding to queries, Kumar said no natural resource was affected due to the tunnelling of hydro projects. “There have been problems of seepage in tunnels in some projects, but these have decreased substantially,” he said.

“Every project is studied in detail and goes through a number of clearances,” he pointed out.

He said apart from Loharinag Pala, NTPC’s Rupsiyabagar Khasiabara, Tapovan Vishunuga and Lata Tapovan projects were in the construction stage. Arvind Kumar said while the Tapovan project on Dholiganga in Joshimath was expected to get completed in 2012-13 and the Khasiabara project in Munisiyari was in the middle of the land acquisition process.

The NTPC had been accorded Maharatna status by the government.

He also denied any immediate possibility of the construction of a thermal plant in Uttarakhand.

KK Singh, General Manager, Tapovan Vishugaad, KS Garbiyal, GM, NTPC Rupsiyabagar Khasisabara and TN Srivastava, AGM, Loharinag Pala project, were also present on the occasion.

Dehradun, May 5
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank today flagged off krishi raths marking the inauguration of Krishak Mahotsav Kharif 2010.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Pokhriyal said the 15-day mahotsav would offer solutions to the farmers regarding the kind of crops that should be sown and the use of right fertilizers.

While Agriculture Minister Trivender Singh Rawat said the Krishi Mahotsav was being organised for dissemination of information to the farmers and stressed the need to bring more land under cultivation.

Haridwar, May 5
With the Maha Kumbh being just over and life coming back to normal, the Haridwar Palika has launched a cleanliness drive to remove garbage, polythene and other solid waste to make the city “a clean and green city”.

After failing to keep pace with the Kumbh works in respect to other nodal agencies and putting aside the interior municipal committee politics, finally the Haridwar Palika has endorsed an eco-friendly programme which, if implemented to perfection, will see the pilgrim city, especially the Har-ki-Pauri and other ghats, free of garbage, polythene and other non-degradable materials.

This “clean and green Haridwar” idea is mooted by Municipal Chairman Kamal Johra himself who is overseeing the proceedings seriously if the first day is taken into account.

Chairman Johra inaugurated the drive at Har-Ki-Pauri and personally inspected the whole area and shops, vendors and ghats of the area. Squatters and vendors at Har-Ki-Pauri and other ghats will be strictly monitored by municipality employees with their licences being checked.

Penalty will also be implemented on traders who have been dealing in polythene.

Johra, who has just completed two-year tenure, said he envisioned making Haridwar a polythene-free city with people themselves disposing garbage at allocated places so that garbage didn’t get spilled here and there.

Johra further elaborated that after the cleanliness drive, a polythene-free drive would be implemented and then saplings planted which would bring back the green blanket here. This drive is being seen as a major one in making the city clean which is already reeling under the post-Kumbh affect.

Dehradun, May 5
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has announced that plastic carry bags will be banned on the Char Dham route in the Garhwal Himalayas to safeguard fragile eco system of the middle Himalayas.

The Chief Minister, who addressed a press conference here today, said efforts would also be made to ensure that the sewage flow from hill towns did not enter holy rivers. Asked about the closure of a waste plastic plant installed under the public-private mode at Srinagar in the Garhwal region since 2008, Nishank said it would be reopened soon.

He said jute and other bags made of organic matter would be encouraged at the Char Dham temples to avoid the use of plastic in the Himalayas.

Nishank said 1,200 buses, 1,200 mini-buses and 3,000 taxis would ply for the Char Dham yatra starting from May 15. To avoid a competition among transporters to rush with pilgrims to make profits, a strict checking would be done by the Transport Department. “The state government would be giving “green cards” to the buses going on the Char Dham route. These cards would be issued at Haridwar, Rishikesh, Kotdwar, Haldwani and Dehradun,” he said.

The state PWD Department had worked to broaden accident-prone turns and curves on the yatra route. “A total of 240 temporary toilets, 14 medical relief camps, 106 medicals units and 246 water tanks with 5,000 litres capacity each would be in place on the yatra routes,” he added.

To maintain law and order during the yatra, the Chief Minister said 54 temporary police posts and 2,000 policemen would be deployed.

Pitthoragarh, May 5
Having developed trek routes to Chhota (minor) Kailash, Mansarovar and Panchachuli for domestic tourists, the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) has now taken over 55-km Munsiyari-Milam trek route to the famous Milam glacier for its development as a new trek route for tourists in the Kumaon region.

“We are developing six camps on this route at Lilam, Bogdyar, Martoli, Panchu, Rilkot and at the Milam glacier this year for those thousands of tourists who come from across the world and from India to have a glimpse of world-famous Milam glacier,” said Ashok Joshi, General Manager (Tourism), KMVN.

Joshi said each of the six proposed camps on the trek route will have four cottages each before October this year when the tourist season on this route begins. “So far this trek route was not included in the trek routes under the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam. Now, this tourist route will be run on be pattern of minor Kailash, Panchachuli and Pindari trek routes,” said Joshi.

“Besides this new trek route to the famous glacier, we are also developing new treks to Chiplakedar in Pitthoragarh district which starts from the roadside town of Baram in Munsiyari sub division of Pitthoragarh district and concludes at the 13,000-ft-high Chipla Bugyal (meadows),” said Joshi.

Mussoorie, May 5
The serene surroundings of the Cantt Board are under attack by the land mafia. The area is on the verge of losing its pristine charm due to illegal constructions going on at the hill for the past two months.

Residents of the area believe that the apathy of the board towards these constructions can be measured by the fact that a two-storey building has cropped up without any hindrance. One such illegal construction is taking place at the Mullingar Welfare Society under the jurisdiction of the board.

According to residents of the society Mehfuz and Ranbir Singh, certain contractors, in connivance of board members, are indulging in illegal constructions and several complaints have been lodged in this regard.

The situation turned explosive yesterday when Mehfuz and others requested the builders to stop construction and leave their legal path untouched.

Instead the builders allegedly ridiculed them and were impudent enough to continue the illegal construction work whatsoever. The situation aggravated and the matter was reported to the police by both parties. However, all were let off after a stern warning.

The society residents alleged that the illegal construction was going on at the behest of a board member.

Office-bearers of the society said the houses had damaged beyond repair, hence, it was necessary to rebuild them. A separate path had been provided to the residents of the society, they added. Many residents said under anonymity that due to the incompetence of the Landour Cantt Board, many such unauthorised buildings had surfaced and the board was yet to act against them.

Board OS CB Lakhera refuted the charges of incompetency and said a case was pending in the High Court between the board and the society therefore no further construction was permissible. Not only this notices were served on persons concerned in this regard in February.

Lakhera said lack of force was the main reason for not stopping this illegal construction. Reminders have been sent to the Mussoorie police in this regard but to no avail.

The illegal construction is not only going on in the Mullingar society but at other areas of the cantt board too, raising many eyebrows.

Dehradun, May 5
Another braveheart from Dehradun city has done the city proud by laying down his life for the country. The news of the death of Major Yogendra Singh Rajwar came to the city residents as a shock. Rajwar posted in the Bandipora area of the Kashmir valley was injured in an encounter with terrorists last night. He called up his wife and sister after being hit by three bullets and asked them to pray for them.

However, in the morning the news of his death brought shock and disbelief to the family members, friends and relatives. Major Rajwar is survived by his wife and a young son. His father Major MS Rajwar had also died in Kargil in 2004 in a road mishap.

A large number of people from all walks of life went to the house of the martyr to pay their respects to the departed soul. Former Mayor Manorama Sharma Dobriyal went to his home and paid respects to the officer for the supreme sacrifice for the sake of the country. According to family members, the body of the departed officer will be brought to Dehradun tomorrow.

Pitthoragarh, May 5
All 13 districts of Uttarakhand will have automatic weather stations before the onset of monsoon. The process of installing these weather stations in five new places in the second phase has already started while eight places of the state already have the facility, said Anand Sharma, Director of Meteorology, Uttarakhand.

“These automatic weather stations, which cost Rs 4 lakh each, will be linked automatically with main earth station at Pune. The station at Pune will collect and analyse the data fed by these stations,” said Anand Sharma.

The first phase of eight automatic stations helped in analysing the local data and in forecasting about local weather. Keeping that success in mind, some more automatic weather stations are being installed in the state.

“Besides these weather stations, the Meteorological Department is also installing automatic rain gauge at every four sub-divisions in every district of Uttarakhand,” said Anand Sharma.

According to a representative of SGS Weather and Environment System Private Limited, a company which is installing these weather stations, these machines work by the power drawn from a solar panel installed in it.

It will give the minute-to-minute information about velocity and direction of winds, data of rainfall, humidity, air pressure and temperature.

“In Pitthoragarh, this automatic weather station will be installed in Bin block while the weather station for Bageshwar will be installed at Kapkot,” said the company representative.

Mussoorie, May 5
Eminent Garhwali folk artiste and Jagar Samrat of Uttarakhand Preetam Bhartwan’s music album “Bhana” is being much appreciated by environmentalists of the state. The album was released four months back. The songs in the album appeal to people in stopping forest fires. Bhartwan said the music album dealt with such environmental issues.

Speaking to the media at a hotel here, he said “Bhana” consisted of six songs touching various social and environmental issues prevalent in the region.

Bhartwan was also of the view that effort should be made to preserve our culture and folk instruments, but the government was not interested in doing so.

He appealed to people to provide correct information in the ongoing census and make sure that they register Garhwali as their mother tongue.

“It is true that Hindi is our national language, but Garhwali is linked with our traditions. Effort should be made to continue conversing in it, otherwise one day it will recede into oblivion, and culture will also vanish with it. The same goes for Kumaoni too,” added Bhartwan.

Dehradun, May 5
Padmabhushna Uma Sharma performed kathak at the Thimmaya Auditorium at Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) here. The captivating performance endeared the young and old alike. She depicted the dance of Lord Krishna and also performed Raas Leela, Tandava and many others. Her dance contained vivid description of mudra, lasya and bhava. She presented the bravery of Lord Rama, the anger of Lakshmana, the ferociousness of Srupanakha in a very elucidative form.

She also presented the emotional dance of the Tridevi (Saraswati, Lakshmi and Durga) and even answered the questions asked by the cadets regarding the goddess.

She was greatly applauded for her splendid performance. She answered the cadets and in a very explicit manner elaborated on the intricacies and explained the origin of the kathak, difference between kathak and kathakali and about some pure techniques followed in kathak. She was accompanied by Jwala Prasad on the vocals and harmonium, Mubarak Ali on the tabla, Khalid Mustafa on the sitar.

In the end, Officiating Commandant Lt Col Rajesh Nathawat presented gifts to the artistes and thanked Uma Sharma for spreading awareness among the cadets regarding our national culture and heritage. Other dignitaries present for the evening were Lt Cdr Chakraborty, Sqn Ldr Yashwant Panghal, Major SR Sahu and Rupi Mahendru.

The Master in Ceremony for the evening was cadet Supreet Singh Heera and the event was coordinated by CS Vishwakarma.

Dehradun, May 5
To enhance the writing skills among students, a five-day workshop commenced today under the aegis of Balprahari (magazine for kids) here at the Hindi Bhawan. To know about the importance of expressing language and techniques of writing, experts of the Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti taught at least 150 students from 12 schools gathered to attend the workshop.

The writing competition was also conducted during the workshop judged by Veena Pandey Joshi, eminent writer and academician. Hindi storybooks by different authors were kept on display for the participating students.

The constructor of the organising committee also told the ways of exercising and conducted activities where students recited poems and speeches by eminent writers.

The workshop will culminate on May 9 and the prizes to the winners of the competition given on the same day. Hemlata Bhatt was the chief guest of today’s opening ceremony where she launched the newspaper published by students of DAV Public School.