Dehradun, June 22
Vehicular traffic got disrupted besides loss of property due to an intense dust storm and rain on the second consecutive day in the state capital today.

Today also several roadside trees got uprooted and cars were damaged as branches fell on these. Certain commuters had a narrow escape.

As the dust storm started the wireless phone of the SP (City) continued to ring with the information of felling of trees on cars and roads in different parts of the state capital. The New Cantt Road, Rajpur Road, Survey of India and the Deer Park are a few of the places where roadside tress got uprooted, created a ruckus in the area.

Dust storm: Day II
An office of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam with broken windows after a storm hit Dehradun on Tuesday morning. Tribune photographs	workers cut a tree to clear the Rajpur Road. Tribune photographs
A car under a tree at the Behl Chowk. Tribune photographs	A view of a road in Mussoorie following a hailstorm on Tuesday evening. Tribune photographs

In one such incident, it was a close call for passengers who were travelling in a car when an uprooted tree fell on their vehicle near the Malsi Deer Park. However, they were safely evacuated from the car by the police.

A big tree fell on the Rajpur Road near the Amartex shop disrupting the traffic flow. The felling snapped electricity cables and three electricity poles got uprooted due to the impact. It also damaged a makeshift wall on the other side of the road.

Power supply to major parts of the city also remained disrupted on the second consecutive day. Meanwhile, the police remained on its toes in helping the affected commuters and managing the traffic.

Mussoorie, June 22
The frequent change in weather in month of June has baffled all, including residents and tourists alike, in Mussoorie.

The residents and tourists witnessed the hailstorm for 15 minutes yesterday, followed by a sunny evening. Today, once again, dark ominous clouds covered the sky leading to a heavy downpour, much to the delight of tourists.

Randeep Singh from Jalandhar said this was what they had come for. The cool winds with the smell of fresh mud were a treat and reminded him of the wheat fields of Punjab.

The dark clouds once again gave way to a sunny spell in the evening. The tourists enjoyed the day out eating corn and junk food at mall road.

Senior citizen RS Mishra was of the view that this frequent change in weather was beyond comprehension as hail storms were witnessed only in the months of April and May in the past.

Some old citizens also quizzically enquired whether these were pre-monsoon showers or something else.

Some garment shopkeepers compared it with the fashion of Mumbai. The secretary, Traders Association, was of the view that “Mussoorie ka mausam aur Mumbai ka fashion” can change without any warning.

Umbrella sellers were having a field day doing brisk business due to the untoward rain in the town. 

Dehradun, June 22
As many as 27 officer trainees passed out today from the Central Academy of State Forest Service, Dehradun.

In his convocational address, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh drew attention of the officer trainees towards the newfound respect of nature amongst the countrymen and stated that the threats to ecological security of the planet were all-time higher now. He said the forestry stood as enchanting career option for serving the earth.

Recalling the glorious history of the Academy, Jairam Ramesh urged the young foresters to be ready for shouldering tremendous responsibility at this crucial juncture and expressed hope that they would come up to the expectations of people during a career spanning three decades ahead of them.

Senior Forest official PJ Dilip Kumar described forestry as practical occupation where foresters had to seek solutions of the problems encountered by them by living close to the forest and nature and by applying their scientific thoughts rather than seeking text-book solutions.

Director, Forestry Education, Ajay Kumar recalled the splendid history of the academy in imparting excellent forestry training to young foresters.

Savita, Principal of the Academy, presented the annual report. She informed that during the two years of the training course, the officers were taught 19 academic subjects, apart from field exercise on working plan, road alignment, forest survey and engineering. In addition to it, 150 days of study tours were essentially conducted to forests in different parts of the country.

She also emphasised that the purpose of training was to build leadership qualities, organising ability and social skills, while pursuing the academics and technical knowhow. “Local excursions are also conducted on weekends to acquaint officer trainees with latest development in the field of forestry,” she pointed out.

The passing-out batch today that comprised 27 officer trainees included 18 officers from Himachal Pradesh, one from Andhra Pradesh, four from Mizoram, one from Nagaland and two from Meghalaya. 

Dehradun, June 22
Workers of the Mohalla Swachhta Samiti have called off their strike after the Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) assured them of a raise in their wage structure and holding union elections within a month.

Chander Mohan Kala, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Swachkar Sangh, said they had demanded a raise in their wages from paltry Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,500 a month. A proposal to this effect would be sent to the government. The MNA had asked for a month’s time to get it done, he added.

Kala said the MNA also agreed to their demand for arranging a meeting with officials at the Secretary level. Lal Chand Sharma, ex-president of the city unit of the Congress, said: “The MNA has also assured them that their wages will not be cut for not working during the strike period”.

During the day the sanitary workers had not agreed to the proposals placed before them by the MNA but by evening, Kala and Sharma convinced the party workers to call off their strike. Sharma said their plea for holding union elections that had been pending for the past three years would also be considered with the consent of Social Welfare Minister Khajan Das, who had asked it to be postponed.

The MNA held a meeting with Kala, Sharma, Rakesh Kumar, samiti chief, AMNA Harak Singh Rawat and UNA Harsh Vardhan Mishra.

Dehradun, June 22
A series of quick twists and turns continued to unfold as the drama to end a 15-day strike waged by sanitary workers of the Mohalla Swachhta Samiti progressed between the MNA and leaders of the samiti and reached its climax leaving many facets running undercurrent exposed.

A desperation on the part of Chander Mohan Kala, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Swachhkar Sangh, who had been heading the strike, to end it was clear as he was getting attention neither from Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) officials nor the state government.

Since Kala is believed to be having an eye on the election of the union of sanitary workers which has not been held for the past three years and is at present headed by a team backed by the BJP and Mayor Vinod Chamoli, a representative of the party, Kala did not get any ear from the Mayor. Assistant Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Harak Singh Rawat, who is considered a close aide of the Mayor, and against whom Kala started off this agitation too was not happy with him. Neither Chamoli nor Rawat paid any heed to Kala’s rhetoric.

In such a scenario, Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) Indu Dhar Bodai too could not spare time for him, as he was busy with the District Magistrate in visiting various villages to solve problems of villagers at the behest of the Chief Minister. When Kala went with the agitators to meet the Chief Secretary, he was not even allowed to enter the premises and sent back after a letter from him was received by an officer of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate level outside the gate.

Now, just a day after the Mayor fired his last salvo of dismissing the Samiti and sanitation workers for disrupting the sanitation work in the city, Kala came under sudden pressure from the fellow sanitation workers. His last resort, the MNA too did not give him any solid assurance when he met him yesterday. The MNA told him in clear terms that the matter would be resolved by the state government.

Kala, who had been insisting upon the MNA to give some kind of written assurance or accept at least one of their demands to save his skin lapped up the opportunity when the MNA feebly talked of raising their wage structure. He also took hold of the letter sent by the state government to the MNA to enlist various vacancies in local bodies, and showed it to the crowd waiting outside telling them that this letter was the affirmation of the state government to accord them an identity of DMC employees. The crowd cheered on the announcement saying that they were always made to feel that they belonged to nobody.

Kala, an outsider on the DMC premises, had somehow managed to steal some limelight and served his purpose on putting pressure for holding staff union elections though his main demand of giving status of daily wage earners to the sanitation workers was not met. It was unlikely so, as the matter was in the domain of the state government which was presumed to take long time to decide on such matters. And there are remote chances of turning 650 temporary employees in daily wage earners. The Mayor too made a comment on Kala saying that he should have been sensible enough while charting out his demands. “It is not easy to lead a movement. The leader must understand the probabilities of acceptance of the demands and ways to withdraw,” he said. Kala smartly handled this move.

The agitation turned into a BJP v/s Congress fight, as Congress councillors and city leaders backed Kala in this strike, whereas all BJP councillors and leaders maintained 
their distance.

Nainital, June 22
Governor Margaret Alva has asked authorities of universities to act as instruments of change to deliver social justice.

Speaking at the convocation of Kumaon University held on the Almora campus today, Alva said, “Indian universities represent the beacon of change in the surrounding ignorance. Therefore, in our struggle against social backwardness in its many forms, and against an inward-looking tradition-bound social order, the universities are expected to play a specially important role”.

She further stated, “The universities must encourage their students to think and question the existing systems of iniquity, injustice and exploitation based on caste, creed and status. These must motivate them to serve and be instruments of change”.

Alva also expressed concern over the lack of quality education being imparted by sprouting educational institutions in the state and the malpractices being reported regularly in this sector.

“There are plans to make the state an educational hub. But the establishment of educational institutions and universities do not by itself guarantee quality education. Many of these institutions are turning out to be money-spinning enterprises, without qualified teachers, faculty, principals or supporting staff. Malpractices are rampant. I am concerned about these issues. Urgent corrective action is called for”.

She said the interests of the students could not, and must not, be compromised on the alter of political expediency or financial greed. Alva further pointed out, “In an age of creeping globalisation, we have to work to strengthen our economic base and protect our national interests, while ensuring a place for ourselves in the international market place. In this context, our universities face an added responsibility. These have not only to create a global cadre of youth with education, that will equip them to take up research and play leadership roles, but also provide skilled youth with motivation and superior knowledge of specific skills”.

She underlined that there must be a constant effort on the part of university teachers to update their knowledge and to transform their students into men and women of character and courage.

She called upon the universities to focus on the emerging areas such as environmental studies, information and communication technology, bio-informatics and entrepreneurship development. She also congratulated Kumaon University for creating a centre for climate change.

Chief guest at the function was noted environment activist Vandana Shiva. Honorary degree of Doctor in Literature (DLit) was conferred upon environment activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt, eminent media personality Mrinal Pande and writer Himanshu Joshi.

Dehradun, June 22
A group of 14 girls of Unison World School, along with the Principal, went to participate in the NASA’s Atlantis Space Camp. The 12-day camp was conducted at the Space Center, Houston, Texas.

The educational excursion is designed to inspire, excite and motivate students about science and space research by exploring new ideas and horizons.

The students explored of their own engineering talent and prepared a project on Mars Lander. They interacted with eminent scientists like Dr Reddy, Director, Rocket Designing, as a part of their project and visited Kennedy Space Research Centre.

The students were felicitated during the graduation ceremony at Star Galaxy where they were awarded with certificates and medals here today.

Participants of this education tour were Sirsti Tehri, Rashi Goyal, Ambica Singh, Jhanavirathore, Vishali Moond, Gitanjali Vaishnav, Riddhi Mittal, Vaishali Baigu, Kaushika Rakesh, Shreshtha Sinha, Niharika Ahlawat, Krishna Rathore, Harleen Bhalla and Ishika Shahi. 

Dehradun, June 22
Lone goal effort by Ajay steered Doon United to a 1-0 victory over Roshni Club in the Lala Nemi Das District Football League underway on the Pavilion Ground here today.

The match saw a tough fighting encounter between the two teams. Their repeated goal attempts failed to get any goal in the first half to end it goalless.

While in the second half, Ajay (48th) managed to score a goal to put his rival team on backseat. Both the sides had almost equal ball possession, but the Doon United squad walked away with the cake.

Vishal Mall of the winning team was shown yellow card in the 10th minute.

Rajender Bhardwaj of the Roshni Club was also signalled with the yellow card in the 17th minute of the play.

Meanwhile, City Young and the Uttarakhand Club will fight it out in tomorrow’s match.

Dehradun, June 22
Mritunjay Badola of Uttarakhand routed Dhruv Sabbarwal, also of the same state, 4-0, 4-0 in a under-12 boys’ pre-quarterfinal on the second day of the All-India Talent Series Tennis Tournament (Under-12 and 14) at the Shanti Tennis Academy, Dalanwala today.

Another champ of the state, Uttkarsh beat Anshuman of Delhi 4-0, 4-2 in the same category. Uttarakhand’s Mayuk Rawat drubbed his counterpart Rohit Rawat 4-0, 4-0.

In the under-14 boys’ category, Dhruvpal of Uttarakhand found an easy rival in Abhilaksh Uniyal of Delhi 6-0, 6-0. Uttar Pradesh’s N Vignesh defeated Siddharth Anand of Delhi 6-2, 6-3.

yesterday, Mritunjay, Manik and Rohit of Dehradun entered the second round in the under-12 category winning their respective matches on the first day of the All-India Talent Series Tennis Tournament (under-12 and 14) at the Shanti Tennis Academy here.

Mritunjay beat Vinayak Agarwal 4-0, 4-2. Manik defeated Anvit 4-1, 4-0 while Rohit Rawat got the better of Subhankar Seth 4-2, 4-1. In the under-14 boys’ category, Arnav drubbed Druvish Handa 4-0, 4-1 and Lavish Nehra beat Rupesh 4-2, 2-4, 4-3, (7-4).

Players from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Assam are participating in this tournament.

The final of the championship will be played on June 25. 

Dehradun, June 22
New entrant the Wills Youth Club put up a good show, but lost by a narrow margin of 1-0 to the Gypsy Club in the District Football League on the Police Lines ground here today.

It was Kiran of Gypsy, who made the difference to steer his side to a victory. The players of the Wills Youth Club displayed good play throughout the match. But lost a crucial opportunity which paid it dear in the long run. The side got a penalty in the 47th minute when a player of the Gypsy Club handed football. Dinesh Thapa took the penalty shot but he hit it quite away from the goalpost.

In another match, Doon Eagle and Yankies played a 1-1 draw. Manoj (seventh) of Yankies netted early to raise the hopes of his side towards a win. However, Sameer (48th) equalised after a hard-fought struggle in the second half.

No goal came in the later part of the match, thus it ended in a draw. For tomorrow, Khukhri and Little Star are scheduled to meet in the first encounter while Khalanga and Vijay Cantt will play the second match.

Dehradun, June 22
With the outstanding performance by Rohit, Diamond Cricket Academy, registered victory in today’s match of the Uttarakhand Challenger Trophy. The winning team defeated Incredible Eleven by two wickets.

Incredible Eleven won the toss and elected to bat first. Their opening batsman Zeeshan could make 37 runs in 30 balls while Prakash took four wickets. The highest scorer of the match was Rohit form Diamond Cricket Academy who made 55 runs in total.

Due to bad weather and rain, the match was of only 25 overs instead of 40 overs.