Dehradun, November 15
The Jim Corbett and Rajaji National Parks in Uttarakhand were opened for visitors at simple ceremonies today even as the park authorities somehow managed to overcome rain devastation and make it partially fit for the arriving tourists.

Rains this year had proved catastrophic for the tiger-famous Corbett and elephant-famous Rajaji National Park belying fears for delay in the opening of the two parks. But, the Uttarakhand Forest Department has managed to ensure opening of the parks on their scheduled date of November 15. The authorities at the Rajaji National Park office had done a lot of infrastructure repair and the same is still to be done inside the park. “Despite funds still to come to us, we have managed to open the Rajaji National Park on time and have done necessary repair works,” Swaran Kumar, Deputy Director, Rajaji National Park, told The Tribune. He, however, admitted that repair works were still to be done inside the park, which he said would continue in the coming months.

Rajaji National Park’s Director SS Raisaily and Deputy Director Swaran Kumar opened the Chila and Motichoor zones of the park respectively. As per an estimate, infrastructure losses to the tune of Rs 12 crore inside the Rajaji park were estimated in the form of washing away for inner roads, culverts and caving in of land alongside rivers. Most of the Van Margs in the park had been swept away in the rains and will certainly take some time before these important road links can be restored to normalcy.

Nainital, November 15
The Dhikala Zone of the Jim Corbett National Park was formally opened today even as activists of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), who were demanding the opening of the Kandi road connecting the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the state, held a protest at the main gate.

According to Warden of the park UC Tewari, “The park was formally opened this morning and about eight vehicles carrying tourists entered the park.”

The tourists managed to go in before the UKD cadres could gather for their day-long gate closure at the site. The UKD cadres shut down the gates till 3 pm.

The Dhikala Zone is opened to the public every year on November 15. With sprawling grasslands and a comparatively higher number of wild animals in this zone, Dhikala is the most popular zone with the tourists wanting to spot wildlife during their visit to the region.

Meanwhile, the UKD had announced its plans last week to prevent the entry of tourists in the zone on the day of the opening. The party is now trying to whip up regional passions on the issue of connecting the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the state by developing the Kandi road that runs through the forest area of the national park.

The party leadership has been stating that despite having got a clearance from all relevant bodies for opening the road, the government is dilly-dallying on the issue. It has been contesting that once this road is properly developed and opened for the traffic, it would not only connect the two regions of the state but will also make the journey shorter by at least a 100 km.

As of now the people wanting to go towards Haridwar have to travel via a long stretch of Uttar Pradesh, which is an expensive affair. The UKD has also been stating that since the people of Uttarakhand have to go via the stretch in Uttar Pradesh they have to pay toll tax at various places. They say all these expenses can be curtailed if the Kandi road is opened as this will make travel to Haridwar possible without even touching Uttar Pradesh.

The UKD had launched a mobilisation drive in a dozen villages, including Dhela, Samvalde, Lal Dhang, Sundarkhal, Naya Gaon and Gabua.

Dehradun, November 15
As many as 260 officers and subordinate officers joined the main stream of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) here today.

Dilpreet Kaur Mavi who joined the force as a doctor with her kin. A Tribune photograph

The officers completed a year-long rigorous and tough training at the ITBP Academy, Mussoorie. A colourful passing-out parade and attestation ceremony was held at the ITBP camp, Seemadwar, Dehradun.

Parents of passing-out officers, government dignitaries and distinguished local representatives, serving and retired ITBP officers and their families also witnessed this ceremony.

These passed-out new officers included 31 from 16th (B) AC/GD Batch, 28 from 33rd GOs Combatisation Batch and 201 from SI/GD Batch. This was the biggest passing-out and attestation ceremony in the history of the ITBP, where such a large number of officers formally passed out and joined this elite force, said ITBP officials.

Thrilling karate demonstrations, a dog show and an enchanting band display marked the conclusion of the passing-out parade.

Following which passed-out trainees were awarded with different prizes for their excellent performance in one or other event. VIP and DG IBP gave away the prizes to the new recruits.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank was the chief guest on the occasion. In his speech, the Chief Minister appreciated the services of this force with an open heart and expected that the officers and jawans of this force would upkeep the glorious and magnificent services and achievements of the force. He promised to extend all possible help from the Uttarakhand government to the ITBP.

RK Bhatia, Director-General of ITBP, in his welcome address, highlighted the operational achievements of the force and reassured the nation of the preparedness of the ITBP to meet any challenge on the Indo-China border.

MC Bhatt IG (Training Zone)-cum-Northern Frontier proposed a vote of thanks.

Those who were awarded for their excellent performances:

16th (B) Assistant Commandant/GD Batch:

Home Minister’s Sword of Honour for overall best trainee: AC/GD Sanjeev Kumar; Director’s Cup for best conduct: AC/GD Alok Kumar Singh; Director’s Cup for best in endurance: AC/GD Himanshu Tiwary; Director’s Cup for best marksman: AC/GD Abhishek Shukla; Director’s Cup for best sportsperson: AC/GD Dheeraj Singh’ Director’s Cup for best in indoor: AC/GD Rishi Mahajan; Director’s Cup for best in outdoor: AC/GD MD Singh

33rd GOS Combatisation Course:

Overall best trainee: AC/Engr Ganesh Verma; Best indoor trainee: AC/MO Ganpati Pal; Best outdoor trainee: AC/Tel Kharoria Praveen Vijay

22nd SI/GD Basic Course:

Director’s Cup for overall best trainee: SI/GD Ravi Kumar; Director’s Cup for best conduct: SI/GD Dabal Singh; Director’s Cup for best in endurance: SI/GD Mahinder Keer; Director’s Cup for best marksman: SI/GD Ajay Kumar; Director’s Cup for best sportsperson: SI/GD Indrajeet Arya; Director’s Cup for best in indoor: SI/GD Sagar Mal Meena; and Director’s Cup for best in outdoor: SI/GD Bhadreshwar Baro.

Dehradun, November 15
Though no formal orders of closing schools on November 15 were released by the District Education Officer or District Magistrate till yesterday, the impact of Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP), call for closing schools and colleges were clearly noticed here today.

Activists of the ABVP and the BJYM sound a bell at Ghanand School in Mussoorie as part of a call for closure of schools and colleges

All educational institutions remained closed across the Doon valley to avoid any disturbances in the school and ensure safety of the students and staff.

The closure was sustained as a mark of protest against the commercialisation and privatisation of education across the country. Members of the ABVP personally visited major schools in the city to ensure closure. Those found open were asked to shut the gates.

Mussoorie (OC): The Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and BJYM activists forced institutions to suspend classes in Mussoorie today. They were protesting against the corporatisation of education in the country. The ABVP and BJYM workers gathered at Mussoorie Post Graduate College and locked the main gate of the college early morning.

Following that, they marched on to Ghanand School where the workers rang the bell and announced the closure of the school. The ABVP workers also visited Mussoorie Girls Inter College, Rama Devi and several other institutions persuading them to close their institutions.

Even English-medium schools were not spared. Many schools pleaded with the workers not to close the schools as final examinations were going on. The ABVP activists returned after the culmination of the exams to shut down the schools once again.

Senior student leaders like Dharmpal and Ajay Bhandari said several schools had become a place of hightened corruption and donation was being sought for admission which was utterly wrong. They also said the programme was being carried out in the whole district and if private institutions did not stop corporatising education, they would be forced to start the movement again on a massive scale. The leaders said even poor should have the right to quality education.

The shut down call was for one day only. The police personnel were present in large numbers and accompanied the activists to oversee a peaceful shutdown of the institutions.

Haridwar, November 15
While one sect of students in Uttarakhand are quite happy over the recent announcement made by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank of providinging free education uptil the graduation level for students pursuing education in state-run colleges, students who are not studying in government-run colleges or those in areas where there are no government colleges feel discriminated against.

These students have strongly resented the announcement of the CM terming it as a discriminatory one, which is hurting the right to equality and education as only a segment of students will get benefit, while they will be left out from getting a waiver from graduate studies. Also, there are several areas where government-run colleges are not situated, hence, students living there will be denied the benefit for no fault of theirs.

As a mark of resentment, the youth under the aegis of the Yuva Krantikari Manch protested in Haridwar.

Youth from various tehsils joined in the protest and even warned of taking the legal course if the discriminatory announcement was not withdrawn. Former city college union president Gawaksh Joshi said the CM should instantly rethink over the announcement.

“A rethink is essential on this issue as discrimination among youth, particularly those areas where government educational infrastructure is not in place, will be deprived of this, while those living in accessible areas will get the benefit,” said Joshi.

Warning that if the state government doesn’t reconsider this educational waiver policy, those youth who will not get the benefit will take to the streets manch leader Rajendra Yadav said in coming days the manch would formulate further course of action, with legal option not being ruled out.

Youth leaders also said if BJP leaders thought that every decision they took was right, they were having a false notion, as it was the youth who played a pivotal role in bringing them to power. And if such discrimination continued, they should remember that in the coming Assembly elections, the youth could oust them from power.

Youth protestors, including Rahul Saini, Jagdeesh Yadav, Aman Gar, Vijay Prajapati, Nitin Gupta, Aman Malhotra, Shwetank, Himanshu Gupta, Gaurav Gaud, Sumit Kumar, Dinesh, Ankit Kumar, Anil, Ashwani, Jai Chand and Pankaj Negi, also burnt the effigy of Chief Minister Nishank and stopped vehicular traffic at the Ranipur intersection for a few minutes as a mark of protest.

Dehradun, November 15
Colonel Brown School celebrated its 84th founder’s day with enthusiasm here today. Everyone appreciated the brilliant science and art and craft exhibition held in the school auditorium. Each item was exquisite and aesthetically made and all walls were adorned with charts on various subjects.

Apart from the exhibition, the students also presented their expertise on the sports field where they were seen participating in events with full energy and enthusiasm. The activities began with a well-coordinated march past followed by an Indo-Western fusion performance on the lyrics of “Vande Mataram” by boys. Students also displayed mass PT, yoga and karate. All performances were appreciated by teachers and parents.

Later in the evening, the school’s theatre reverberated with the Hindi choir singing “swagatam”.

Dehradun, November 15
Uttarakhand NCC’s 29 Battalion organised a blood donation camp at the Anarwal centre here today. A large number of cadets and officers donated blood at the camp.

Brig PPS Pahwa, DDG, NNC, Uttarakhand, inaugurated the camp and said he felt privileged to have inaugurated the camp, which would mean giving life to many people in distress and in need of blood.

He said due to the scarce blood availability, thousands of people died each year. He said, “It’s good that our cadets are motivated enough to voluntarily donating blood in such large numbers. We conduct this camp every year to create awareness among our students and staff about how precious blood is for human life”.

Dehradun November 15
The Sardar Bhagwan Singh (SBS) PG Institute of Biomedical Sciences and Research commenced its three-day-long extravagant SBS Utsav here today. Brig PPS Pahwa, DDG, NNC, Uttarakhand, inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp, along with Prof AK Sharma, Director of the institute.

In the series of various competitions, the cross-country race ‘sarv shiksha’ was the first event. A large number of students from SGRR Balawala, Government Inter College Miyawala, Government School Shamshergarh, Government Inter College Nathuwala and Subhash Chandra Bose Academy participated in the race.

Among the women participants, Sandhya Sharma of SGRR Balawala stood first, while Neetu Negi and Swati Sajwan of SGRR Balawala were declared second and third, respectively. Among the men, Ram Kumar of Government Inter College Balawala, Vikas Chhetri and Ajay Negi of SGRR Balawala were declared second and third, respectively.

Dehradun, November 15
Chandni of Raipur Block shone at the athletics meet being held under the Panchyat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan at Inter College, Balawala, bagging the first place in 400m, 800m and long jump here today.

Anidhi Gupta, also of Raipur Block, stood first in the 100m and 200m event. Shaspur Block’s Raneeta stood first in the 3000m race. In shot put, Priyanka of Vikasnagar got the top honours.

Meanwhile, Doiwala Block got the first place in the handball and Raipur was the runners-up. Doiwala also emerged the champions in the volleyball beating Chakrota. In kabaddi, Shaspur beat Kalsi and Raipur defeated Doiwala in kho-kho.

Roorkee, November 15
“Roorkee will have its own shooting range. It has been approved and its outline will be ready by December,” said NS Rana, former Cabinet minister and now president of the Sports Federation.

Rana was addressing a gathering during the closing ceremony of the State Athletics meet at the BEG, Pavilion Ground last evening. The announcement resulted in excitement and happiness in the gathering. Proud father of shooter Jaspal Rana said the budding shooters would not have to move out of the city to polish their skills and suffer any logistic issues one comes across in the process.

Observing this as the main issue and several others had speeded the decision on setting up of the shooting range, he added.

Bhem Singh, an Arjun awardee and 1966 Asian game gold medalist, also shared his experiences and motivated the budding athletes to come forward and participate in games and make the country proud in the sports arena.

Dehradun, November 15
Tel Bhavan (White) got the better of Corporate Establishment by six wickets in a league match of the ongoing Inter-Departmental Cricket Tournament under way at the Ambedkar Stadium of the ONGC.

A match underway at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Memorial Twenty20 Cricket Tournament

In another match played today, KDMIP defeated JOP by 52 runs.

Royal Challengers beat Vidhan Sabha

The Royal Challengers and the Himalayan Cricket Academy set up the final summit of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Memorial Twenty20 Cricket Tournament, which is being played at Matawala Bagh here.

In the semifinal, the Royal Challengers beat the Vidhan Sabha by 103 runs. Batting first, Royal Challengers set a big target of 189 runs for eight wickets in 20 overs. Shashank (41) and Dhanraj (44) were the top scorers for the team.

Bhuvnesh took four wickets for the Vidhan Sabha. Playing second, the Vidhan Sabha team could just scored 85 runs in 18 overs before getting all out. Amar got four wickets and Ravinder two wickets for Royal Challenger.

In the second semifinal, the Himalayan Academy beat the Doon Tigers by seven wickets. The latter scored 117 runs for six wickets in 18 overs, while the Himalayan team achieved the target in 18 overs.

Haridwar, November 15
The controversial issue of land dispute between Gurukul Kangri University and the State Public Commission seems to be heading towards a longer duel as support for the stance of Gurukul University has been pouring in from various quarters, including political, social and educational organisation.

For second consecutive day, Gurukul University’s teaching, non-teaching staff, along with students, protested at the university premises opposing the construction of a wall by the state commission and against the tyrant suppression methods used by the police in curbing the voices of the university employees’.

Political parties, along with several educational institutions, have ushered their support to the university agitation with the Congress staging a rally in the city to protest against the usage of force by the police on the helpless teachers, employees and students. The party workers rallied from Shankaracharya Chowk till Singh Dwar near the university, raising slogans against the BJP government and the District Administration for conniving to suppress the university’s voice.

Patanjali Yog Peeth Vice-Chancellor Acharya Bala Krishan said the protest would go on in a non-violent manner against the tyrant state machinery, which had misused its powers to curb the voice of peaceful agitation.

Several local organisations have come out openly in support of the university stance, condemning the misuse of administrative powers by the state commission and local administration.

Founder of the Rashtriya Krantikari Manch and former legislator Ambrish Kumar, who attended the protest at university, said, the attitude of the Uttarakhand police was no less in comparison with tyrant methods adopted by the British era police, while the state commission were of the opinion they were not in purview of the law of the land.

Terming the century-old Gurukul University as no ordinary educational institution, Bala Krishan, who also manages the Patanjali Yogpeeth, said Gurukul was an ancient-heritage university, which was symbolic of Indian culture and if any one tried to hurt it, the downfall of the attackers was incumbent.

The Staff unions of Uttarakhand Sanskrit Univeristy, Shravannath Math Jawaharlal Nehru College and several other colleges too offered their support to the university’s stance with their executive members also on agitation today.

“This is no way to suppress or justify the issue with usage of violence as its administration has the responsibility to ensure impartial justice, but when the administration itself becomes biased and tries to curb the voice of truth then people have to take to streets to ensure tyranny succumbs beneath truth,” said Dr SK Batra of SMJN College.

The Political outfit, Samajwadi Party, has condemned the one sided stance of the administration and the lathi-charge that followed. The party will be staging a protest at the residence of Municipal Chairman Kamal Johra, With its district chief Dr Rajendra Parashar, terming the act as a deliberate attempt, done in connivance with the state commission, administration and municipality to illegally take the possession of land which had hurt the democracy’s soul to the hilt.

The Uttarakhand Arya Samaj and the Gandhi Vadi Ekta Manch too supported the university management pointing that the BJP-led state government was behaving in a dictatorship style and sought questions from the two local state cabinet ministers on keeping quiet over the episode.

While wearing black bands, the activists of Uttarakhand Vikas Manch protested at the Alaknanda ghat against the lathi-charge by police on students and university employees which injured dozens of students. Demand of suspending the police officials involved in the lathi-charge has been made by the University Students Welfare Council.