Dehradun, December 4
Navy Day was celebrated with pomp and show at the National Hydrographic Office here today.

Governor Margaret Alva and chief hydrographer, Government of India, Vice-Admiral BR Rao, AVSM, NM, VSM, together with ex-naval officers participated in the function.

Every year, December 4 is observed as Navy Day to commemorate the daring attack of the Indian Navy on the Karachi Harbour by missile boats during the 1971 war against Pakistan.

The sunset ceremony was observed with the lowering of the flag.

The sunset ceremony is a practice followed by the naval officers on board their ships every day. A laser show on the achievements of the Army was also showcased.

The Governor went around the exhibits that were put on display.

Rear Admiral Joint Chief Hydrographer SK Jha, Principal Director Commodore TK Ashokan and several ex-naval officers attended the function.

Dehradun, December 4
A group of foreign naval officers from different countries are studying underwater features and learning the preparation of sea charts with accuracy and pinpoint precision at Doon-based National Hydrographic Office (NHO).

“The Indian Navy possesses latest technology and manpower in hydrography technology. At the end of the course, we will utilise the training for strengthening our respective country’s Navies,” said Lt Pham Van Mai from Myanmar, who is studying Long Hydrography Course.

These nine naval officers, hailing from Myanmar, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Indonesia, are undergoing training with Indian Naval officers. The naval officers from Myanmar will join the warship and have already put in eight years of service.

“The marine cartography training is provided at Dehradun by experienced and qualified cartographers to meet international chart specifications both in paper and digital form,” said Commandant MDK Wijewardana.

“The training can be matched with the best in the world, including Canada, Australia and the United States of America,” said Commander Mosses from Nigeria. He said several neighbouring countries had treaties of cooperation with each other and it became all the more important for guarding and patrolling of the shores against drug smuggling and pirate attacks.

The Dehradun office is also a repository of archival and historical data and is the only revenue-generating arm of the Indian Navy and is also actively involved in the rescue mission in the aftermath of the tsunami.

Pitthoragarh, December 4
The adventure wing of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) in Pitthoragarh district has now gained a status of being an expert in river rafting as it is running river-rafting courses not only in the slow rapids of the Saryu, but also in the high rapids of the Kali river at the India-Nepal border.

After giving training to rural youths from Munakot block of Pitthoragarh district last week under the border area development project, the adventure wing of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) will now start giving rafting training to girl students from the villages situated at the India-Nepal border.

“Under the project, our expert trainers and guides trained 15 youths from the villages of Munakot block for seven days in Saryu river,” said Dinesh Gururani, manager of the training camp.

After the conclusion of the training camp, the KMVN had organised a programme in which Kanalichina MLA Mayukh Mahar gave away certificates and prizes to the successful youths.

For the first five days, the youths took training in the low-flowing Saryu from Ghat to Chamgar. After that, they were trained in the high waters of the Kali.

“This training by KMVN experts will boost the morale and confidence of the youth who live at the border,” said LS Mahra, one of the organiser.

Before this training to village youths, the KMVN rafting experts provided training to youth from across the Kumaon region and army jawans.

The KMVN’s adventure wing has started training youths from rural areas of Kumaon to navigate rafts at the time of calamity.

The adventure wing of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam has so far trained nearly 50 youths from Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital on the high rapids of Kali.

“The first batch of 24 youths from Udham Singh Nagar, working as PRD jawans, was trained between March 22 and 29 last year whereas the second batch of the same number of youths from Nainital district was trained between 10 and 17 April the same year,” said Dinesh Gururani, KMVN Manager and in charge of the training.

During training, the youth are first taught swimming and then, they are trained in pedalling of raft and cliff jumping.

The youths are also given training in water rescue operations. “Our three trainers have a wide experience of operating in the Ganga at Rishikesh as rafting guides,” said Dinesh Gururani.

“Formerly, we started training the youths about river rafting on the Saryu river, but later shifted to the Kali, only to make the trainees face the maximum challenge of rafting in Uttarakhand. The velocity of the Kali is maximum among the rivers of the state,” said Dinesh Gururani.

Gururani added that even the Army has contacted KMVN rafting experts to train their personnel. From next month, 10 army jawans and officers will be given training in river rafting on the Kali.

The banks of the Kali bustled with activity on May 2 when Army jawans tested their stamina on its rapids. The Kali is one of the fastest flowing rivers in Uttarakhand with a velocity of 10,000 cusecs per second even during the lean season.

This velocity makes the Kali the most challenging river from the rafting point of view which makes the most challenging ‘plus five’ rapids for the rafters. “The river has seven times more flow than other rivers of the state excluding the Ganga,” said Gururani.

Nainital, December 4
Despite tall claims coming from the administration at regular intervals, the masses in the Kumaon region continue to grapple with the problems of ensuring a smooth and regular supply of basic essentials to their households.

In large parts of the region, consumers of the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) and power are among the most harried lot.

LPG consumers claim to be subject to harassment by their service providers. Things came to such a pass on Wednesday that the consumers resorted to stopping the LPG gas supply of one of the companies to the entire Kumaon.

They were agitated over the fact that the agency owner was compelling the consumers to purchase new stoves with their gas connection.

The agitated consumers gathered at the gate of the gas refilling supplying unit at Mota Haldu and did not allow any truck with loaded cylinders to ply out of the premises.

The administration had to intervene in the matter to convince the agitated people that they cannot be compelled to buy stoves and the retail agencies would be told to display the rate list of all accessories promptly at their office.

In fact, routine gas supply has been running into rough weather at several places over the past several months with people resorting to agitations again and again.

Despite promises, the administration has failed to streamline things in several parts of Kumaon. It has failed to check the use of domestic LPG cylinders in commercial establishments which has caused shortage on several occasions.

Meanwhile, residents of Haldwani and its adjoining areas continue to face problems on the power and water supply front.

There is not a single day that passes by without people of one area or the other agitating on the issue.

At times, this disruption is being caused by the maintenance work that has been taken up at a large scale and on the other, it is out of mismanagement.

On Wednesday, it was the population of Bailpadav, Kaladhungi and Kotabagh that had to go without power for several hours. This was mainly because of the shifting of a pole carrying a high tension line.

The problem gets complicated by the fact that water and power supplies are interconnected. If there is no power, the people are not able to pump water for their daily use.

Nainital, December 4
Shaken by daily reports of mismanagement on various fronts, the administration has initiated a raiding spree, particularly focusing on the township of Haldwani and adjoining areas.

After repeated complaints and agitations, on daily basis, regarding the availability of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the officials raided several restaurants and hotels in Haldwani and seized 35 gas cylinders. These were to be used for domestic purposes but were being used in commercial establishments.

The raids were carried out at 18 restaurants and hotels. The officials said the dip the temperatures during winters would lead to an increased consumption of LPG and that similar operations would continue at least till the end of the next month.

The areas raided included the Nainital Road, Kalafdhungi Road, Chorgaliya Road, Bareilley Road, Railway Bazar and Vanbhoolpura.

Raids were also carried out at the sites where stone crushers were in operation. It was found that the crushers were not only indulging in illegal mining, but massive irregularities in the records pertaining to their stocks were also observed. The administration has slapped a fine of Rs 41 lakh on one of the violators.The owners of the crushers were unable to explain the irregularities detected at their plants and their records.

Series of raids were also carried out at shops selling medicines on Thursday. There was uneasiness prevalent among all the shopkeepers selling pharmaceuticals throughout the day. One of the stores was found running without a proper license. The owner told the authorities that he has applied for the same. The medicines being sold were found to be in order and prescribing to all the norms.

However, some of the shopkeepers were let off with a warning over the minor irregularities that were detected during the raids.

Dehradun December 4
To instill compassion and pay respect to old people, Eurokids Dalanwala visited “Prem Dham”, an oldage home, here yesterday. The kids spent time with the residents and presented sweets and cards to them. A cake was also cut for them. They then performed rhymes and interacted with them.

The field trip was organised by Eurokids Dalanwala with an aim to educate tiny tots to love and respect the elderly. The residents also enjoyed interaction with the kids.

Dehradun, December 4
Dolphin B and ICFAI won the boys and girls titles, respectively, in the volleyball competition organised by the Dolphin (PG) Institute of Biomedical and Natural Sciences.

In the boys final, Dolphin B beat Dolphin A 25-20, 26-24 while in the girls final, ICFAI defeated Dolphin A 25-17, 25-5.

In the boys semifinals, Dolphin B beat IMS 25-18, 25-15 and Dolphin A surpassed ICFAI 25-20, 25-13. In another matches, Dolphin B beat Dolphin A 25-20, 32-30 and Dolphin B defeated ICFAI 25-13, 25-22.

Gunajit Goswami was declared best player in the boys category and Diksha Bisht was adjudged best player in the girls category. The winning team was given Rs 3,100 and runners-up Rs 2,100.

Dehradun, December 4
New Star Cricket Club defeated Vidhan Sabha by six wickets in the ongoing Beehive Challenger Trophy T20 Cricket Tournament here today.

Vidhan Sabha won the toss won and opted to bat. They scored 118 for 4 in 20 overs. Jhagir Khan (42), KS Mehta (29) and Shivam (17) mainly contributed for the team. For New Star Club, Azad and Junaid took two and one wicket, respectively.

New Star Cricket Club scored 119 losing four wickets in 18.5 overs. Sanjiv (54), Junaid (23) and Deepak (20) were the main scorers. KS Mehta and Jhagir of Vidhan Sabha got two and one wicket, respectively.

Meanwhile, Gautam International School beat Everwins Club by eight runs. Gautam School scored 115 runs. In reply, Everwins Club could only score 107 runs. Amit (25), Rohit (21) and Bharat (23) were the scorers for the losing side.

Dehradun, December 4
The Uttarakhand Youth Twenty20 Cricket Association is holding the Uttarakhand Sri Lanka Cup Twenty20 Cricket Tournament from January 13 in Dehradun and Haridwar.

The tournament will start with a friendly match between ruling party MLAs and Opposition MLAs. The matches will be played at Petroleum University, Badoli, and Roshanabad Stadium, Haridwar.

Association General Secretary Javad Butt said the competition this time was being held at a big level and the Sri Lanka Global Cricket Association team will also take part. Local cricket clubs, educational institutions and corporate companies have been sent an invitation for the Uttarakhand Sri Lanka Cup.

Eight teams will take part in the championship. Prior to the tournament, matches will be held between local clubs, educational institutions and corporate companies for the Shyam Dutt Joshi Memorial Cricket Competition.

The winners and runners-up teams will contest against the Sri Lanka Global Cricket Association team. According to Butt, an organising committee has been formed for holding the whole event.

Dehradun, December 4
IPE XI got the better of Loading/Unloading, Tel Bhavan, on the inaugural day of the Inter-Personnel Cosco Ball Cricket Tournament organised by the National Union of ONGC Employees at Ambedkar Stadium.

IPE won the toss and decided to field first. Loading/Unloading set a target of 42 runs. Their opening batsmen went early in the match. The rest of the batsmen too failed to perform and were dismissed cheaply.

Bowlers of IPE XI bowled a tight line and length and didn’t allow their rivals to score runs. The bowlers only gave only two runs as extras in the total.

In reply, IPE achieved the target at the loss of one wicket. Opening batsmen Sudesh scored most of the runs. Bowlers Rajesh and Jitu of Loading/Unloading failed to make much difference.