Pitthoragarh, December 9
Forest officers of India and Nepal have agreed that the elephant corridor in the Terai region of Champawat district and adjoining Nepali areas has been blocked due to encroachments by the people from both countries.

In a meeting on Wednesday at Tanakpur in Champawat district, officers of both countries agreed to open this elephant corridor to make jumbos move freely.

“The Nepali officers agreed that the areas under Khalla, Tunimalli, Tunitalli and Macheti forest ranges in that country, which happened to be an elephant corridor till some time ago, have been encroached upon by people. As a result, jumbos are now entering into the fields at villagers in the Indian territory,” said Amit Verma, DFO, Champawat.

According to the DFO, besides the elephant corridor, other topics of mutual concern for both countries in the field of forests were discussed.

“These topics relate to the protection of animals from poachers in forest areas of both countries and checking smuggling of animal parts from across Nepal,” said the DFO.

Forest officers of Nepal assured their Indian counterparts that they would send their report about the meeting to their government and cooperate with Indian forest officers in opening the elephant corridor in the Terai region of Uttarakhand.

“The officers also exchanged a list of banned forest products and agreed to reduce the smuggling of forest products from either country,” said the DFO.

The meeting was also attended by JS Luis from the Wildlife Trust of India and the Nepali side was led by Regional Director of the Forest Department of Nepal Ashok Dhukna.

Chilla/Haridwar, December 9
With temperatures dipping sharply aided by foggy weather conditions, it’s not only human beings that are getting affected but wild animals in the protected habitat of the Rajaji National Park too feeling the chill.

At the park, which is situated in the Shivalik mountain foothills and adjacent to the Ganga, weather conditions are quite cold and so the park authorities have geared itself up for make sure that no elephant suffer with pneumonia.

Special directions have been given by park Director SS Rassailly for intensifying patrolling by forest guards in the areas where elephant movement and habitat is big. Though the park authorities accept that cold wave hasn’t gripped the region fully, in the coming days when foggy conditions prevail for days together, elephants may catch cold. So, they are preparing a bit early to make sure no jumbo dies of cold.

In view of the death of an elephant in the Jim Corbett National Park due to pneumonia in the past fortnight, the Rajaji officials are making efforts to make sure such a similar incident doesn’t occur in this protected habitat of Asian elephants (elephas maximus).

Wildlife Warden BS Tomar said patrolling teams were being deployed at the core zone areas round the clock. “Different teams for varied zones have been put on rotational day-and-night duty so that any elephant or any other wild animal found in unhealthy condition is given immediate treatment at the spot,” said Tomar.

Though animals are capable of withstanding inclement weather condition, mostly younger jumbos fall ill due to cold.

A noted elephant expert, Dr Ritesh Joshi, points out that by nature elephants are made to survive cold weather conditions, particularly the adult ones get used to the prevalent low temperatures in this part of the region during winter, yet monitoring needs to be done on the calves as they take time to adapt to such climate.

Shedding more light on the jumbo’s natural resistance, Dr Joshi adds: “Elephants during winters change their food composition eating those food materials only which are high on carbohydrates and energy. These days they eat a lot of bark of trees particularly those having medicinal value like Saccharum munja which keeps cold away. Calves are more vulnerable so instant medical need should be available to them so park official’s step is commendable in this regard”.

Help of Gujjars as well as villagers living in the vicinity of the protected park area is being taken by park officials. They have been told that if they see or found any animal in unhealthy condition in the border area of the park they should immediately inform park officials.

Mussoorie, December 9
An agreement between Raja of Tehri Garhwal and the British in 1902 changed the life of villagers around Mussoorie and they lost right to cultivate, collect fodder and wood for the fuel.

A copy of the sale deed executed between Raja of Tehri Garhwal and the Mussoorie Municipal Board in 1902.

Mussoorie was governed by municipal board (MB), which was formed around 1850. The town soon gained popularity among the British and the MB felt the need of more buildings. As a large portion of land was still owned by the Raja of Tehri Garhwal, the British thought of buying the MB land from the Raja Kirti Shah.

As suggested by the copy of the sale deed that is in possession of social activist Dr Sunil Sanon from Mussoorie, the Raja sold the large portion of land to the Mussoorie MB for a paltry sum of Rs 3,993 on June 28, 1902. According to Sunil, he received the sale deed copy from his father late Kewal Sannon, who was running a real estate firm with the name of Sannon Brothers during 1930’s.

In 1842, FC Wells was appointed the special commissioner by the then government of North-Western Provinces to investigate the term, confirm the existing holdings, demarcate and include the settlement of the town land that was not then included in any existing holding, but was available for building sites.

The commission was to determine that the site should not be required for the cultivation purpose at any cost by the villagers. FC Wells provided with the reference to these unoccupied lands that if any person wanted to apply for an allotment of the said land, the land applied should be put to auction and assessed to annual rent of an Anna a kachcha bigha. Two-thirds of the annual rent of the auction and two-thirds of the annual rent should be paid to the Raja and his successors in full compensation for all his rights over the land so allotted. The remaining one third of the auction and one third of the rent should be handed over to the community for the local purposes.

Sunil further says that the agreement spelt a death knell for the villagers of Kyarkuli and adjacent villages downstream, who were dependent on the forest reserve on the ridges of Mussoorie for fodder and fuel and other needs. With this agreement they now came under the jurisdiction of the British directly, whereas earlier they paid their obeisance to the Raja. The villagers not happy with the agreement were forced to accept the deal and took it into their stride and since then Mussoorie became a prime property of British till Independence.

Dehradun, December 9
A gift cheque of Rs 11,000 was given to the Swati Negi, 1st runner-up at the Miss Uttarakhand pageant, by Avalon Aviation Academy, Dehradun, here today. The centre’s head Vineeta Juyal presented Negi a bouquet.

Swati was a student of Avalon and was awarded for adding another feather to the academy. Vineet Jain, Director of the academy, Sumit Verma, business head, Manvi Kotnala, academic head and Vikramjeet Singh, north region placement head, were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, December 9
The Doon Art Society put up a painting exhibition at Uttaranchal Gramin Bank in honour of outgoing Chairman of the bank and renowned photographer Shreesh Kapoor on Wednesday.

Shreesh Kapoor thanked the artists for their support and asked them to continue to contribute to the art gallery even when he would leave office.

The new chairman of the bank, YP Arora, assured the artists and art lovers that the art gallery funded by the bank would continue to back artists as usual.

The ones who exhibited their work included President of Doon Art Society Monica Talukdar, Alok Bhaumik, AB Lal, Monica Khanduri, JBS Gaur, Manas Lal, Bhumesh Bharti, Major Ashok and Meena Bakshi.

Monica Talukdar had put up an etching work depicting affection between a mother and a child. Her other work marked an extension of her series on the trio - vibrations-energy-matter - showcasing the cosmic rhythm in bold orange colours.

Seema Nichani, another artist, used oil colours to portray the bond between mother and child in her abstract painting. The artist, who had adeptly brought forth feminine nuances in her ‘Muse’ series, chose green to depict the earth and blue for the child in the painting.

Proficient at experimenting with sculptures, Major Ashok Kumar (retd) did wonders with an etching on bronze with acid and then waiting for the colour to turn grayish green over a long period of time to bring out the best in his work - a child sharing a bond with its mother - a theme repeated in the exhibition.

Much celebrated artist Alok Lal exhibited ‘navras’ - the nine kind of emotions - in his vibrant painting by juxtaposing masks. He said, “These expressions are well enacted by stage artistes and somewhere we all too play as actors in our lifetimes.”

Dehradun, December 9
The Indian Military Academy (IMA) with 543 gentlemen cadets showed tremendous enthusiasm, vigour and zeal to put up an excellent parade in front of an august gathering.

Lt General Rajinder Singh Sujlana, PVSM, AVSM, VSM Commandant, IMA, reviewed the parade and congratulated all gentlemen cadets for choosing this noble profession and asked them to be ready for all types of challenges.

Speaking about the Indian Army, he told that the Indian Army is respected for being apolitical, chivalrous, brave, dedicated and selfless. These are the values all officers must uphold and the ethos should guide every action of theirs. Their dharma is to fight the enemies of the state and its people.

It is, therefore, imperative that they should have an unwavering character and courage to discharge their responsibilities as a warrior. It demands professional competence, physical fitness and leadership qualities of the highest order. The reviewing officer emphasised on virtues such as courage, fortitude and loyalty. He complimented the Deputy Commandant, Chief Instructor and the faculty for moulding gentlemen cadets into fine future young officers. The parade marched on the tunes of ‘sare jahan se achacha hindustan hamara’.

IMA has so far trained over 49,957 officers for the service of the nation till date and after this passing out parade would have trained and commissioned 50,475 officers of the Indian Army to its glorious and colourful history.

Nainital, December 9
With a view to popularise science amongst masses, a two-day workshop on science learning by doing and playing will be organised here from Friday.

Event organiser Professor Girija Pande, “We learn many basic principles and laws of science in schools, but rarely learn to relate those principles with our daily life.” He said the approach is devoid of any practical activities and there is a total lack of encouragement to ask questions. “When the students are exposed to learning by doing and playing, they start asking questions and get their concepts clear,” he said.

The workshop intends to acquaint science teachers with the teaching methods that engage the students. Through this program, the teachers would easily understand the innovative approach. The workshop will also have a few interactive sessions with the science students.

The resource persons for the event include Professor former director, North East Science Museum, Kolkata, Samar Bagchi, former vice-president, IEPT, Kolkata, BN Das, science consultant with an NGO, Pratham, New Delhi, Ashutosh Upadhyay and director general, the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Kolkata, GS Rautela.

Dehradun, December 9
The Obstetric and Gynae Society, Dehradun, held a symposium on versatile vasodilator from contraception to outcome, a panel discussion on menopause, management of growth-restricted foetus and intra-utrine growth retardation (IUGR), here today.

The event featured eminent doctor from Faridabad Maninder Ahuja. She spoke on menopause and floor exercise for increasing the quality of life of both mother and child.

Another renowned doctor Colonel Rajeev Acharya of Shri Mahant Indresh had spoken on evidence-based identification and management of growth-restricted foetus, while Dr Manju Kala had spoke on intra-utrine growth retardation.

However, 50 eminent gynaecologists and obstetricians from Dehradun, Haridwar and Jolly Grant attended the conference and welcomed distinguished speakers on the occasion. The doctors appreciated the invaluable inputs of the invited speakers.

On the occasion, a product ‘arnine’ was also launched by Glenmark to be used in pre-eclampsia, pregnancy, hypertension, oligohydromenos, erectile dysfunction and pre-term labour.

The executive members of the society for 2010 include Dr Anu Dhir (president), Dr Rita Goel (secretary) and Dr Meenu Vaish (secretary).

Haridwar, December 9
In view of Congress President and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi keeping her 58th birthday celebrations low-key due to terror attack at Varanasi Ganga ghat, city Congress workers used the occasion to shed light on the achievements of the party President as well as condemn terrorism.

At the local Congress office situated at Malviya Ghat, executive members of the various party units and party activists wished long life to Sonia, terming her political achievements significant in putting India on the track of development.

Pointing out that in just less than half a decade since Sonia took official membership of the Congress, she has brought the party twice to power at the Centre, OP Chauhan, city unit chief, termed lauded Sonia for her hard work, vision and determination.

“She leads from the front when it comes to taking any responsibility. Sonia by not taking the premier post of Prime Minister in 2004 showed the willingness to work for people without any lure of power or post. She is the person who has put nation on the path of development,” said Chauhan.

City spokesman Tej Prakash Sahu termed Indo-US nuclear deal, progress in the IT sector, Right to Information Act implementation, successful hosting of Commonwealth Games, various social schemes such as NREGA, JNNURM among others as the big achievements of Sonia.

The Youth Congress, Sonia Gandhi Brigade, Rahul Gandhi Brigade had decided against holding a massive celebration which they had planned earlier following the instructions of their party supremo.

Dehradun, December 9
Semifinalists have been decided in the individual events of the two-day state-level Women Open Table Tennis Competition beiing organised the Yuva Kalyan Avam Prantiya Rakshak Dal Department at the multi-purpose hall on the Parade Ground here today.

Swati Sharma, Dehradun, and Monika, Udham Singh Nagar, will play the first semifinal while Vinita, Dehradun, and Bhavana, Dehradun, will play the second semifinal. Both matches will be played tomorrow.

Also, team championship final will be played between Udham Singh Nagar and Dehradun. Today, Dehradun beat Almora 3-0 and Udham Singh Nagar defeated Chamoli in the semifinals of the team events.

While in the individual category, Swati Sharma, Dehradun got the better of Ritu, Udham Singh Nagar, 3-0 in the first quarterfinal. Monika of Udham Singh Nagar beat Priyanka of Dehradun in the second quarterfinal.

In another quarterfinals, Vinita of Dehradun surpassed Babita of Udham Singh Nagar and Bhavana of Dehradun defeated Minakshi of Udham Singh Nagar.

Dehradun, December 9
Doon Combined Club won by five wickets against Ayush Club during the Beehive Challenger’s Trophy Inter-District T20 Cricket Tournament held at Matawala Bagh, Saharanpur Road, here today.

Ayush Club batted first after winning the toss. The decision didn’t help them as the team got bowled all out for a meagre total of 86 runs. Ayush (25), Mayank (18) and Nishant (10) could stand on the pitch for sometime for the batting side.

Nitish and Naresh got three wickets each for Doon Combined Club. Naveen Khanduri also picked two wickets.

Batting second, Doon Combined Club achieved the target with not much difficulty in 8.2 over only scoring 88 runs. Kamal (35) and Neeraj (20) were the principal scorers in the win. Ayush Club’s Amit and Nishant got two wickets each. Bunty pocketed a wicket.

Dehradun, December 9
OLF beat OFD 3-0 in the final to win the North ZoneOrdnance Factories Employees Table Tennis Championship held at OFD here today.

Brijesh Kumar, AM Tiwari and Mahender Rawat performed brilliantly for the winning team during the match.

Earlier in the first semifinal, OFD defeated OFC 3-2 and OLF surpassed OFM 3-0 in the second semifinal.

OFD Senior General Manager Arun Khanvalkar was present to watch the final.

Dehradun, December 9
Hosts St Joseph Academy entered the final of the Senior Council Cricket Tournament defeating Delhi Public School by six wickets in a semifinal held St Joseph’s Academy here today.

In this crucial match, DPS won the toss and chose to bat first. The innings of DPS revolved around Bhanu (29) and Gaurav (23) as the rest of the batsmen failed to perform. The squad set a target of 99 runs in 20 overs losing five wickets.

Anubhav and Sachin of the bowling side took two wickets each. Raghav, Faisal and Prabhanshu got a wicket each.

SJA scored the required total in 16 overs at the loss of four wickets. Opening batsman Akash (28) and Ranjan (23 not out) contributed in the win with good scores. Bhanu, Gaurav, Rahul and Ankur were the wicket takers for DPS.