Haridwar, December 11
Despite red alert in the city, post-Varanasi bomb blast during the performance of the Ganga aarti on seventh of this month, people’s faith seems to be unaffected as in large numbers devotees are thronging Har-ki-Pauri to attend the famous aarti.

With beefed-up security vigil, patrolling, checking, frisking, monitoring by closed-circuit television cameras being done round the clock, people at the world-famous place, particularly during the Ganga aarti at Har-ki-Pauri, seem to be quite secure. Even the very next day when the terror blast at Varanasi took place, despite intelligence agencies alerting the Haridwar and Rishikesh administrations of these twin cities being the next target of terrorists, there was no impact on the outpour of devotees and tourists at Har-ki-Pauri’s traditional Ganga aarti.

Such is the enthusiasm of devotees that prior to the Ganga aarti the ghats of holy Brahm Kund, Malviya Deep and Nai Sota are jampacked before the teerth purohits light the aarti lamps. Enchanting is the word that comes to mind when one sees the holy Ganga flowing, the lighted aartis’ reflection in the river water and hundreds of people sitting on both sides of the ghats in utmost religious dedication.

Apart from the terror threat, the cold wave prevalent in the region also hasn’t deterred the religious faith of people. However, the Ganga Sabha, the authoritative body which governs the Brahm Kund and the Har-ki-Pauri Ganga aarti, has also from their side beefed up the security vigil. The sabha has decided to increase its security vigil with more guards being inducted. The teerth purohits and members too are now more vigilant, making sure that information of the movement of suspicious persons and unidentified objects are conveyed to the police.

Nainital, December 11
Taking on-going fight over corruption into the BJP camp, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat has charged that the BJP has stalled parliamentary proceedings to divert attention from the corruption rampant in Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.

Defending his own party on the issue, Rawat said the Congress was ready to debate the corruption issue. He said the party was not even averse to debating the need for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe in the 2G-spectrum controversy.

“If there have been irregularities in the granting of licenses, we have asked the CBI to look into it. The Public Accounts Committee can take up the issues raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report. It is not a small body, as it has the Leader of Opposition at the helm. The whole thing is that they should debate the matter in Parliament,” he said.

“Once the debate is on, truth will surely come out. We are ready to have even a four-day debate on the corruption issue. But stalling Parliament is no solution,” said Rawat during his brief visit to the town to attend a function.

The minister was critical of the BJP for the stand it had adopted on the issue. He said the Congress had been removing leaders against whom serious allegations had been made, be it a leader as senior as Natwar Singh or the recent removal of Ashok Chavan, but the BJP had not set any such example, right from the days of allegations made against its former president Bangaru Laxman.

He particularly raised the controversy over the land allotments in Karnataka, where Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa has been facing serious allegations. He also asserted that media and people are being misled on the issue of 2G. He said the allocations for 2G and 3G spectrum need to be looked into separately. “At the time of the former, the tele-density was far lower than what it is now,” said Rawat.

Mussoorie, December 11
The Tibetan community living in exile in Mussoorie celebrated the 21st anniversary of their spiritual guru the Dalai Lama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 in a simple ceremony at the Central School for Tibetans in the Happy Valley here yesterday.

The celebrations began with a prayer offering made at the Buddhist temple by the local lamas and a portrait of the Dalai Lama was brought to the school premises. Chief guest on the occasion Central School for Tibetans Principal VK Singh said the Dalai Lama’s contribution towards global peace was unforgettable and it was befitting to celebrate the occasion on World Human Rights Day.

General Secretary, Tibetan Homes, Sonam Topgyal read out the message from the Tibetan government-in-exile at Dharamsala and said the Dalai Lama was conferred the Nobel Peace Prize for his contribution towards world peace and leading the struggle of the Tibetan community worldwide.

He further said this day was being celebrated as a mark of respect towards the great seer and foremost proponent of the principle of non-violence around the globe through a non-violent approach. He also said the Dalai Lama has guided the Tibetan struggle for justice by applying the philosophy of non-violence.

He further said the Tibetan community here should reaffirm their genuine pledge for the non-violent path, only then this occasion would constitute a meaningful celebration. He also informed that the cultural programs accompanying the celebration have been curtailed in memory of the martyred souls in Tibet this year.

Sonam also congratulated prominent Chinese democracy and human rights activist Liu Xiabo, who is currently in prison in China, for being conferred the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Senior Tibetan Community member Tsering Thondup also opined that although the day was being celebrated as World Human Rights Day, the Tibetan community was still struggling for its basic human rights in Tibet.

The students excelling in sports and academics were also felicitated on the occasion. CST student Tsering Jordan, Tsering Gildon, Tenzing Namgyal and Sonam Chotso from the Tibetan Homes Foundation were awarded certificates and traditional scarves and Tibetan Homes Foundation Tailoring Department teacher Lorje Dolma also received an award for her 25 years of exemplary service.

Mussoorie, December 11
Members and readers converged at inauguration ceremony of the newly constructed hall of historic Tilak Memorial Library situated at Picture Palace, Kulri Bazar, in Mussoorie yesterday. Chief guest on the occasion, Mussoorie MLA Jot Singh Gunsola inaugurated the new hall by cutting the ribbon. Gunsola also announced an additional financial support of Rs 3 lakh from his MLA, LAD fund.

In his inaugural speech, Gunsola said Tilak Memorial Library was the pride of the town and its importance increased further after 
recollecting the circumstances it was established prior to Independence.

Palika President OP Uniyal also announced that he would, after consultation with the board, try to grant an amount for the furniture. He also said in these modern times it was important to inculcate readership habit among children and the library had fulfilled that cause till now ably.

Library president Harbhachan Singh thanked the chief guest for providing the grant for the hall and hoped he would support them in future too. He also informed that the library was self funded and residents of the town were supporting it on their own since its inception and no fund had been availed from any government establishment so far.

Outlining the future course for the library, Harbhachan said soon the library would be computerised and connected to other libraries of the world for the benefit of readers and researchers alike.

Coordinator of the function advocate Alok Mehrotra thanked all for their support and assistance to the library. Satish Dhaundiyal, Jaikumar Gupta, Shalendar Karnwal, Senior Citizen president RS Mishra and others were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, December 11
Film lovers of Dehradun will have an opportunity to view international award-winning films by some of leading directors during a festival of Spanish films being organised by REACH Talkies in collaboration with Delhi-based The Instituto Cervantes. The festival will open with “The Secret Life of Words” directed by Isabel Coixet on December 12 at 11 am at Muse Art Gallery, Hotel Inderlok, Rajpur Road. The films to follow are “Mondays in Sun” on December 19, “Tesis” on December 26 and “Lucio” on January 2, 2011. Each of these movies will be repeated, six days later, at Vasant Vihar Club at 5 pm.

Woody Allen, upon receiving the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award in 2002 in Oviedo, remarked: “When I left New York, the most exciting film in the city at the time was Spanish, Pedro Almodovar’s one. I hope that Europeans will continue to lead the way in film making because at the moment not much is coming from the United States”. This is shows the global recognition, the modern Spanish cinema has attained.

The art of motion-picture making within the nation of Spain or by Spanish filmmakers abroad is collectively known as Spanish cinema. The first Spanish film was screened in May, 1895, in Barcelona. Luis Buñuel is the first Spanish film director to achieve success internationally. Founder of the first Film Society in 1928, in Madrid, Bunuel co-produced well-known avant-garde film, “An Andalusian Dog”, with Salvadore Dalí in 1929 and his movies, “Viridiana” (1961), and “Tristana” (1970) are rated as greatest films ever made in Spain. The Spanish cinema continues to awe audiences worldwide by directors like Pedro Almodóvar, Carlos Saura, Alejandro Amenábar and Isabel Coixet and actors like Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas.

“‘The Secret Life of Words’ (2005), written and directed by Isabel Coixet, is an entertaining movie in a meaningful way. This movie with duration of 115 minutes has won 18 Spanish and international awards, tells the story of the introspective Hannah, who wears a hearing aid, and is forced to go on holiday. On holiday she manages to find a job: caring for Josef, a burn victim on an oil rig who temporarily lost his sight, until he’s stable enough to be transferred. There is almost no one on the rig, except a cook, an oceanographer and a few others out at sea. Hannah tends to Josef and she slowly breaks her shell of silence.

Mussoorie, December 11
In a press note released to the media, members of the Hotel, Restaurant Karamchari Mahasangh registered their protest against the state government on removing Ravinder Jugran from the post of president of the Rajya Andolankari Samman Parishad by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

The hotel workers in a meeting held in Mussoorie said it was indeed unfortunate that the BJP instead of rewarding honest and active politicians like Ravinder Jugran, was demoralising them by showing them the door and, hence, indicating that there was no place for such leaders in the BJP-led government. The workers also said in the present government sycophants were ruling the roost which was affecting the development process in the state and the workers were feeling marginalised.

The trade union leaders appreciated the concern shown by Jugran towards the labour issues. Mahasangh president Sobhan Singh Panwar said the ouster of Jugran was a slap on the face of the andolankaris and they would not remain still and begin a mass movement soon in support of Jugran.

Dr Hari Mohan Goel opined that the BJP government with this move had indicated its malice towards andolankaris, thus unveiling its true face. Another andolankari from Mussoorie Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi was of the view that Jugran was doing a good job, but as it was BJP’s internal matter, he would refrain from any comment. He, however, said newly nominated president of the parishad Usha Rawat was also a committed andolankari. — OC

Mussoorie, December 11
The ongoing agitation of Avalon resort employees against the retrenchment drive being carried out by the management seems to have no ending. The warring employees sat on dharna once again on the Kacheri premises in support of their demands.

Dehradun DM Sachin Kurve also visited the dharna site and reviewed the situation. Kurve was of the view that the two factions should resolve the dispute amicably. He said as the case was already in the court, so he would not be able to comment on it at the moment.

Hotel Karamchari Mahasangh president Sobhan Singh Panwar said a letter in this regard was written to the Labour Commissioner (vide number 6526-28), in which he was informed that the Avalon management was not adhering to the Labour Laws Section 13 (6), and 6 (e) of the Industrial Dispute Act-1947, which was a gross violation of the Act.

It is important to mention that the management had also filed a caveat in the court. Doon School Karamchari Panchayat Union, Jitendar Rana, Billoo Balmiki, Bhagwan Singh Chauhan, Sohan Lal Thapliyal, Jagdish Shah and others also extended their support to the agitating workers of the resort. — OC

Pitthoragarh, December 11
A separate directorate for primary education in the state will start functioning by next year. Uttarakhand Education Minister Govind Singh Bisht stated this while addressing a gathering of secondary teachers, who had gathered to elect their new regional executive here today.

“After the directorate will be formed, the process of training primary teachers and initiation of research on primary education will start in the state,” said the minister. The minister said the state government was soon going to fill posts of 6,500 teachers in the state, out of which 3,030 teachers would be in the BTC category.

“The government wants to recruit BTC teachers according to the prevalent pattern, but the Right to Education Act formulated by the Centre is coming in its way. The government is sorting out the matter,” said the minister.

According to the Education Minister, the Education Department of the state will soon open carrier counselling centres in every district headquarters, including separate centres for girls students in two districts, where there number was higher then those of boys.

Dehradun December 11
Members of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) staged a dharna at the Gandhi Park here against countrywide corruption and the nexus between politicians and bureaucrats. They took a pledge to eradicate corruption.

On the occasion, state secretary of the CPM Vijay Rawat said the Congress and the BJP had crossed limits of corruption. “The UPA has become infamous for indulging in a series of corruption. Be it the poor condition of the public distribution system (PDS), disinvestment of profit-making units or inclination towards wealthy business houses leading to inflation, the Congress is responsible for all of them,” he said and took a jibe at the state government for corruption.

“The Nishank Government is ignoring the welfare of people, minorities and unprivileged due to privatisation. The law of the land and the PDS has failed completely. People are being fleeced in the name of transportation. The disaster management proved to be an utter failure. Inability to enforce labour laws has led to the exploitation of labourers. NAREGA too is not implemented seriously,” he said.

The speakers such as Surender Singh Sajvan, Virender Bhandari, Shiv Prasad Devli and Indu Naudiyal urged to exedite the protest. — TNS

Dehradun, December 11
The second convocation for meritorious students of Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) was held at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) here today. All students attaining more than 65 per cent in academics were given certificate of merit and a gold medal.

The ceremony was chaired by Chairman, All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, SS Mantha. Uttrakhand Governor Margaret Alva inaugurated the convocation in which 4,979 students were given the degrees.

However, on the occasion doctor of science (honoris causa) was also conferred upon ex-Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), SK Joshi and Director-General, National Informatics Centre (NIC), Government of India, Dr BK Gairola for their valuable contribution in the field of science and technology.