Devasthal, December 19
With commissioning of a 1.3-metre optical telescope here today, the Indian astronomy has got a major shot in the arm.

The telescope, which is expected to go a long way in enhancing the observational capabilities at a height of 2,500 metre above the sea level, was formally commissioned by Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Dr T Ramasami at a ceremony attended by a large number of scientists and local population.

It has been installed at a hilltop at Devasthal, 60 km from Nainital, at a site ideal to provide stellar observational facilities in a rarefied atmosphere. The scientist fraternity from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) have undertaken the project.

A delighted Dr Ramasami said with the installation of the telescope, ARIES had become an observatory of international importance. Very soon a 3.6-metre telescope, that would be the biggest in India and amongst the most powerful in the world, would be established at Devasthal.

“India has been among the best in theoretical astronomy. In the past, Indians have been known for predicting celestial events. With this facility our practical knowledge will get a boost. This facility will generate interest among people,” he said, while suggesting that a programme be drawn to get children from various institutions to come here for two to three days and observe the cosmos by using the facility.

“We must not only get good research results, but also good astronomers,” said the DST secretary. He said India was aiming to join an international consortium aiming to build the world’s biggest 30-metre telescope in Hawaii. Dr Ramasami said the huge cost, which the government was willing to make in astronomy would be justified when youngsters took interest and discovered something that the country would be proud of.

Eminent scientist Dipankar Bhattacharya described the commissioning of the 1.3-metre telescope as a long jump. Director of ARIES Dr Ram Sagar expressed special thanks to the local population for the support extended by them, which helped in making this dream project a reality.

The 1.3-metre optical telescope funded by the DST was built in the workshop of Dr Frank Melsheimer in Colorado, USA. It is a new technology telescope and highly precise work from the mechanical and optical point of view. After the installation of the telescope, astronomers can assess the life cycles of stars and study various galaxies in the universe in more detail.

After nearly a decade of continuous monitoring of the atmosphere, Devasthal was chosen as one of the best sites in the country for optical telescopes. This telescope has the largest usable field of view in the sky among this size of the telescopes and will be used to study variable stars, gamma ray bursts and supernova events, star formation in milky way and other galaxies in the universe.

Calling for a full-fledged national programme in astronomy, leading astrophysicists from the country have underlined the need for large optical and infra-red astronomy facilities, so that the nation can make desired advancements in the field.

After delivering a speech at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) on “Discovering extra solar planets- a dream of nation”, eminent scientist Sujan Sengupta in a talk with The Tribune on Saturday said lack of resources was a major block in the astronomy research in India.

“If we have the money and larger telescope facilities, we too will be making new discoveries of new planets regularly. Right now our focus is to collaborate with institutions in Europe and America to make use of their facilities,” he said, while adding that people across the nation wanted to know why Indian scientists were not discovering extra solar planets, whose number today stands at 510.

Sengupta, who works at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bangalore, disclosed that India was working towards being a partner in the building of the proposed world’s biggest 30-metre telescope at Hawaii, but it was still a decade to go before it would be able to use the facility.

On being asked about the possibility of life in other planets of solar system, he said while Mars and Venus come in the habitable zone, a factor that leads to no life there was the absence of plate tectonic, a phenomenon unique to the Earth.

He further disclosed that the pace at which science was moving towards discoveries, an Earth-like extra solar planet might be discovered over the next five or six years, but whether it would have life could not be said. He pointed that the possibility of life could be determined if ozone layer was discovered around such a planet.

“Even Darwin talks about survival of the fittest and not the intelligent,” he said in a lighter vein. He pointed that major advancements in the field of discovery of extra solar planets had been made since 1995 after the discovery of S1Pegasi B planet.

Sengupta dwelt at length on the various methods like the doppler, infra-red and the polarisation spectra methods being used to identify new planets outside the solar system.

Talking about the kind of effort it would require in India to make such discoveries, he said besides having larger telescopes, there would be a requirement of at least 100 clear nights per annum that would facilitate at least seven hours of observation every day. This would lead to identification of about 12,000 stars over a period of three years, out of which one or two might turn out to be planets.

He called for an action-oriented team, comprising young scientists and heads of major institutions, to take up this challenge with the backing of a national programme on the subject.

His view on having large optical and infrared astronomy facilities was supported by eminent scientist Dipankar Bhattacharya, who said the scope of work would increase tremendously if such facilities were made available.

Dehradun, December 19
Members of the consultative committee today brought out a draft policy on the Himalayas for further amendments. An initiative of people, the draft policy is a result of the consultative meeting held from November 9 to 11 in Dehradun and will now be circulated among other Himalayan states for incorporating further suggestions.

Environmentalists Sunderlal Bahuguna, Dr Anil Joshi, Ghuman Singh and others, attended the meeting.

Speaking at a press conference here today, chairman of the committee Dr BP Maithani said the draft policy was now open for more suggestions. “Ultimately, the entire exercise will pave way for a comprehensive policy on the Himalayas approved by the people to be handed to the Centre, which is also contemplating coming up with a separate policy for the Himalayan states,” he said.

Dr Maithani said the policy was expected to address the problem of alienation and lopsided development. “For the all-round development of the state, community ownership of natural resources is important and it should be at the level of a gram sabha,” stressed Maithani.

He said need for a Himalayan policy was as old as the statehood demand and would give due recognition to the cultural and climatic diversity of the state. On the other hand, social activist Virender Painuly called for taking into account opportunity cost that would compensate the residents of the state for guarding the borders and even encourage them not to migrate.

Dehradun, December 19
A cost-effective and productive management system for the conservation of environment at the Hemkund shrine in the Bhyundar valley in Chamoli district can be replicated in eco-sensitive zones in Himalayan regions.

Presenting a case study at the Himalayan Environment Conservation workshop held yesteray at Songtsen Library, state project Director, Livelihoods Improvement Project for the Himalayas, Uttarakhand, Jyotsna Sitling said garbage disposal was a problem in the area, as it was posing a threat to the existence of the Bhyundar valley.

“A system of responsible tourism with active participation of locals, pilgrims and shrine management committee resulted in the removal of 206.8-tonne non-biodegradable waste accumulated over the past 20 years,” said Sitling.

She said, “The conservation plan at 14,00 ft led to the creation of a new business model and the government began operating the first waste plastic densification (lumping) plant of 10 tonne capacity per month at Srinagar since 2006 and more are in the offing,” she stressed.

Dr Tashi Samphel Stanzin Lotos

The Hemkund Shrine initiative has been recognised as the first community managed environmentally responsible mass tourism in India at the Bhyundar valley. The initiative was started in 2002.

Director of Songtsen Library Dr Tashi Samphel said in a novel approach students from Arunachal Pradesh, Lahaul-Spiti, Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Tibetans had been brought together so that they took lessons in the conservation of rivers and eco-sensitive areas.

“The Himalayan rivers are now being threatened by the shrinking of Himalayan glaciers, loss of underground water and the construction of hundreds of hydropower projects,” he said.

While former Deputy Commissioner from Leh Stanzin Lotos said, “To facilitate the exchange of information and ideas related to environment and culture among the Himalayan students, a workshop that comes up with real-life experiments will be a big help,” he stressed.

With the Assembly polls approaching, the state government, under the chief ministership of Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, is on an overdrive to win over the masses.

With the popularity graph of his government waning every day, the government has now decided to go in for the policy of media appeasement. Insiders in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) confess that Dr Nishank and his close associates are of the opinion that if they manage to get the vernacular media to report things the way they want to, then most of their poll-related troubles will be over. The insiders also feel that this line of thought is unlikely to yield the desired results unless the government actually performs on the ground.

However, the efforts to woo media persons, particularly those from the vernacular papers and channels, are on in the full swing. Sources said having given a contract to a subsidiary of a leading vernacular media house for putting up his hoardings across the state, Dr Nishank recently decided to tie up with the second leading media house by deciding to circulate a book published by the media house related to the achievements of the state over the first decade of its existence.

The government has now started getting bundles of the said book, otherwise priced at Rs 200 per copy, at the District Information Offices across the state for its disbursement at the grass-roots level.

The disbursement of publicity material singing praises of Dr Nishank and his government has become a headache for the officials across the state as tones of such material continues to lie stashed with no takers.

While the government continues to draw flak on various platforms for its inability to deliver, the Directorate of Information continues to do its bit to build the government’s image by getting tonnes of publicity material eulogising the government printed and dumped in the districts for circulation right up to the grass-roots level.

The memory of the department getting a dateless calendar of Dr Nishank printed last year where his image towered over the Char Dhams is still alive as well as the core of several jokes doing the rounds in the region.

The disposal of calendars had become a major headache for the officials as no one was willing to take home a dateless calendar. It is learnt that thousands of copies are still lying waste in various offices.

Dehradun, December 19
Doon Valley Public School celebrated its 28th annual day with great fervour and enthusiasm here yesterday. A large number of students participated in the extravagant event and every individual was privileged to find his or her place under the spotlight.

The chief guest of the occasion was Prof DS Chauhan, Vice-Chancellor, Uttarakhand Technical University, who inaugurated the event, while the Heritagians conjured up a wonderful presentation of songs, dances and music.

The programme began with an art and craft exhibition followed by the lighting of the ceremonial lamp. The students presented the Saraswati Vandana and other forms of semi-classical dance style. Following it were several dance performances and English and Hindi plays.

GK Shimal, Principal of the school, presented the annual school report and awarded the meritorious students of school who have topped in the CBSE.

Dehradun, December 19
To highlight and eliminate irregularities in functioning of the alumni association, members of St Joseph’s Academy held their first annual general meeting here yesterday.

While talking to The Tribune, alumni association member Nitin Sharma said, “It is a milestone moment in history of St Joseph’s Academy (SJA), Dehradun, as its first-ever annual general meeting of the alumni association was held yesterday. This perhaps is our last chance to salvage the lost time and be a part in making our goal and dream a reality in making the association a world-class alumni association.”

“The team was founded in 2003 with an intention to unite and bring together the former students of the academy. But the governing, formation and future goals of the association were not in well coordination. Therefore, the meeting was called upon to discuss such agendas in presence of all the members of the association,” said Sharma.

The association members discussed:

n Inclusion of election clause: Non-inclusion has been a ‘breach of democracy’ .

n Dissolution of the current EC/MC: The current nominated EC/MC members to work till elected members take the oath of office.

n Set election date: Polling process, qualification criteria, tenure of elected members, guidelines, etc.

Dehradun, December 19
The Shivalik Club defeated the Bajrang Club by a solitary goal in a match of the Shivalik Trophy Football Tournament played at the Survey of India grounds here today.

In a closely fought match in which the Bajrang Club played three Nigerian players, both teams fought well. But, it was Sushil Rawat of the Shivalik Club who scored a brilliant goal in 53rd minute. The Bajrang Club tried hard for the equaliser, but could not succeed.

In the second match, the 23 GR team of the Army defeated Sunderwala Boys 2-1. It was Amit Rawat of Sunderwala Boys who opened the score by a brilliant goal. However, the Army team fought well. Soon, Chand Bahadur Thapa scored the equaliser in the 30th minute. The Army school scored the winning goal through Narender Thapa in the 60th minute.

Dehradun, December 19
The YMCA Cricket Club defeated Gautam International School in the Beehive Challenge T20 Cricket Tournament played at the Matawala Bagh grounds here today.

Winning toss, the YMCA chose to bat first and scored 193 runs in 19.2 overs. Anshul scored a half century (32 balls) and Shiva scored 38 runs (24 balls) with the active help from Vishal who scored 35 runs (20 balls). Vishal of Gautam International School took three wickets for 28 runs and Parkash took two wickets for 31 runs.

In reply, Gautam International School scored 158 runs for four wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Vishal played a valiant knock of 68 runs not out in 45 balls while Ayush scored 47 runs in 41 balls, but could not take their team to victory. Vikaram, Ravinder, Islam and Prashant took one wicket each for the YMCA team. 

Dehradun, December 19
The Doon Combined Club defeated Haldwani Colts by 122 runs in the third Uttarakhand Shaheed Girish Bhadri Crickte Tournament played at the Rangers Ground today.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, the Doon Combined Club made 203 runs in 35 overs losing nine wickets. Adil of the Doon Combined Club put up a spectacular performance with both bat and ball and was declared man of the match. He was the top scorer for his team scoring 35 runs with one six and was ably supported by Yogender who scored 34 runs, giving a solid opening to their team.

Sidhant Dobhal took four wickets for Haldwani Colts, while Chaman Singh took two wickets.

Chasing the target of 203 runs, Haldwani Colts were bundled out for 81 runs in 18 overs, with both opening batsmen leaving the ground for duck.

Adil took four wickets followed by Vijay Bhatti and Vipin Rana who took two wickets each for Doon Combined Club.

Haridwar, December 19
If the two opening matches that got underway in the Inter School Cricket tournament here are any indication, then this tournament will surely see a high standard of cricket and young budding talent.

Being played at the renowned BHEL Sports Stadium here, the opening match was played between Vidya Mandir Sector-1 and Doon Cambridge. The toss was won by Vidya

Mandir captain who opted to field first. The decision bore fruit as their fast bowlers utilised the advantage of the cold and windy conditions, paving the way to swing the ball to near perfection by bagging wickets at regular intervals.

Such was the fall of wickets at regular intervals that the whole Cambridge team could amass a meagre 88 runs and couldn’t even complete the full quota of stipulated 20 overs. Only Nakul (32) and Rajiv (13) could resist the hostile bowling of the opposition Vidya Mandir bowling attack in which Ankit bagged a couple, while Sunil and Anil bagged a wicket apiece.

In reply, the opening batsmen aided by solid middle-order batsmen paved the way to a flying start and with the sun shining bright, drying up the moisture whatsoever left in the pitch.

Cambridge bowlers were at the mercy of the Vidya Mandir batsmen who scored fluently the winning run with 17 balls to spare.

While in the second match of the opening day, this time it was Vidya Mandir Sector-5 that played Saraswati Vidya Mandir. It was a clean contest with bowling-friendly conditions making this match also a low score one with the run rate remaining under six per over.

Winning the toss, as was expected owing to the weather conditions, Saraswati Vidya Mandir elected to field first giving batsmen of Vidya Mandir a feel of the ball.

Despite handy contributions from Shivam (20) and Shubham (20), none of the other batsmen could score heavily, and finally the team total reached 100 runs in the 20 overs. From Saraswati Vidya Mandir bowling attack spearhead Himanshu took three wickets aided by Vipul, Ravi and Rohit with two each.

But in this match, the run chase was not so easy as compared to the opening match with a regular fall of wickets. But a gritty batting display from late middle order ensured that the Saraswati Vidya Mandir reached the target with just a ball to spare.

Earlier, the tournament got to a gala opening ceremony start with the Cricket Association of Haridwar, organising committee members welcoming the participating teams.

Chief guest, Industrial Association of Uttarakhand, Harendra Garg lauded the efforts of the host association in providing a platform to young talented cricketers of the district.

The matches were coordinated by KS Bhandari, general secretary Inder Mohan Barthwal, MP Sharma, Pawinder Singh, Lalit Sachdeva, Kapila, Sulabh Goyal, Kamla Chamoli, Rohit, Bhoopendara, Vishal, Sunil, Vivek Negi, Mukesh, Rohit and Rahul.

Dehradun, December 19
In a friendly match held between St Josephs’ Academy (SJA) alumni, SJA Tigers defeated SJA Lions by two wickets. The match was played at the school grounds as part of the alumni association celebrations here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, SJA Lions scored a total of 135 in 18 overs with the help of a good batting by Dhavan (34), Himanshu (24) and Neeraj (20). For Tigers, Avshish Sehgal took three wickets for 25 runs while Divya took two wickets for 20 runs.

Chasing the target, SJA Tigers scored the required runs in 25 overs at a loss of eight wickets.

Kranti Nanda was the top scorer with a brisk 47 runs for 32 balls. He was ably assisted by Rajat Sharma who scored 27 runs in 25 balls. For SJA Lions, Devendra took two wickets for 22 runs.

A large number of old boys of the school and teachers were present to watch the match.

Dehradun, December 19
The 11th Stag Hemlata Memorial Inter-District and State-Level Table Tennis Tournament concluded here today. The concluding function was presided over by AB Lal, DGP and president of the Uttarakhand Table Tennis Association, who also gave away the prizes to the winners.

The following are the results. Cadet boys (individual) final: Pankaj Goel (Dehradun) beat Nimish latiyan (Dehradun) 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-8); cadet girls (individual) final: Nitu Tamta (Udham Singh Nagar) beat Vanshika Saxena (Dehradun) 3-1 (11-6, 11-7, 9-11 and 11-5); sub-jr boys (individual) final: Suraj Rana (Dehradun) beat Akash Gupta (Dehradun) 3-2 (12-10, 11-5, 9-11, 9-11 and 13-11); sub-jr girls (individual) final: Tina Rawat (Dehradun) beat Vanshika Saxeba (Dehradun) 3-2 (4-11, 13-11, 11-7, 7-11 and 11-8); jr boys (individual) final: Akash Gupta (Dehradun) beat Akshay Dabral (Dehradun) 3-2 (12-10, 10-12, 11-9, 9-11 and 11-7); jr girls (individual) final: Sunita Chhimwal (Dehradun) beat Vinita Chhimwal (Dehradun) 3-1 (11-9, 5-11, 11-4 and 12-10); men’s (individual) final: Akshay Dabral (Dehradun) beat Akash Gupta (Dehradun) 3-2 (11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 6-11 and 11-9); women’s (individual) final Swati Sharma (Dehradun) beat Bhawna Harbola (Dehradun) 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-3).