Pithoragarh, January 13
Uttarayani, a major festival of the Kumaon region, is fast catching on even among the non-resident Kumaonis. Besides the traditional festival, which is held in Bageshwar, Uttarayani is now organised at Sheraghat, the juncture of the three districts of Almora, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar, at Haldwani, Bareilly, Noida, Delhi and Gurgaon.

The festival, which is known for its tradition of kite flying in Gujarat and Rajasthan, is celebrated to please the crow, which is considered an indicator of the Sun power, in the Kumaon region. The people in the region throng the confluence of sacred rivers on this day and make offerings to the Sun God. Crow, which, it is believed, has the stamina to reach the Sun, is offered the first share of various dishes prepared the previous night.

A day before Uttarayani when sun enters the Makar sign, people in Kumaon prepare various dishes of rice and wheat flour, mainly among these are ghugute. They compete with one another to wake up early in the morning to offer a share of all these preparations to the crow. The ritual is mainly carried out by children.

The children chant “Kale kawwa kale kale, le kawwa puri mai ke de thuli thuli kuri” or “Le kawwa puwe mai ke de bhali bhali jway” (O crow come and take this puri and give me a big house or take this puwa and give me a nice wife).

When asked why only the crow is considered so able to give whatever is demanded, noted Hindi writer Shekhar Joshi says the crow is the only bird, which does not migrate during winter and remains with the local people in every season.

According to the cultural scholars who have carried out studies on the Uttarayani festival, it is related to the tradition of worshipping the Sun. “This festival might have been started by the Sun-worshiping communities in Middle Asia before the 10th century and when they migrated to the Himalayan region they also brought the tradition with them,” said Dr Ram Singh, a noted socio cultural historian of the Kumaon region.

According to ancient scriptures, the people of the Shaka tribe migrated from Iran and spread the tradition to the Himalayan region. The original places from which these people belonged are Iran, Egypt and Iraq where the Sun God is worshipped in its different forms.

Dr Yashwant Singh Katoch, in his book “Madhya Himalaya ki Kala” writes that the tradition of worshipping the Sun has dominated North India from the first century to the 6th century AD. The northern style of the Sun worship was mainly based on that practiced by either Iranians or the Kushan King.

“In Kumaon, the influence of the Sun God is very important, as the beginning of the New Year is based on the Sun movement,” says PD Pant, an expert on the local culture. “The Sun year in Kumaon begins from Baisakh Sankranti when the Sun enters the Mesh sign (Aries) and it concludes when the sun enters the Makar sign in the month of Magh,” said Pant. The crow is considered sacred in pre-Brahminical traditions. Pant adds even during the worship of the local deities, the Kumaoni people have a tradition of keeping the share of crow separately.

The Uttarayani festival in the Kumaon region got a political hue when on this day on the confluence of the Saryu and the Gomati at Bageshwar in 1921, the Kumaoni people abandoned the shameful tradition of forced labour under the leadership of BD Panday and Hargovind Ballabh Pant, who were the prominent leaders of the freedom movement in the Kumaon region. Since then, the Uttarayani festival held at Bageshwar has been considered significant though people take a holy dip at every confluence in the Kumaon region and offer ‘argh’ to the Sun God on this day.

Pithoragarh, January 13
Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank will inaugurate the Uttarayani festival on the banks of the Saryu river at Bageshwar on January 14 at 2:30 pm. This was state by District Magistrate of Bageshwar DS Garbyal.

According to the District Magistrate, the Chief Minister will arrive at Bageshwar by a helicopter and after spending an hour in the district he will fly back on the same day. “During the one-hour stay at Bageshwar, Nishank will release a souvenir of the Mela Committee at the venue of the fair and will also lay the foundation stone for a project in the district,” he added.

“This year we have constructed four temporary wooden bridges to facilitate the travel of the devotees who come from distant areas of the Kumaon region to take a dip in the holy Saryu on the occasion of Makar Sankranti,” said Garbyal.

Mussoorie, January 13
To curb the monkey menace in this hill town, the Mussoorie Municipal Council (MC) has launched a drive to relocate these monkeys. The drive, which entered its 15th day yesterday, has brought a respite to residents and tourists here.

More than 400 monkeys have been captured and relocated in the Mohund and Rajaji forests, said MC President OP Uniyal. He said the simian menace had grown to alarming proportions, as more than 100 persons have been attacked by monkeys so far. Uniyal said the target for this year was to relocated around 1,200 monkeys at a cost of around Rs 3.5 lakh.

The residents of the town have welcomed the move. They say the time has come to do something about these simians, which have become more aggressive and often attack women and children.

However, many believe that relocating monkeys is not the right solution to the menace. The monkeys, which are now habitual to be near populated areas, will soon move to the nearest cities and towns.

Suniti Bhushan Datta

Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli is against the move of the Mussoorie Municipal Council. He says a similar relocation drive carried out a few years ago created a lot of problems for Dehradun. “A few years ago, monkeys were caught in large numbers and left in the forests around Dehradun. These monkeys soon reached Dehradun areas, thus creating problems for local residents there,” adds Chamoli. He firmly states that the onus of finding a permanent solution to the monkey menace lies with the Forest Department and merely by relocating them from one place to another will not solve the problem.

Officials of the Forest Department are of the view that the shrinking forest cover is a major reason for the monkeys moving to urban areas, as they are social animals. The officials say the relocation drive will only succeed if the alpha male of the herd is caught first and sterilised, as it will help in controlling the population of these monkeys. The forest officials say they are ready to assist in the drive of the Mussoorie MC.

Wildlife experts too believe that relocating monkeys from one place to another is no solution to the problem and it will be a futile exercise to do so.

Naturalist Suniti Bhushan Datta of the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India opines that the relocation of the monkeys will have hazardous implications in the long run. The monkeys in urban areas have a different life style and rummage through dustbins and are used to feed on leftover. Hence, the relocated monkeys will not be able to survive in the forest area.

Datta says as these monkeys have a tendency to remain near a populated area, they instinctively will head for a nearest village and create nuisance there. The other problem of the relocation drive is the danger of spreading fatal diseases to other areas.

He says there are many dangerous diseases that monkeys transmit to people. The diseases like yellow fever, falciparum malaria, Kyasanur forest disease, tanapox and mayaro, are transmitted to humans from monkeys through mosquitoes and flies. Datta says the only possible solution to the monkey menace right now is either to kill them or stall their population by sterilising them.

Meanwhile, Uniyal is planning to launch a similar drive against the stray dogs, immediately after the monkey menace is curbed.

Haridwar, January 13
After successfully managing the world’s biggest congregation, the Maha Kumbh, the Kanwar fair, the biggest fair in the northern region of the country, and carrying out rescue operations during the floods last year, the Haridwar District Administration now faces the task of conducting the Zila Panchayat elections, which are to be held next month, peacefully.

To make sure the elections pass off smoothly, District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram, in an interview with The Tribune termed the panchayat elections as more arduous task than the Assembly or even the parliamentary elections because of a lot of logistics and other work involved in the process.

Adding to the burden of the administration is the simultaneously held census, in which a large number of government employees are involved. Sundaram termed the panchayat elections as well as the census as quite tough tasks. But, he said, as both the processes were imperative there was no scope for leniency or delay in carrying out the works related to these.

“We, despite the paucity of time, are working round the clock to ensure that foolproof arrangements are made for the three-tier elections as per the State Election Commission’s directives,” said Sundaram.

Within less than two years of him being the district chief, Sundaram has gained wide applause for his development-focussed approach as well as a timely completion of projects. Recalling last year's major challenges, an excited Sundaram termed the hosting of the Maha Kumbh from January 14 to April 28 as a spectacle that should get entry into the Guinness Book of World Records, as while more than six crore people participated in the four-month fair, on the royal bath of April 14 a whopping 1.65 crore pilgrims and tourists thronged the Ganga ghats.

Regarding a peaceful completion of the Kanwar fair, he revealed how he, along with SSP Sanjay Gunjiyal, had prepared a plan six months before the Kanwar mela. Many administrative officials wee felicitated by Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for a excellent management of the fair. Though a calculated Sundaram didn’t shy from pointing out that much was needed to be done so that the coming Kanwar fair was more organised. Last year, 90 lakh Kanwariyas fetched the holy Ganga water from Har-ki-Pauri.

About the rescue operations carried out during the massive floods that ravaged Haridwar during the rains last year, Sundaram said efforts were on to bring normalcy to many affected areas, as the September floods were unprecedented in the district in almost a century.

"In 114 years, as per the data available at the department concerned, such an severe flood had not been witnessed in the region. Had it not been the Tehri Dam and the instant decision of stopping water flow of Alaknanda, the loss could have been much bigger. One lakh people were rescued in the state,” said Sundaram.

Dehradun, January 13
Doon Star blanked Akranta 3-0 in the final yesterday to become the champions of the Great Vivekanand Memorial Football Tournament that was being held on the Pavilion Ground here.

Dharam Singh (third minute) and Balvinder Singh (73rd) scored for the winning side. A self goal was scored by Akranta in the 48th minute.

The best goalkeeper award was given to Hanumat Singh of Akranta and the best upcoming player went to Siddharth of Akranta. 

Dehradun, January 13
Delhi University won the women’s and men’s titles of the North Zone Inter-University Table Tennis Tournament being hosted by the Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU) here today.

In the women’s finals, Delhi University defeated Punjabi University, Patiala, while in the men’s section, Delhi University trounced Panjab University, Chandigarh.

In the women’s finals, Sanya Sehgal (Delhi University) defeated Ankita (Punjabi University, Patiala) 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-3); Esh Monga (Delhi University) beat Amandeep (Punjabi University, Patiala) 3-0 (11-5, 11-6, 11-4); and Pallavi Parasan (Delhi University) defeated Kavita (Punjabi University, Patiala).

In the men’s final, Pranshu Gupta (Delhi University) beat Rachit Chopra (Panjab University, Chandigarh) 3-1 (10-12, 12-10, 11-8, 11-7); Rajat Kumar (Delhi University) beat Sahil Sharma (Panjab University, Chandigarh) 3-2 (9-11, 12-10, 11-5, 7-11, 11-5); Varun Anand (Delhi University) lost to Kamaljeet Singh (Panjab University, Chandigarh ) by 0-3 ( 8-11, 3-11, 6-11); and Pranshu Gupta (Delhi University) beat Sahil Sharma (Panjab University, Chandigarh) 3-0 (11-2, 11-3, 11-3).

Dehradun, January 13
Riding on a hat-trick by Harinder, Dehradun Club (known as DD Club) defeated St Agnes School 6-1 in the semifinal of the District Hockey Tournament here today.

It was St Agnes School that scored the first goal in the second minute of play through Honey. But later, DD Club took control and let loose a barrage of goals on their rivals.

Nurula scored the equaliser in the eighth minute. Harinder was the star of the match who scored three goals - in the 16th, 21st and 52nd minutes. Deepak Rawat (18th) and Manish (28th) were the other scorers. DD Club got seven penalty corners in the game.

Parveen Rawat of Doon Combined Club, HS Kohli, Capt DS Rawat (retd) and Amandeep Jaiswal were present on the occasion.

Yesterday, Doon Hawks reached the final by defeating Sri Guru Nanak Public School 5-1 in the first semifinal here.

The Doon Hawks team dominated the play and earned five penalty corners.

The first goal for the Hawks came in the 11th minute through Nadeem followed by Aftab (18th). Nadeem scored his second goal in the 32nd minute while Fahad scored two goals in the 24th minute and 42nd minutes.

Sri Guru Nanak Public School scored their solitary goal in the 65th minute.

The final match will be played between Doon Hawks and DD Club on January 16.

Mussoorie, January 13
Sri Lankan Port Authority defeated Uttarakhand here today by five wickets in the opening match of the first Shyam Dutt Joshi Memorial T20 Cricket Series.

The tournament has been organised in the memory of the father of Rajpur MLA Ganesh Joshi under the aegis of the Uttarakhand Youth T20 Association.

The Uttarakhand team won the toss and elected to bat first and made 193 runs in 20 overs losing five wickets. Pankaj Khatri scored 61 runs (seven sixes) and AK Devnath scored 32 runs.

In reply, the Sri Lankan Port Authority won the match by scoring 194 runs in 18 overs for the loss of five wickets.

Sehan D’Silva was the highest scorer with 80 runs in 33 balls along with Pradeep Premkumara who scored 49 runs in 31 balls.

The umpires for the match were Samuel Chand and Parvind Rawat. The Sri Lanka Port Authority team was studded with players from their under-19, A-team and national squad like Lasantha Farera from the Sri Lankan national team, Lasana Dias, Sashendar and Pradeepkumara from under-19 squad.

The tournament was inaugurated by state Sports and Disaster Management Minister Khajan Das.

Rajpur MLA Ganesh Joshi said that the day was filled with emotion as the series was being conducted in the memory of his late father Shyam Dutt Joshi who was an ardent cricket lover.

Javed Butt, Secretary, Uttarakhand T20 Association, said that the Sri Lankan Port Authority team will be playing eight matches in different grounds in Dehradun.

The remaining matches of the meet will be played at OSD Ground, Dehradun, from tomorrow.

Dehradun, January 13
Doon Tigers defeated Doon Titans by 104 runs in a match of the Uttarakhand Twenty20 League Championship held at Survey Stadium, Hathibarkala, here today.

Winning the toss, Doon Tigers Club elected to bat and scored 176 for four wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Abhey with 66 runs and Rakesh with 53 runs were the top scorers.

In reply, Doon Titans were all out for only 72 runs. Hanny was the chief wrecker taking six wickets for 14 runs.

Yesterday, Doon Combined were declared winners over Doon Champ on the basis of average after a fielder of latter side got badly injured.

Playing first, Doon Champ scored 86 runs in 18.2 overs. Nitin (13), Devender (14) and Shanu (14) were the main scorers. Kamak, Sunil and Sajwan got three wickets each for opponents.

In reply, Doon Combined scored 62 runs 10.2 overs at the loss of two wickets. Bobby (22) was the main scorer.

During the 11th over, a fielder of Doon Champ sustained injuries on his face.

Several players of their side had to go with him to a hospital and later, the Doon Combined team was declared winners.