Dehradun, January 18
Even as the tiger-famous Jim Corbett National Park swings between the preparations for its platinum jubilee celebrations and search for the on-the-run wounded women-eater tigress, the Uttarakhand Government’s decision to appoint Indian cricket team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni as Honorary Wildlife Warden of the park a few month back has found few takers.

Voices of resentment among villagers in periphery of Corbett can be heard loud and clear. Several organisations that have been leading movements for rights of villages in the periphery of Corbett for the past many years.

They have started questioning the Nishank Government’s logic behind appointment of Dhoni as Honorary Wildlife Warden.

The Sanyukt Sangarsh Samiti that has been seeking prompt gunning down of the women-eater tigress, in the news for killing four women in Sundarkhal area near Corbett, have even submitted a memorandum to the state government over Dhoni’s appointment as Corbett wildlife warden.

Samiti member Munish Kumar, who has also been associated with the Kandi Road Agitation in Corbett, is critical of Dhoni’s appointment.

“We respect Mahendra Singh Dhoni as a cricketer, but there is no sense in making a cricket skipper the Honorary Wildlife Warden of Corbett. Dhoni neither has time to address issues affecting Corbett nor can he be of use in tackling man-wildlife conflict that plagues the Park,” Munish pointed out.

Dr Hem Singh Gehlot, former Assistant Coordinator for the Terai Arc Landscape Programme of WWF India, said, “Rather than adopting publicity seeking methods to conserve forests, we need to appoint researchers and wildlife experts who can study the core issues and come out with long-term solutions.”

He asserted that Corbett today was devoid of experts and research stood as the most neglected part at the Park.

Deepa Gunawant, member, Corbett Gram Uthhan Samiti, accused the state BJP government of being more interested in publicity gimmicks than working on the ground.

“It would have been better had the Chief Minister taken the assistance of the people who have been working in Corbett for years to address the people’s issues rather than going for the publicity stunt of appointing Dhoni as Corbett warden,” Gunawant said.

However, Anil Baluni, Vice-Chairman, Uttarakhand Forest and Environment Board Advisory Committee, denied that any major protest had been witnessed over the appointment of Dhoni.

“People have protested against the appointment of a popular figure, but this is certainly not against Dhoni,” Baluni said adding that Uttarakhand would rather benefit from his appointment.

Dehradun, January 18
With the Indian handicraft attracting people worldwide, Uttarakhand too is becoming a new destination for the handicraft lovers. Beautiful things made from bamboo fibre, bhanga, bichhu grass, simmal and jute are easily available here and that too at very reasonable prices. Traditional handicraft made by the locals here are in high demand at the trade fairs organised here.

With the passage of time, Uttarakhand people too have developed a taste for bamboo handicraft, as these are affordable, beautiful and easily available. Mats and blinds made from bamboo are now extensively used in commercial as well as private establishments to enhance the ambience of the décor.

Mahesh R Ojha, in association with Arsh Handicraft, is making beautiful and authentic handicraft, which they mainly exhibit in the trade fairs all over India. Their refined embroidery and handwork on the bamboo goods, such as wall hangings, tablemats, curtains, blinds, etc, are attracting one and all.

Mahesh, who is basically from Uttarakhand and has inherited the skill of making bamboo handicraft from his father, has four children, but none of them are in a mood to pursue careers in bamboo craftwork.

“The less demand of bamboo craftwork among the folk here has discouraged artisans from pursuing careers in handicraft. We don’t have any fixed income out of this art, though we work the entire year. Therefore, I encouraged my children to pursue careers in computer and business management,” said Ojha, who considers himself an artist. He wants to dedicate his entire life to nourish and polish his skills.

Mahesh’s partner Asraf was quite optimistic about the career he chose. He has no regrets about not pursuing any other career after completing his graduation in arts. “I inherited this skill from my father. Though the work cannot support my family financially due to low income from it, it satisfies me promoting and preserving one of the oldest art forms of India, which are greatly appreciated abroad. During the exhibitions of our bamboo work in trade fairs, a large number of people appreciate our work, but at the same time they are quite apprehensive of buying these products,” he said.

Asraf opines that the contemporary handicraft and modular décor are fast replacing the traditional craftwork prepared by poor artisans in the city.

According to traders, the main reason behind the decline in the demand for handicraft is the ushering of a wide variety of other contemporary items that are fancy, attractive and can be bought at reasonable prices in the Indian market.

However, the duo is content with the recognition their work has got and the income they earn. From top celebrities of the showbiz to master blaster Sachin Tendulkar or to the great leaders of India, Mahesh and Asraf have gifted their bamboo craftwork to many public figures. The duo says they wanted to present New Year gifts to Amitabh Bachchan and Lata Mangeshkar but couldn’t do so for the Dehradun- Mumbai was cancelled.

“My bamboo items are certainly getting popular among a particular group of the society as these look beautiful and add an earthy look to the area. The ship and blinds made from bamboo are very much in demand and all the items are nominally priced between Rs 100 and above,” said Ojha who is contemplating supplying the goods to other cities like Roorkee, Meerut, Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar.

“We are glad that people recognise our work and purchase the items made by us in the trade fairs. Moreover, besides quality another reason for the high demand of bamboo handicraft is its sturdiness. These require less maintenance and care,” said an elated Asraf.

Dehradun, January 18
Doon University will see a gathering of artistes, scholars and academicians at a conference on folklore and intangible heritage of Uttarakhand to be held between January 19 and 21.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Prof Sadhna Naithani, Head, School Languages, said an eclectic mix of artistes and scholars would discuss the intangible cultural heritage of Uttarakhand. “It will provide us an opportunity to understand their work, conserve it for posterity and propagate among younger generations. Besides, it would also help us formulate a study programme dedicated to studies in the Himalayan culture,” said Professor Naithani.

“Most universities have included study of cultural heritage in their curriculum, but as Doon University is still young and evolving, we will look at an interdisciplinary programme linking them with the study of Kumaoni and Garhwali languages,” stressed Professor Naithani.

She said not much attention was being paid to oral tradition and it was being deliberately made extinct. “It is important that we give the artistes their due and make intangible cultural traditions relevant for today’s generation. They are traditional knowledge bearers. The issue has to be linked to the right to livelihood as art is also a science,” said Professor Naithani.

TC Nautiyal, Registrar, Doon University, said in all 50 participants would take part in the conference and important papers would be presented.

Dehradun, January 18
As part of the Oil and Gas Conservation Fortnight, the ONGC Technical Services Cell today organised a quiz competition on energy conservation.

Chief guest VV Viswanathan, DGM (Logistics), ONGC, in his address referred to various aspects of energy conservation in the transport sector.

Sanjeev Gupta, Chief Engineer, Electrical, ONGC, said there was a huge potential of energy conservation in daily life. He stressed on the need to critically analyse every action for its possible ramification vis-à-vis energy expenditure.

Satish Kalera, representative from the Petroleum Conservation Research Association, also spoke on the occasion. JS Negi conducted the quiz.

Dehradun, January 18
Things are on the final stage for the prestigious Arsenal Tata Tea Jago Re Soccer Stars Tournament to be held in Dehradun.

At present, the tournament is played in 15 cities of the country and is known for promoting football at the grassroots level.

“We are in talks with Jamshid Nassiri, former East Bengal player and former coach, Maharashtra, who is the chief scout of the tournament. If all goes well, the tournament will be held in October-November in Doon,” said Raju Gusain who has been working to promote soccer in the state capital.

Gusain said, “The sponsors will give initial support to the programme including looking for the grounds and gathering other required information. The tournament will give a platform to players of the state. On top of it, the organisers will bear all expenditure of the players when they will come to take part in the tournament.”

Players under the age of 15 years and school students can take part. The tournament cover all four zones - north, south, east and west - of the nation.

The winners of the zonal rounds will go for a grand finale, which will be held at Shillong to decide the national champions.

Former soccer greats, including Jamshid Nassiri, Brahmanand Shankwalkar (Arjuna Award winner, former Indian captain and goalkeeper) and Premnath Phillips (former Indian defender) will be looking for talent in all cities where the tournament will take place. They will select 30 boys to be coached by Arsenal coaches in India.

Mussoorie, January 18
The High Court, in a much-awaited decision, has dismissed the plea of petitioner Dr AK Malhotra, who was occupying the Acorn House building, that was granted to him during his tenure as Medical Officer, Health, by the Mussoorie Municipal Council (MC).

MC president OP Uniyal, who hailed the decision of the court, said the court in its descion had said the building was on lease to a Nagar Palika Parishad, Mussoorie, since 1943-44. Therefore, it came under the definition of public premises and petitioner Dr AK Malhotra became an unauthorised occupant of the premises the moment he was transferred out of Mussoorie in 1991. He should have handed over the possession of the premises to the authorities concerned or to the next incumbent, subject to whatever period of limitation the rules applicable in these matters permitted the petitioner.

The court further said the petitioner was a public servant (Medical Health Officer) in the services of the government. His act of unauthorised occupation of a public premises was wholly uncalled for. The court observed that Dr Malhotra had retired from service, otherwise a disciplinary proceeding was also liable to be initiated against him. It had also come on record that the petitioner now stayed in Gurgaon and had another flat in Mussoorie itself. So their was no need of occupying the Acorns House situated near Rama Devi Inter College.

The court dismissed the writ petition of Dr Malhotra as it had no merit. The court further directed the District Magistrate, Dehradun, to take over the possession of the property in dispute from the petitioner and hand it over to the MC.

The court also directed that the petitioner was an unauthorised occupant of the premises, since 1991 i.e. the time when he was transferred from Mussoorie to Nainital, the prescribed authority should initiate proceedings under Section 7 of the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1972, for the recovery of rent and damages, which were liable to be given by petitioner Malhotra.

The court also said the petitioner should also be given an opportunity of hearing if he pleased to do so, Uniyal added. The MC president hailing the decision said this would serve as the lesson for many white-collared persons occupying the council land and property illegally and his board would initiate strict action against them too in near future.

Dr Malhotra was not available for comment.

Dehradun, January 18
The German International Cooperation (GIC) organised a one-day workshop on “Successful Participation in International Trade Fairs” in collaboration with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) here. The GIC has been implementing the Uttarakhand Regional Economic Development Programme, which has a wider focus on tourism.

The workshop has been aimed at bringing together senior private and public sector representatives from the tourism industry in Uttarakhand. Many hoteliers and tour operators from different parts of the state attended the workshop along with officials from the UTDB, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam.

The workshop apprised participants of the latest concepts of intensified trade fair participation as part of the overall marketing of their products (packages, hotels, etc) with focus on fairs like ITB, Berlin.

“The workshop will serve as a means to generate more business at the trade fair and to make the trade fair participation more valuable for promoting Uttarakhand as a major international tourism destination in India,” said Alfons Eiligmann, international trade fair consultant from Germany who facilitated the workshop.

The discussion also hinged around as to how to create more awareness in the various wings of the tourism industry in the state about better preparations in the national and international fairs in order to fetch more business to the section of the state.

Tourism is one of the thrust areas of the state. There is a wide and diversified demand for tourism in the state both from the domestic and international markets. There has been an increase of 14.4 per cent in domestic and 10.4 per cent in foreign tourist visitors after 2006. The contribution of tourism to the state GDP is around 8 per cent and it is poised to grow in future.

AK Dwivedi, Joint Director, UTDB said: “There has been a steady growth of the tourism industry in the state. New destinations in Uttarakhand are being explored both by the travellers and the Tourism Department. A constant need has been felt to showcase the different facets of the state both in the domestic and international markets as the state routinely participates in the various travel trade fairs. After attending this workshop, we will be able to better our presence at these trade fairs”.

District Tourism Officer Vivek Singh Chauhan, senior officials from the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam Satish Khanduri and Prashant Singh Negi, president of the Mussoorie Hotels Association, RN Mathur, DGM, The Competent Palace Hotel, SP Malasi, hotelier Arun Garg, Abishek Ahluwalia, Pankaj Aggarwal and many others participated in the workshop.

Dehradun, January 18
Varun gave a fine all-round performance - scoring 38 runs and taking four wickets - to enable Graphic Era University beat Sri Lanka Port Authority by a narrow margin of two runs in the Shyam Dutt Joshi Memorial Uttarakhand-Sri Lanka Cup being organised by the Uttarakhand Youth Twenty20 Cricket Tournament Association.

He top scored (38 off 22 balls) for his side. Playing a quick knock, he was instrumental in building several good partnerships with his teammates. Other batsmen - Mudit (20), Ashish (29), Rituraj (19) and Zeeshan (18) - after getting a start couldn’t build on it.

Graphic Era University scored 164 runs at the loss of five wickets in 20 overs. L Dias of Sri Lanka got three wickets. L Perera and S de Dilva took a wicket each.

Batting second, Sri Lanka Port Authority put up a good fight and fell just two runs short. I Prera (28), Pradip (23) and S de Silva (20) were the principal scorers.

Varun of the winning team got four wickets. Rommi, Sumit and Achal got a wicket each.