Dehradun, February 17
An elderly couple, who were in their 70s, were allegedly poisoned and robbed by their newly hired servant at their residence on the Guru Teg Bahadur Road here yesterday. The two were in an unconscious state at the ICU of the CMI Hospital.

The exact amount of the money and valuables taken away by the servant could not be ascertained, as the couple was not in a position to tell the police the details of the valuables kept in the house. However, the police said cash and jewellery could have been taken away by the servant as other valuable things like mobile phone, laptop and credit card were found untouched.

Kuldeep Pant, in charge of the Arha Ghar police station, said Kanta Gupta, one of the victims who could recall a little bit, said she was given food, which was supposedly laced with a poisonous substance by servant Shankar at about 2 pm yesterday and she didn’t remember what happened after that. Another victim Sagar Chand Gupta, a retired executive engineer from the PWD, also doesn’t remember anything about what happened to him yesterday.

The couple has two sons, Rajnish Gupta and Manish Gupta, and both are settled in Dubai. One of them had called up later in the afternoon. But, when his repeated calls went unanswered, he asked one of their relatives in Dehradun to go and check out if everything was OK at his house.

When the relative, Basant Kumar Gupta, reached the house at about 8 pm, he found the doors bolted from inside. He entered the house from the rear of the house. “I found that the TV was on and they (the Guptas) were lying unconscious. The entire house was ransacked. I also went to the servant quarter, but he was not present there. Then I raised an alarm,” Basant, who was at the CMI Hospital, told The Tribune.

A case under Sections 328 and 381 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Dalanwala police station. “We will send the vomit of the couple for examination and have started the probe,” AS Rawat, Station House Officer of the Dalanwala police station, said.

Dehradun, February 17
Despite the fact that domestic helps are indulging in thefts and other serious crimes, residents of the state capital are not bothered about their verification.

Notwithstanding the efforts of the police and its appeal to the residents, none of the Doonites has given the details of their servants to the police for verification.

“I had got 25,000 pamphlets circulated in newspapers and I am surprised that not even a single person has come forward for the verification of his servant. I am sure these pamphlets have reached 80 per cent of the houses in the city,” SSP Ganesh Singh Martolia told The Tribune.

“Door-to-door verification by the police is not possible. However, we had done the verification of 3,000 households that includes domestic help and other migrants. Besides, we have always asked the residents to get their servants verified with us in our senior citizen meetings and through our community policing,” rued the SSP.

Martolia appealed to the people that this was not a lengthy process. The police just needed the address and the photograph of the domestic help.

In the context of the two elderly persons, who have been poisoned and robbed by their servant, he said, “The family has taken no address, photograph and or any other detail of the servant. This is sheer irresponsibility on their part. The family said they had taken a form of verification from the police chowki, but did not submit it back”.

Dehradun, February 17
A delegation of Tata Group officials called upon Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank here today to discuss investment possibilities in the state.

Group Chairman Ratan Tata, while delivering the Foundation Day lecture here last year, had assured the CM of the group’s intention to invest more in the state.

The Chief Minister, according to circles close to him, hopes the Tatas will eventually be creating 50,000 employment opportunities in the state, both directly and indirectly.

The Tatas are learnt to have expressed their interest in a number of industries and the CM is said to have directed the Chief Secretary to nominate S Ramaswami, currently the Managing Director of SIDCUL, as the nodal officer to liaison with the Tatas.

The Chief Minister also directed officials to examine and initiate action on the various Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models proposed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Vice-President of Tata Group AS Puri said the group had an encouraging experience of working in Uttarakhand at Pantnagar, where the Nano is being manufactured. The production capacity of 2.5 lakh vehicles per year would be raised to 5 lakh vehicles per year, he said.

Earlier, at a meeting of the Secretaries, presided over by Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar, possibilities of investment were discussed at length. Owing to the nearness to the national Capital, better transport facilities, higher literacy rate, better law and order and pollution-free environment, the state is fast emerging as a preferred destination for investors, the Chief Secretary pointed out.

During the discussion, the Tata Group is learnt to have expressed interest in contract farming, information technology, run-of-the-river hydro projects, tourism, health and low-cost housing projects.

Principal Secretaries Alok Kumar Jain, Rakesh Sharma, PC Sharma, S Raju, S Ramaswami, Secretary to the CM, Dr Umakant Panwar, Additional Secretaries to the CM, Subardhan, Ajai Pradyot and several other senior officers were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, February 17
Best selling author Chetan Bhagat, in town on a mentoring assignment (he is on the board of Takshila Business School), remains a deeply disturbed, if not an angry young man. After the stupendously successful film, “Three Idiots” based on his path-breaking novel “Five Point Something”, Bhagat is looking forward to two more films being made on his novels, “Mistakes of My Life” and “Two States”.

Though he confesses to being a much-mellowed man, he cannot stop venting his angst against the political system. He keeps writing on the state of governance in the country and has even written an open letter to Sonia Gandhi.

“Leaders should be able to fathom the mood of the nation. There is a sense of despondency with frequently erupting scams. What we need is a massive overhaul of the entire system and not just short-term measures,” he asserted while speaking with The Tribune.

Describing Indian democracy as flawed, the author-columnist said in India voters seldom vote for good governance. Instead, he pointed out, voters in several parts of the country still elect their leaders on the basis of caste, religion and other petty considerations.

His intense engagement with readers on present-day politics has left publishers guessing on the plot of his next novel.

“Though I am almost done with my new novel, which will be released some time in November this year, I am tempted to attempt a political satire or at least introduce politics as a secondary theme in my next novel. Some introduction to my young readers about the way our country is run is urgently required,” quipped Bhagat, who is known to keep the theme of his novels a closely guarded secret.

Though his novels have been run-away best sellers, his style of writing continues to raise the hackles of critics. Much of the criticism relates to the language he uses and the absence of a structure. Asked to comment on such criticism, he remains unfazed.

“I want to reach out to all sections of the society and some of them may not be bestowed with very high intellect. It has been seven years since I started writing and the sheer longevity of my career is an assertion in a small measure that I know my craft. However, at times I have learnt from criticism too,” he said.

His frequent visits to small towns provide him with material that convey the aspirations and the mindset of small town youth. “I try to write in the language they are familiar with. In fact, it is the small towns that seem to be truly representative of India on the move,” said the writer.

Notwithstanding the controversies surrounding “Three Idiots”, which had him taking on the top guns of the film industry following his book getting a tiny mention in the credits, he appears to have moved ahead.

“I was naïve; I have learnt a lot since then and I am looking forward to the films to be directed by Abhishek Kapoor and Sajid Nadiadwala based on my novels,” he adds with a smile.

Mussoorie, February 17
Finally, the first snowfall of the season delighted tourists, residents and business community in Mussoorie today. The snow started last night immediately after the hail stopped. Snowflakes kept falling on the town till late in the night.

Tourists and residents woke up to a white sheet of snow spread across in the whole town. Dhanaulti, Lal Tibba, Nag Tibba and other places also experienced a heavy snowfall.

Many boarding schools announced a day off. Elated Radhika, a Class X student from Oak Grove School, said the view of the mountains all around was awesome.

The news of the snowfall quickly spread to nearby towns and cities and by noon a sudden rush of tourists resulted in traffic jams at both ends of the town. Local businessmen did brisk business.

Environmental expert Harish and Vimal Sharma were also happy and said the snowfall was much needed for the town, as it would replenish the soil, recharge the underground water and ease the pressure on drinking water supply.

The snowfall also led to intermittent power breakdowns, but the euphoria of the snowfall was such that no one was complaining. Senior citizens said more snow in the near future could not be ruled out, as the town had witnessed snowfall in March several decades ago, too.

Haridwar, February 17
The demand for aligning colleges, associated with erstwhile Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal (HNBG) University, with Doon University is gaining ground amongst the student fraternity here.

Though the state government has made it clear that the affiliated colleges of the university situated in the state will be attached with Uttarakhand Sanskrit University due to HNBG University being made a Central university, the students have been demanding affiliation with Doon University for their colleges in Haridwar and Rishikesh.

This surely is going to pose a headache for the state government, as the students in these colleges are not in the favour of getting affiliated either with the Tehri-situated university or city-based Sanskrit University.

To press their demand, the students have started an on-campus signature campaign, so that they can convey their wishes to the authorities and Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

A signature campaign was carried out yesterday at Shravan Nath Math Jawaharlal Nehru College and Chinmaay College. They have decided to amass about 50,000 signatures to convey it as a memorandum to the CM.

“I want to be associated with Dehradun-based university, as it is a state-of-the-art educational institution, but if we are attached with a remote university in Tehri or a Sanskrit-inclined university, it will hurt our career prospects,” said Mahima, a PG student of SMJN College.

ABVP leader Varun Baliyan said they did not want to be affiliated with a hill district-based university, when Doon University was just 50 km away from the city. He said Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, 5 km away, was also not the best option for local students.

“We are hearing different versions from the state government after HNBG University was granted a Central university status. We want to be under Doon University,” said city unit representative of the ABVP Shiv Chaudhari.

The student unions are citing the distance of Tehri-situated university as a major hindrance, but they do not have a valid reason when it comes to Sanskrit University, as it is more to do with the glamour associated with Doon University.They also do not have an explanation as to why only Doon University for Haridwar and Rishikesh colleges and not other regional colleges be affiliated with Doon University.

Mussoorie, February 17
A seminar was held at Woodstock School here yesterday, in which educationists from Northern Ireland and Mussoorie deliberated on the means to create an opportunity for mutual sharing of good educational practices in an international setting to build a global partnership and links between UK and Indian schools.

Principals from various schools also deliberated on the challenges and prospects faced by them with regards to curriculum prevalent in their institutions. Woodstock Principal David Laurenson said his school was divided into two schools, mainly kindergarden to grade VI and grade VII to XII. The curriculum was based on the American pattern, especially in grades XI and XII as students after graduation were headed for American and Indian universities predominantly.

Laurenson said the major challenge faced by them was of shortage of quality teachers due to difficulty in getting visas from the government.

The Tibetan Homes Foundation Principal said the major challenge for him was English conversation at primary levels, as the school catered to students from Tibet who knew only the Tibetan language. He said in class V, the teachers were forced to teach in three languages, English, Tibetan and Hindi.

Mussoorie Public School Principal Mukesh Lal said, “The challenges I face are teaching English to students from Thailand in the school”.

The principals from Ireland also said they too faced similar problems with the immigrant population who mainly spoke Portuguese.

Some Irish members from grammar schools felt that the budget was also a great challenge for their schools.

The other challenge faced by these schools was catering to children with special needs as the staff had to be sensitised to their needs.

The principals also felt that international networking and sharing of ideas at the global level would help in addressing these challenges.

The Irish members also said the Saphara model of connecting at the global level with various schools was helping educationists come together and find solutions to the challenges faced by schools in different environments. The 14-member Irish team also said the model was providing young people the opportunity to engage in issues of justice and global citizenship through working with educationally disadvantaged children in India.

Sanjaya Mark, Headmistress, Woodstock Junior School, said such interactions would benefit the teaching staff.

The principals from Mussoorie Public, Wynberg Allen, Tibetan Homes, Waverly Convent etc were present in the meeting and it was decided that such meetings would be organised in future too.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune, Assistant Senior Education Officer and Director of Saphara Charity H Mullen said it was fascinating to meet educationists from India who had professionalism and passion. She added that they were trying to establish a unique model in Northern Ireland where through video conferencing and online messaging, teachers would interact with one another on a regular basis.

Mullen also said they were committed in Saphara to bring young people from Northern Ireland to India and vice-versa.

Pithoragarh, February 17
With the Government of India approving the renovation project of water mills, more than 500 traditional mills in the state, mostly situated on the border, will now be renovated to produce electricity as well as to grind wheat.

PK Gangwar, project officer of the Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency, said,

“The renovation project was sent to the Government of India in 2008, under which the existing water mills had to be renovated to the level of generating electricity. Out of the nearly 1,000 water mills proposed to be renovated in the state, the Government of India has approved the renovation of water mills in the districts of Bageshwar, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Tehri, Almora, Champawat and Pithoragarh”.

According to the project, a sum of Rs 1.15 lakh will be spent on each water mill, to produce 2 to 5 kilowatt of electricity from it. Generators will be installed on each water mill. “The electricity generated out of these renovated water mills will be sufficient for nearly 20 households,” said Gangwar.

“Most of the water mills in the state are situated in Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts. In Pitthoragarh their number is 650, whereas in Chamoli it is 275.

Haridwar, February 17
Though Rajendra Gupta has been to many religious places situated across the country, his enthusiasm and faith is the same for visiting these places again and again on his bicycle.

Having immense faith in God, Bathinda-based Gupta spends most time of his life paddling his bicycle to visit places of religious importance. In 1989 he visited the Gangotri shrine in Uttarakhand. So impressed was he with the grandeur of the shrine, that since then he has made it a point to visit other shrines on his bicycle.

Currently Gupta, who was here to take a holy dip in the Ganga, is undertaking the pilgrimage of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir for the 70th time. For the past 22 years, he has covered more than 3,78,000 km on his bicycle. Now, he plans to bring a Kanwar of Ganga water from the Gangotri shrine during the Kanwar fair as well as visit the Mata Mansa Devi shrine in Haridwar. Also, he has decided to do the pilgrimage of the Amarnath shrine in Jammu and Kashmir for the 8th time. Recently, he did visited the Kangra-situated Chamunda Devi and Chintpoorni shrines.

During a pilgrimage, he accepts whatever help local people offer him, apart from assistance from his brother. Haridwar residents were all praise for Gupta for having unshakeable faith in God and for his determination to visit shrines on bicycle.

Nainital, February 17
The bad weather marked by rain in the lower altitudes and snow in the higher reaches over the past three days has once again exposed the administration with regards to the state of the roads in the Kumaon region.

People of the region are particularly agitated over the failure of the administration to put the Haldwani-Nainital road, which is one of the most important highways, in order. The road had been damaged in the rain-related disaster that had struck the region last year.

Over the past four months, the authorities have failed to metal the stretch at Bhujiaghat, where the road had sunk and a new stretch was carved out. The stretch continues to be a driver’s nightmare in rainy condition, as there is, too, much of slush and there is, too, much of dust when it does not rain. This makes driving difficult, particularly for those riding two wheelers.

A similar problem also exists at Jyolikote where the authorities have failed to put a stretch of broken road in order. The spot has been leading to massive traffic jams at regular intervals.

The Khairna-Almora stretch, which was badly devastated during the monsoons last year, still awaits repair. The administration has been trying to put things in order, but the efforts are minuscule in comparison to the problem.

Earlier this month, the road had been closed for two days to carry out the repairs. The residents of the area said gravel and mud had been put into the huge potholes, but the effort was not enough. Machines have been working continuously on this stretch over the last four months to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, but the problems continue to persist.

The frequent travellers on this stretch were of the opinion that the stretch should be closed for a couple of months and be opened only when the road was fit to endure the heavy flow of the traffic. Alternate routes, like those from Shehrfatak and Ranikhet, could be used to approach Almora till then.

Dehradun, February 17
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) surpassed Doon University by six wickets during the 60th District Cricket League held on the OFD Ground, here today.

Doon University won the toss and elected to bat first. With the support of opening batsmen Rohit (58) and Uday (28), DU scored 150 runs in 29.1 overs. Parth and Vishal took two wickets for UPES.

Chasing the target, UPES achieved the target of 151 runs in 22.5 overs for four wickets. Imran (39) and Pawan (39*) were the main scorers in the win. Naeem, Rahul, Subhash and Rohit took a wicket each for the bowling side.

Dehradun, February 17
Second day of the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) Cricket Competition began with a convincing win for Chandragupta section (seniors) by 77 runs over Pratap section (seniors) here today.

The Chandragupta section scored 116/8 in 20 overs and the Pratap section was bowled out for 39 runs in 9.3 overs. The highest scorer of the match was cadet Harsh Arora, who scored 60 runs and cadet sub NCO Ayush Salaria, who scored 39 runs. The highest wicket takers were cadet NCO Abhijit with three wickets and cadet Ankit Shukla with two wickets.

In the junior category, Shivaji section defeated Ranjit section by 19 runs, in which cadet Divyaraj Singh scored the highest 22 runs. Shivaji section scored 78 runs in 14.4 overs and Ranjit were bowled out for 59 runs. Cadet Orkhodip Paul took the highest 5 wickets haul. The match umpires were Nk Sub Kundan Singh Bafila and cadet Karan Raj Sohi.

Dehradun, February 17
Meena Kumari and P Hemavathy of southern region and Manini and Philomina of western region entered the women doubles final of the All-India Inter-Zonal Table Tennis Tournament being organised by the Airports Authority of India at the multi-purpose hall of the Parade Ground, here today.

Meena Kumari and P Hemavathy defeated Manjri and Mary of western region 11-5, 11-0, 11-8 to in the first semifinal and Manini and Philomina (wr) beat Jayanthy and Uma Maheshwari (sr) 8-11, 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-9 in another semifinal.

Men doubles semifinals were also played today and the final rivals have been spotted. Vivek Mahajan and Yogesh Pawar (wr) beat Mangesh Pawar and M Rajender (wr) 11-5, 11-2, 11-5. In another semifinal, Rajesh Gulati and Rajiv Gulati (chq) surpassed Ravi Kumar and R Vetrivel (sr) 11-5,11-9,7-11,11-5.

Other results: Men doubles Pre-quarter: Rahesh Dhall and Rajiv Gulati (chq) beat M Mmani and P Kalidas (sr) 11-5, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9; RS Negi and Dharmender Pal (nr) beat N Hussain and BB Gurang 11-6, 11-9, 8-11, 11-5; MH Tahid and P Das (er) beat David and Rupam Barua (ner) 11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 9-11, 11-4; N Ravikumar and R Vetrivel (sr) beat Vivek Chauhan and Bhupender Kumar11-6, 11-8, 11-5; Mangesh Pawar and M Rajender (wr) beat Amitava Roy and Rajat (ner) 11-3, 11-4, 11-5; Gautam Das and P Biswas (er) beat Sanjiv Bakshi and Anil Kumar (nr) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7; DK Dabas and P Kumaran (sr) beat MK Rola and Sachin Lamba (chq) 11-6, 11-9, 11-7; Vivek Mahajan and Yogesh Nagaich (wr) beat Suren Das and RK Guragohain (ner) 11-6, 9-11, 11-2, 11-5.

Men doubles quarterfinal: Vivek Mahajan and Nagaich (wr) beat DK Dabas and P Kumaran (sr) 11-1, 11-5,11-5; Mangesh Pawar and M Rajender (wr) beat Gautam Das and P Biswas (er) 11-6, 5-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-6; N. Ravikumar and R Vetrivel (sr) beat M. Tahid and P Das (er) 11-5 11-6, 11-8; Rajesh Dhass and Rajesh Gulati (chq) beat Rajesh Singh Negi and Dharmender Pal (nr) 11-4, 11-2, 9-11, 9-11, 11-5.

Semi-final: Vivek Mahajan and Yogesh Pawar (wr) beat Mangesh Pawar and M Rajender (wr) 11-5, 11-2, 11-5; Rajesh Gulati and Rajiv Gulati (chq) beat N Ravi Kumar and R Vetrivel (sr) 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-5.

Women doubles quarterfinal: Meena Kumari and P Hemavathy (sr) beat Hema and Ranjeeta (chq) 11-5, 11-6, 11-8; Manjiri and Mary (wr) beat GB Choudhary and Tripti Paik (er) 11-4, 11-4, 11-8; Manini and Philomina (wr) beat Shivbala Gupta and Archna (nr) 11-1, 11-6, 11-6; Jayanthi and Uma Maheshwari (sr) beat Donadas Haldar and P Goswami (er) 11-3, 11-1, 11-1.