Dehradun, March 5
Beautiful blooms of exotic flowers hitherto seen at high-end florist shops vied with one another for space at the Raj Bhawan that came alive today with flower power on the second day of the Basantotsav.

The flamboyant presentations of gerberas, carnations, bird of paradise and cyclamen were matched by the subdued colours of cymbidium orchids put on display by gardening enthusiasts and floriculturists. More than 337 entries are on display along with potted plants and vegetables.

Orchids, the very embodiment of beauty and refinement, are also making their presence felt though in a small measure. “It is true that orchids inhabit every part of the world. For example, from the North Pole to the South Pole, flowers as big as our hands to ones as small as a pebble can be found. In Uttarakhand, temperate varieties can be grown,” said RM Pant who is participating in the exhibition and is successfully growing orchids at Gopeshwar.

District Horticulture Officer DS Sharma said different varieties of cymbidium orchids were on display that were very easy to grow in the region.

“Most sympodial orchids like coelogyne, cattleya, dendrobium and cymbidium are propagated through suckers. The method involved consists of dividing large clumps into smaller units. However, care should be taken not to divide the plants,” he said.

The Horticulture Department that has slowly woken up to the beauty of orchids is also keen to promote temperate orchids which can be grown in all the hilly areas.

“We cannot beat the North-Eastern states like Sikkim and Meghalaya that are leaders in tropical orchids, but we can make our presence felt by growing temperate orchid varieties. The input costs are also very less,” said STS Lepcha, Assistant PCCF, Forest Department.

Things are brightening up for floriculturists of Uttarakhand. Armed with large-sized multi-coloured gerberas and carnations, they managed to steal the show this year too.

“I am growing gerberas, gladiolas and tube roses at my farm house in Barwala (Vikas Nagar). We started growing these flowers 15 years ago. Now, we have formed our own cooperative Swayam Sahayta Sangh that comprises 40 members, but marketing and the vagaries of the weather continue to be a problem area for us.

“We are at a disadvantage compared to Pune and Bengaluru which do not have harsh winter conditions,” said Devesh Pundir.

Another attraction at the Basantotsav are the cucumber and tomato plants developed by Dr DK Singh, scientist, Department of Vegetables, GB Pant University.

“The Pant Parthenocarpic Cucumber 2 and 3 and Pant Polyhouse-bred Tomato Hybrid-1 can be grown in a polyhouse. The output is exceedingly good,” Dr DK Singh said.

Besides individual floriculturists, all the Central and government institutions are participating in the Basantotsav competitions in different categories.

The exhibits of wild flowers put up by the Forest Research Institute and different stalls showcasing energy saving techniques also attracted a large number of visitors.

The prize distribution ceremony will take place tomorrow.

Earlier, Governor Margaret Alva, along with Agriculture Minister Trivender Singh, inaugurated the Basantotsav and also released a stamp and first-day cover of ‘phen kamal’ (foamed lotus).

Dehradun, March 5
Pushpavali, an annual flower show and fair at the Bengal Engineer Group and Centre, Roorkee, got off to a colourful start Engineer-in-Chief Lieut-Gen Mahesh Badhani inaugurating the two-day fest.

Flowers like petunias, dahlias, pansies, stocks, phlox, geraniums, marigolds, salvias, asters, poppies and gazinias were on display.

Pushpavali is an annual event that is being organised since pre-Independence days at the Bengal Engineer Group and Centre, Roorkee, in the first week of March.

It is open to participation from all defence personnel, units, offices and institutions of the Roorkee Cantonment, Directors from IIT, CBRI, Project House BHEL and heads of civil organisations and departments in Roorkee.

Col Deepak Sharan, President of the managing committee, said, “There has been a very healthy participation. As many as 1,531 entries have been registered across all categories that include individual gardens, office gardens, fresh and dried flower arrangements for individuals and children, cut-flower arrangements for individuals and offices, potted plants and potted flower arrangements for individuals and offices, artistic pyramid arrangement for offices and individual artistic arrangements for gardeners, vegetables and vegetable gardens for individuals and offices and floral rangoli competition”.

A floral rangoli competition was held in which participants made designs on current issues like the ongoing cricket World Cup, Right to Education and corruption.

The rangoli on corruption was earmarked for a special award by Rajani Badhani as it is the most burning topic in today’s scenario. The prizes will be given away on March 6.

A heavy rush was seen at the ticket counter in the lucky draw stall in which the top prize is a Nano car. The draw will be held on March 6.

Plus, there were various stalls of eatables and games in addition to camel, giant-wheel and other amusement rides that kept the visitors captivated.

Dehradun, March 5
Authorities at the Jim Corbett National Park are still counting on Mahendra Singh Dhoni, captain of the Indian cricket team, to be the star attraction for the Park’s platinum jubilee celebrations, but the Indian skipper has not responded to their repeated requests so far.

He is not even confirming his presence at the celebrations after the culmination of the cricket World Cup. Dhoni is the honorary wildlife warden at the Park.

While announcing the schedule for the platinum jubilee celebrations at a press conference in Ramanagar, Rajan Kumar Mishra, Director, Corbett, admitted that they had sent two request letters to Dhoni urging him to ensure his presence in the year-long celebrations after the conclusion of the World Cup, but they had failed to get any response from him.

Mishra said the celebrations would come to a close in December in the presence of Vice-President Dr Hamid Ansari.

Meanwhile, he announced today that the formal inauguration of the celebrations would be done on March 9 which will also be the first day of the three-day international meet on tiger conservation.

The director did not rule out the presence of Union Environment and Forests Minister on the opening day. He said that conservationists of international repute will be attending the three-day conference.

Mishra said that the Chief Minister will be attending the celebrations in April where he will launch seven wildlife conservation schemes and programmes for the welfare of forest employees and villagers living in the proximity of the Park.

The Corbett Awards will also be presented during the celebrations in as many as five categories. Park Deputy Director CK Kavidayal was also present at the news conference.

Dehradun, March 5
A team of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) that had gone to remove an illegal wall at Aragarh in the morning today, had to return empty handed because local people gathered to oppose them in the absence of adequate police force.

Later in the afternoon, the officials reached Kargi where people had encroached upon the corporation land. They managed to remove four illegal structures. But here too, they had to return without completing the task as the police team had left early.

This is the fifth time that the team had to return due to the absence of adequate police force. A few days back the Superintendent of the Police had said they would be providing a permanent force to the DMC, but had failed to do so.

Dehradun, March 5
Two teams from the Health Department and the district administration today sealed three private diagnostic centres and issued warning to one centre, after these were found violating the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act.

The Health Department is monitoring the implementation of the PCPNDT Act which bars using technology to determine the sex of a child. “Three private diagnostic centres were sealed, while the owner of one centre was issued a warning,” said Deputy Chief Medical Officer VS Tolia.

City Magistrate Meharban Singh said Tyagi Nursing Home (Araghar), Kamra Clinic on the Inder Road and Pamdmawati Clinic at Pragati Vihar had been sealed, while a warning had been issued to Dr Manisha Singh who runs a clinic at Araghar.

He said underqualified doctors or those who were not registered with the Uttarakhand Medical Council were running the centres. “The Tyagi Diagnostic Centre was run by a doctor who did not have a PG degree while it is mandatory for a radiologist to be a postgraduate. And the doctor running Kamra Clinic is not a qualified radiologist, but he was found to be conducting sonography,” said Meharban Singh.

The last raid was conducted in 2009, in which five diagnostic centres were sealed.

Mussoorie, March 5
The Tibetan community of Mussoorie celebrated Losar Year of the Iron-Tiger in a subdued fashion today. The festivities began with traditional prayers from early morning at the Dalia Hill and the Buddhist Temple that went on the whole day.

The Losar Festival is celebrated as per lunar calendar. The festivals are marked by ancient rituals and staged fights between good and evil.

Tibetans feasted on the occasion and indulged in the symbolic dance of the Ibex deer and the dramatic battles between the king and his ministers.

Losar is a time to ensure that bad omens are not carried into the New Year. The Tibetan calendar consists of 12 lunar months, and Losar begins on the first day of the first lunar month. However, in Tibetan-Buddhist monasteries, the celebrations for Losar begin on the 29th day of the 12th month.

Nainital, March 5
The historians associated with the Uttarakhand History and Culture Association (UHCA) have resolved to initiate steps for promoting in-depth and genuine research in the stream throwing new light on various disciplines related to the subject.

The historians who had gathered for a two-day workshop that began here yesterday on “Towards a new history of Himalayan region: Recent trends and discoveries” concluded the event with important announcements to carry out the endeavour of promoting research forward.

Prof Girija Pathak of Kumaon University said an advisory board, comprising eminent historians from the country and abroad, was constituted at the conclusion of the meeting.

“The board will be instrumental in discussing, planning and formulating future plans regarding the research to be undertaken and the direction that it should move towards,” he related.

He further disclosed that an editorial board had also been set up with the purpose of bringing out a regular journal and also the occasional research papers submitted by the students and teachers on various subjects. In addition, an executive committee had been set up under the chairmanship of eminent historian Shekhar Pathak.

Vice-Chancellor of Kumaon University VPS Arora also called for developing the new areas and creating new avenues of historical research. Dr Arora also called upon the participants to chalk out a road map for genuine research that comes out with new findings that are totally original. In fact, he has been campaigning against the “cut-paste” research that has largely become the norm of the day.

The two-day event saw several presentations by a large number of participants on various topics. Two books were also released on the occasion. Dr Girdhar Singh Negi and Manjul Joshi have penned one of the books on the Jaunsar Rawain region of the state. It has been named “Himalaya ke Aryaputra”.

Dr Shiv Chand Singh Rawat writes the second book “Garhwal Ki Arthvyavastha Avom Arthic Sansthaon Ke Vikas Ka Itihaas” that was also released on the occasion. The book gives an insight into the growth of economic institutions in Garhwal.

Dr Arora came up with some valuable suggestions for such events. He said these workshops should be multidisciplinary as no social science could be studied in isolation. He underlined the importance of history stating that no policy could be formulated unless the policy framers had a clear historical perspective of the issue that they intend to tackle.

Pithoragarh, March 5
Fed up with the personal demands being made by villagers at the multi-purpose camp organised at Baste village, near here, Uttarakhand Water Resources Minister Parkash Pant, who is also a local legislator, today instructed the officers to bring only problems related to developmental schemes of the state government.

“The officers have turned these camps as demand camps, as people are coming to these camps with personal demands,” said the minister.

“We intend to redress the problems concerning public welfare programmes announced by the state government, but the officers are not understanding the motive of the government,” said Pant.

Besides other things, the gathered villagers demanded motor roads in their area. “We need these motor roads to connect our village cluster with the nearby market that leads to the main town,” said Sakuntala Devi, the gram pradhan of Baste village.

According to a press statement, 187 patients were given ayurvedic treatment at the camp. The officers belonging to the Social Welfare, Electricity, Agriculture Supply Health and Veterinary Departments made 57 revenue documents on the spot.

Dehradun, March 5
As many as 87 art works of 77 artists from all over the state were showcased in the 9th Annual State Art Exhibition held by the Uttaranchal Kala Parishad at the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Science Branch, here today.

A large number of art lovers visited the exhibition and took delight in viewing a variety of paintings depicting the soul and spirit of nature, landscape and figure, abstract and modern art.

Renowned archaeologist RK Sharma (retd), Joint Director-General of the ASI, New Delhi, inaugurated the art exhibition. He was the chief guest on the occasion. He congratulated all the artists for their talent and work. Dr Sharma said Dehradun had many artists who were brilliant and could give competition to international artists.

Accompanying him was KS Rana, Director (Science), ASI, as the guest of honour.

The exhibition of paintings, sculptures and drawings that commenced today will continue till March 7 and is open for all.

Dehradun, March 5
Institute of Technology and Management (ITM) entered the semifinals of the Uttarakhand Twenty20 Big Bash beating West Dehradun Cricket Academy (WDCA) by 15 runs here today on Rangers College ground.

ITM won the toss and opted to bat first. The team set a target of 105 runs for six wickets in 20 overs. Kapil (18), Abid (15) and Harvinder (14*) were the main scorers.

Mohit and Ankush of WDCA took two wickets each. Ravinder and Abhinash also got a wicket each.

In reply, WDCA was all out for 89 runs. Ravinder (28) and Ankit (22) were the principal scorers for WDCA.

However, the other batsmen could not impress with the bat and the team lost the match.

Ranjeet of ITM took the maximum (four) wickets. Shajad captured two wickets. Harvinder, Kapil and Shashank pocketed a wicket each.

Dehradun, March 5
Pen Business defeated Ajabpur Youngster by three wickets in the 60th District Cricket League on the OFD ground here today.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Ajabpur Youngster scored 119 runs all out in 30.3 overs. Yogendra (23) and Ashish (21) contributed mainly to the batting effort. Rajeev and Subdoh of Pen Business grabbed two wickets each.

In reply, Pen Business had to struggle hard to achieve the target. They attained the target in 27 overs through the efforts of opening batsman Yashvir (45) and first-down batsman Rajeev (39). Sajwan and Manish bowled well capturing three wickets each for Ajabpur.

In another match played at Survey stadium, UPES registered a seven-wicket win against Survey of India.

Tomorrow, TCA will take on Doon Combined.