Dehradun March 17
The students and staff of the Beat Breakers, an institute of dance and aerobics, offered tribute to the tsunami victims of Japan at the Gandhi Park here today.The members of the organisation lit candles at the Gandhi Park in remembrance of the victims and observed two minutes of silence for the departed souls.

While addressing the ceremony, Sagar Mahal, one of the members who had come to pay homage, said, “Japan is in state of trauma and grief. The country has lost majority of its heritage and many innocent people in the natural calamity. At this hour, we should unite to provide them help.”

Dehradun, March 17
With Holi drawing near, the state police has made security plans to tackle drunkards and hooligans besides putting a special emphasis on communal areas in all districts of Uttarakhand.

Director General of Police (DGP) Jyoti Swaroop Pandey has already directed all districts to make tight security arrangements for the festival.

“All the districts have been asked to make fool-proof security arrangements for Holi. Special instructions have been given to the places where some communal problem exists,” the DGP added.

In the state capital, arrangements have been made for two days — March 19 and 20. On March 19, Holika Dehan will be held and on the next day, Holi will be celebrated with colours.

According to the police, two mobile parties - with a sufficient number of cops - will be on duty at every police station from 6 am to 6 pm. These will be on the move to check triple riding and hooliganism.

In communally sensitive areas, effective patrolling will be undertaken.

For miscreants who drink and drive at high speed, barricades are being put up at 40 places in the state capital - Dalanwala, Nehru Colony, Kotwali, Basant Vihar, Patel Nagar, Cantt, Rajpur, Clement Town, Shaspur and Doiwala.

On March 20, all the liquor shops will be closed and strict action will be initiated on defaulters. The police has appealed to the people not to play Holi with paint and mud.

Dehradun, March 17
The Supreme Court today cancelled the order of the Nainital High Court granting bail to seven cops in the sensational case of alleged fake encounter of Ranbir Singh. The SC also transferred the case from Dehradun to Delhi on the plea of Ranbir’s family.

Ranbir, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was allegedly killed in a fake encounter by the Dehradun police on July 3, 2009. The matter had become national news after political pressure from the UP and the case was handed over to the CBI.

The CBI had named 18 cops in the case and held them responsible for the killing of Ranbir. However, seven of them had got bail from the High Court. To this, Ranbir’s family had filed an appeal in the SC.

Though the case has been transferred to Delhi, its has not been decided yet which court will have this case.

Dehradun, March 17
Fed up with the promises by Social Welfare Minister Matbar Singh on the issue of the enactment of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act (2007), senior citizens today asked the government to immediately enact the Act in the state.

At a workshop organised by the HelpAge India for the senior citizens, the Social Welfare Minister was asked unsavoury questions about the delay in the enactment of the Act even though the state had issued a notification in 2008. The minister said the Acts and laws seldom served their purpose. “I cannot say when the Act would be adopted by the state. I am used to answering such questions in the Vidhan Sabha,” said the minister.

In the absence of the implementation of the Act in the state, no cases of cruelty against the senior citizens are being registered, nor any tribunals have been set up in the state. Though a helpline of the HelpAge India in Dehradun has been receiving several complaints of this nature.

The minister, who was the chief guest at the workshop, was repeatedly asked why not a single old-age home had been constructed in Dehradun by the government when there was a demand for setting up such an institution by the residents. To this question, the Minister replied: “Two old-age homes constructed by the government in Bageshwar and Gopeshwar have less than 10 inmates when these can accommodate 50 inmates. We would not like to waste funds of the state,” he asserted.

There has been a persistent demand from senior citizens’ organisations for setting up an old-age home in the city.

However, the minister did not forget to highlight the achievements of his department to score political points. “Our track record is better than the previous Congress Government. During its five-year term, the Congress Government was able to disburse the old-age pension among 86,000 beneficiaries while my government has already disbursed the pension among 2.72 lakh beneficiaries,” he said.

A total of 60 representatives participated in the workshop.

Dehradun, March 17
The Raphael Ryder Cheshire International Centre, Dehradun, has been working in the field of disability for the past 51 years with a mission to provide relief to the suffering humanity.

Their activities include providing a home to the leprosy cured patients, hostel facility, education, help in rehabilitation of children of leprosy parentage, care, education, training, rehabilitation of the intellectually disabled, community-based rehabilitation, hospitalisation and treatment of TB patients living below poverty line.

In November 2007, Raphael was appointed the State Nodal Agency Centre (SNAC) in Uttarakhand by the National Trust, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, whose primary concern is the welfare of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities, to further the cause of those suffering from various disabilities through greater interaction with the state government authorities.

The National Trust had launched a countrywide disability awareness programme in 2009 with the help of volunteers, who travelled across the length and breadth of the country, making the population aware of the schemes and programmes of the trust.

This event was named Badhte Kadam that met with an overwhelming success and encouraged the trust to repeat this exercise by launching Badhte Kadam-II, which was conducted throughout India from November 16 to 30, 2010.

In Uttarakhand, this programme has been conducted from March 7 to 14, 2011. There were four volunteers who travelled across the state to spread awareness through melas organised at several places.

Participation in good numbers by the public at each mela site enabled achievement of the aims of this event.

A large population has been sensitised about disability and made aware of the welfare programmes for the disabled.

In Uttarakhand, the team was flagged off on March 7 from Dehradun. From March 8, the team travelled throughout the state and stopped at six partner locations, where a two-hour event was organised, spreading the message.

Mussoorie, March 17
The father-daughter duo Virgil and Stepahnie Miedema from the US have set out to immortalise the queen of hills through a co-authored book on history of Mussoorie dating back to arrival of the British in 1820’s that is tentatively scheduled to be released later this year.

Stepahnie, following the footsteps of her father, is in Mussoorie to fill in the few patches remaining in the book that is nearing its completion. Virgil has already penned down a book on another hill station situated in Pakistan titled ‘Murree- a Glimpse Through the Forest’ published in 2002 by the AmurMaple books.

Stephanie met local historian Gopal Bhardwaj in Mussoorie and shared her experiences yesterday, while researching for the book.

Speaking exclusively to The Tribune, Stephanie said she was a consultant for the UNO on gender bias, but her love for history made her join her father in his endeavour.

She also said as their family had long connection with Mussoorie, with many friends and extended family members residing here, the need for binding the trove of historical treasure in the pictorial book became imminent for them.

Stephanie said, “A section in the book also deals with historical characters of yesteryear, along with the royal families residing in the town then.” Stephanie affirmed that she was really excited about the project and was looking forward to its release.

Dehradun, March 17
After coming up with a comprehensive report on rafting camps along the Ganga in Uttarakhand, the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, is now working on a rafting policy which will help establish a balance between the rafting exercise and the environment.

Rafting, particularly in the Ganga, has been mired in controversy for long. Environmentalists fear that rafting camps are detrimental to wildlife, but for the members of the rafting fraternity, it is the only source of livelihood.

HB Vasistha from the Forest Ecology and Environment Division of the FRI said that after coming up with a detailed report on the impact of rafting on the Ganga on the region’s ecology and also taking into account the livelihood concerns of the rafters, the FRI has now taken up the task of preparing a rafting policy.

Interestingly, a research, some months ago, conducted by FRI scientists had found that rafting activity in the Ganga was having an overall negative impact. It suggested an urgent need for a comprehensive impact assessment study on rafting camps, cautioning that things were fast getting out of control.

Meanwhile, rafting operators in Uttarakhand and the state Forest Department continue to be at loggerheads. Rafting operators accuse the Uttarakhand forest authorities of high-handedness and harassment while the latter have taken a stand that rafting companies earn a lot and pay little revenue to the state government.

Forest authorities maintain that environmental considerations warrant that limits should be put on rafting activity.

Dehradun, March 17
Clement Town Police won the Town Cricket Tournament, which was organised by the Clement Town Cricket Association, defeating New Star Cricket Academy (B) here today.The police team won the toss and elected to bat first. The team scored 141 runs before getting all out in 20 overs. Wasim (45) was the main scorer for the batting side. The policemen also got help with 31 runs coming from extras.

Usman and Arvind Sajwan of New Star got three wickets each.

While batting, New Star was packed off for just 58 in 13 overs. Shanky (30) was the main scorer for the squad.

The Man of the Match Varnik claimed six wickets to help the police team win the match with ease. The talented bowler left the rival team batsmen guessing throughout the match.

Meanwhile, Naeem of Majra Cricket Club was awarded the Man of the Series Award. Bhupender Singh Kandari, vice-chairman of the Cantt Board, Clement Town, distributed the prizes among the players.