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Nigmanand’s Death
‘Jaagar’ held as remedy to ‘hysteria’ among school students
Pithoragarh schools face shortage of science teachers
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Former Vice-Principal of RIMC dead
Viral fever cases rise in Kumaon villages
Cong to start agitation over shortage
Two held for robbery in Haridwar
Protest in front of Parliament House on August 9
Beneficiaries of welfare schemes get cheques
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Nigmanand’s Death
Dehradun, August 6 According to CBI sources, the Uttarakhand government has already sent its request to the Centre for starting a CBI probe into the mysterious death of the saint. And the agency is likely to receive a notification from the Centre in a day or two to start the probe. “We have not received the notification by the Centre yet and as we receive it, the probe will be started,” Dharini Mishra, CBI spokesperson, told the Tribune on the phone. The state government had recommended a CBI probe into the saint’s death after pressure was mounted from various quarters, particularly from the state Congress for the probe. The 36-year-old crusader of the Haridwar-based Matri Sadan Ashram had been on indefinite fast since February 19 against quarrying and was in coma when he passed away on June 13 in the hospital. There were allegations from various quarters that he was poisoned to death. His family and the state Congress had demanded a CBI probe into the matter. Coma, septicemia and degenerative brain disorder were stated the cause of his death in the post-mortem, while his viscera was preserved for forensic examination. |
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‘Jaagar’ held as remedy to ‘hysteria’ among school students
Nainital, August 6 Just before the “Jaagar” was about to start, five girl students once again resorted to abnormal behaviour following which the school administration declared a holiday and the “Jaagar” was held after that in a classroom. The Jaagariya was invited from Betalghat while the Dangariyas were local residents. Ironically, much to the annoyance of rationalists, there has been no attempt by the administration or the school authorities to prevent holding of such an occult event in a school. The reason being given is that there is tremendous pressure of the parents to find a treatment to whatever ails their wards, even if it is an occult treatment. If such an event is taking place in Raumavi Dola village that is located not far-off from the mainstream town of Nainital, one can well-imagine the scenario prevailing in the remote interiors. The Education Department has decided to send yet another fact-finding team to the village to
find out what exactly is happening. The rationalists in the area have demanded that a team of psychiatrists should be sent to the village and a long-term strategy be formulated to deal with such occurrences that have become a sort of routine in the region. “Jaagar” is a form of spirit or ghost worship practised in the hills of Uttarakhand. The word “Jaagar” comes from the Sanskrit root “jag” or to wake. “Jaagar” is a medium in which gods and local deities are called or waked from their dormant stage and asked for
favours or remedies for certain problems plaguing the person. It is attached to the idea of divine justice and is organised to seek penance for a crime or seek justice from the gods for some injustice. Music is the medium through which the gods are invoked. The singer or Jaagariya sings a ballad of the gods with allusions to the great epics like the Mahabharat and the Ramayana which describes the adventures and exploits of the god being invoked. The hard life of the Himalayas and constant exposure to the vagaries of nature over centuries has inspired a strong belief in paranormal phenomena and also in numerous folk gods who were given great reverence and respect. In Raumavi Dola village in the Kotabagh block, girl students have been resorting to hysterical behaviour for more than 10 days. It was on July 20 that six girls had lost consciousness after behaving in an abnormal manner. This incident was repeated once again last Saturday when five girls lost consciousness and could only become normal after being given what the locals say “traditional treatment”. According to reports, none of the students from Baghni village has been attending school since six girls from the village had behaved in an abnormal manner on July 20. The attendance in the
school has come down by 50 per cent. ‘Jaagar’ is a form of spirit or ghost worship practised in the hills of Uttarakhand. The word comes from the Sanskrit root “jag” or to awaken. ‘Jaagar’ is a medium for asking favours or remedies for certain problems plaguing a person |
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Pithoragarh schools face shortage of science teachers
Pithoragarh, August 6 Uma Chauhan, 16-year-old student, is travelling 9 km daily in the hilly terrain from her residence to study science in Government Inter-College, Nachni, as there are no science teacher in the college near her home. “I want to become a doctor and will do anything to study science subjects,” said Uma Chauhan, a student studying in Class XI in GIC, Nachni. “The schools in interior parts of the district are facing a shortage of science teachers,” admitted Mukul Sati, District Education Officer, Pithoragarh. “Out of a total of 455 posts of science teacher in the district, 180 are lying vacant. Most of these vacancies are in intermediate colleges in the interior parts of the district,” added the District Education Officer. The struggle for Uma began after she passed her high school examination last year with 67 per cent marks from Lake Dhar Inter-mediate College near her home where only one science teacher was available to teach all science subjects to high school classes. After passing high school, this student of Punia Gaon in Didihat sub-division of the district, sought admission to GIC, Bans Bagar, 3km from her residence. The college had no science teacher at the intermediate level and Uma was advised by her college principal to choose another school where she could study science properly. “Being a poor student, I am not in a position to study in private schools near the district headquarters where science teachers are available, so I took admission to Government Inter-mediate College which is 9 km from my residence.I travel daily to reach the college so that I could realise my dreams of becoming a doctor,” said Uma. The District Education Department, influenced by the commitment of Uma, has now announced to help her in her studies financially. But, the department has no solution to the shortage of teachers in these schools. “In all, out of 88 high schools in the district, nearly 80 schools have only one science teacher each as the new appointees have not joined the schools so far. We are helpless,” said the District Education Officer. “Not only Uma but thousands of poor but bright students in the interior parts of the district are facing the same situation as schools have no science teachers. In a total of 14 intermediate colleges in the interior parts of Dharchula and Munsiyari, there is not even a single science teacher in the schools,” said Sati. |
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Christian leaders seek action against attackers
Dehradun, August 6 The delegation pointed to an attack by certain Hindu right wing groups led by a local municipal councillor belonging to the ruling BJP on a religious place in Dehradun under the Kotwali police station on August 4. The Christian leaders alleged that Dharmendra, who was leading the prayers, was attacked and taken to the police station. They said that while Dharmendra was made to sit in the police station till 2.30 am, no case was registered against the perpetrators of the attack. They also charged that a Christian priest, Bachan Singh, was attacked in Makhdoompur village, near Roorkee, on July 31, beaten up and the church ransacked. Dhasmana charged that there was a pattern in these attacks as such attacks on Christians and churches were also seen before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. The delegation urged the DGP to ensure action against the culprits and directions to the police to prevent such attacks. |
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Industry honours police for peaceful Kanwar Mela
Haridwar, August 6 All high-level officials were honoured at the function who played a vital role in the smooth conduct of the fair which is the largest one in the country. Pankaj Gupta, chief of the IAU, said this time industries didn’t suffer much in comparison to the previous year’s yatra and the association members felt that they should appreciate the contribution of the police for which the felicitation function was organised. Senior Superintendent of Police Kewal Khurana, SP City Dr Kiran Lal Shaw, SP rural Roshan Lal Sharma, ASP Nivedita Kukreti, CO Pankaj Bhatt, CO Kamlesh Upadhyay and other officials were felicitated on the occasion. Kanwar police cell in charge Dr Kiran Lal Shaw thanking the association said the fair was as tough as Mahakumbh, if numbers were taken into account. But prior to the fair, the police administration had made specific strategies taking into account the past year’s experiences which proved of immense help. “Making sure that Kanwariyas are plied on Kanwar patri (stretch) throughout Uttarakhand was the master stroke as traffic congestion, incidents of clashes with the local public and closing of highways were not visible this time. “We appreciate the public cooperation also as it’s not easy for 12,000 police personnel alone to manage millions of Kanwariyas in just two weeks” said ASP Nivedita Kukreti, who was the nodal officer intelligence Kanwar cell. The Industries Association of Uttarakhand is an apex body of micro, small and medium scale industries in the state and came into existence since the formation of the state in 2000. |
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NCP to contest at least 30 Assembly seats
Dehradun, August 6 He further stated that state general secretary Govind Raw on the orders passed by Sharad
Pawar, national head of the party, has constituted a nine-member state working committee for the development of Mission 2012. Former president of the state Dr Sushil Mishra has been appointed the organiser for the samiti under the leadership of Divya
Nautiyal. Patel also asked the members of the party to visit people in order to explain them about their party as they had seen the working of both BJP and Congress. He said now the people had the option to choose the party among others. Those who were present in the conference included state president Divya
Nautiyal, state organiser Dr Sushil Mishra, co-organiser Manoj Dhyani, Ankit Gupta and many other party workers. |
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Former Vice-Principal of RIMC dead
He was one of the five Indian teachers who had replaced the British masters. He served the Rashtriya Indian Military College, India’s most prestigious military school, for 36 years. He was in the distinguished company of men like Mr Hugh Catchpole and EJ Watson, the legendary figures in the history of military and English public school education. Singhal went to the USA as a Fulbright scholar and taught mathematics to senior secondary classes and returned with a degree in school administration and organisation from John Hopkins University, Baltimore. He was selected by the British Council in India for an extensive training at the Institute of Education, University of London. He also held masters and training degrees from Allahabad University. He served the college as a teacher, section-master and Vice-Principal. He sent 72 batches to the National Defence Academy, Khadakwaasla (Pune). Among his students who have held very high ranks in the defence services and won many gallantry awards are the former Chiefs of the Army and Air Staff. Singhal authored five books, one of them bears the title “Brain Teasers” for seniors. The book was published by the Macmillan & Co. has been used by schools in India since 1966. Later, he did a commendable job as the Principal of Cambrian Hall - a prestigious, English medium day-cum-residential school with a strength of 1,800 boys and girls drawn from across the world. Besides being a worthy teacher and a successful administrator, Singhal was actively involved in social service. He was the president of the Rotary Club, Dehradun, during 1973-74. Singhal, during 63 years of his service to the youth of the country, excelled as an ambassador and diplomat with a seriousness of purpose, sincerity, intellect, initiative and enthusiasm for every assignment he undertook. In his condolence message, Col Pankaj K Kumaria, Commandant, RIMC, said: “Truly an evolved spirit and a man of substance, Mr Singhal, larger than life icon, rose above all predilections to don the mantle of a true alchemist. Today, overwhelmed with grief, the entire RIMC and Rimcollian fraternity bows in deference to this phenomenon with whom the bond only grows stronger with each passing moment- never to be severed.” |
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Viral fever cases rise in Kumaon villages
Nainital, August 6 According to reports Bhagwan Chand of Chanauli village in the Kanalichina area died of viral fever while being treated at a hospital in
Haldwani. The 54-year-old victim had to be earlier taken to Pithoragarh and then Haldwani in the hope of getting proper treatment. Various hospitals across the region are witnessing a heavy influx of patients reporting symptoms of viral fever. The worst affected areas happen to be
Kanalichina, Salt, Maulekhal, Chaukhutiya and Lohaghat. Some of the worst- affected villages are
Khwankot, Pali, Ratauli, Dundri, Charandev, Kapdigaon, Khwantdi, Bisnukhan and
Piligaon. According to reports coming from Almora at least 247 patients have approached various health centres with viral fever symptoms over the last few days in the Salt area. The patients are mainly from the villages of
Kafalta, Pipna and Jhipa. Reports also say that in Chaukhutiya there are at least 170 patients approaching the Community Health Centre on a daily basis out of which 65 are being confirmed as patients of viral fever. Conditions in the remote villages are said to be bad where there is an extreme paucity of doctors and paramedical staff. People from these areas have to travel long distances to reach hospitals where doctors are present. The continuing rain that has been leading to road blockages has added to the woes of the people. Apart from viral fever, cases of jaundice and typhoid are also being reported in large numbers across the region.
— TNS |
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Protest over move to revoke domicile certificate criterion
Pithoragarh, August 6 The organisers of the protest rally also submitted a memorandum to the District Magistrate, Pithoragarh, and threatened that if this was implemented, they would launch an agitation in the hilly areas of the state to safeguard the interests of the residents. “After the creation of the state, a large number of outsiders also settled in the Terai region. We will not tolerate this situation in the state,” said Bhagwan Singh Rawat, an ex-student leader and an organiser of the agitation. |
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Cong to start agitation over shortage
Dehradun August 6 Addressing the media, Baladutt Tiwari, state president of the committee, said, “There are several primary schools in the hilly districts of the state, which are running short of teachers. The declining conditions of the schools are directly affecting the future of children as well as discouraging the education system in Uttarakhand to flourish.” “We asked the state government to make immediate recruitment of teachers at the primary as well as junior high school levels, regularise the education system and keep a tab on the irregular transfer of teachers,” he added.
— TNS |
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Two held for robbery in Haridwar
Haridwar, August 6 As soon as the accused fled, shop owner RK Gupta informed the police, which managed to arrest two of the accused identified as Lavshesh and Ranjeet. A revolver, a knife and Rs 5,000 of the looted money have been recovered from their possession. During interrogation, it came to the fore that Lavshesh has already been to jail in a loot case while Ranjeet is wanted in several vehicle theft cases. Efforts are on to arrest the other two accused, Vishal and Shaan. A case has been registered. Meanwhile, SHO JS Pundir said SSP Haridwar Kewal Khurana has given a cash prize of Rs 2,500 to a patrolling team which arrested the accused. |
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Protest in front of Parliament House on August 9
Dehradun, August 6 The Union government had dealt a blow to the lower middle class and middle class families. Naudiyal also decried about the policies of the Planning Commission saying the conditions suggested by the Planning Commission to bring the BPL families above poverty line were nothing but a crass joke. Naudiyal also expressed concern over the decreasing sex ratio and impasse over the Women Reservation Bill. |
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Beneficiaries of welfare schemes get cheques
Dehradun, August 6 Besides, 10 girls were also given cheques under the Gaura Devi Kanya Dhan Yojna. One beneficiary was also provided with a wheelchair. The CM said aid for a tricycle and a wheelchair was also being given in addition to a marriage grant to a physically challenged couple.
— TNS |
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Dehradun, August 6