Dehradun
Hemkunt Sahib: The portals of Hemkunt Sahib and Lokpal Lakshman Mandir were closed for winters on Wednesday. Before the portals of the sacred Sikh shrine were closed, thousands of devotees paid obeisance at the shrine. This year 2.30 lakh more devotees against their number last year visited the shrine. Gurdwara Hemkunt Sahib’s chief Granthi Jassa Singh announced the closure of the Portals.

WII seminar: The two-day 25th Annual Research Seminar of the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India will start from October 11. According to sources, the seminar will discuss various wildlife projects that have been completed recently or are in progress. The projects on which the presentation is to be made at the research seminar include monitoring tigers, co-predators, prey and their habitat, implications in wildlife forensics, ecological assessment of timberline in the Western Himalayas with special reference to climate change.

Kumaon Briefs
Man falls off weigh bridge, dies: In a freak incident reported from Kalusiddh, Ramnagar, a man was killed when he accidentally fell off a portion of a weigh bridge that was under repairs. Two plates of the bridge had been removed for carrying out repairs. The deceased has been identified as 36-year old Harish Saini who was a resident of Jassaganja village. He was involved in quarrying operations. He was rushed to a hospital in a tractor-trailer with multiple injuries and was declared dead on arrival by the doctors there.

No leave for cops: The police personnel working in the Kumaon region would not be getting any leave during the festive season. A decision in this regard is learnt to have been taken by the newly appointed Inspector General (IG) of Police (Kumaon Range) Ram Singh Meena. The decision has been taken in the wake of the recent clashes in Rudrapur town of Udham Singh Nagar district. Orders have been given to intensify patrolling across the region. The security across the region, particularly in the parts of the Terai belt and the villages located on the border with the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, is being beefed up.

2 die after taking poisonous substance: Two persons have died in Haldwani after having consumed a poisonous substance. It is learnt that 35-year-old Preeti Joshi of Dwarahat had been admitted to Sushila Tewari Memorial Hospital around 12 days ago after she had consumed a poisonous substance. She died during treatment. In the second instance, Deepak Giri of Friends Colony in Haldwani had also been brought to the hospital after he had consumed poison on Wednesday. The 15-year-old boy had taken the extreme step after a verbal spat at his home. He died late in the afternoon.

Jilted lover slits woman’s throat: A jilted lover allegedly tried to kill a woman with a sharp edged weapon in Banbasa. It is learnt that Vinod Kashyap allegedly slit the throat of the woman who was residing in the main market of the town. The latter was residing with her two children. Following the incident, the accused also tried to slit his own throat. It is being said that the two were having an affair. The injured woman is being treated at a hospital in Khatima.

Residents threaten stir: A large number of residents of the Garampani area of Nainital district have aired doubts over the quality of work being done in the ongoing repairs of the Bhawali-Almora road. The residents have submitted a memorandum to the local administration raising a question mark over the quality of material being used to rebuild the road. They have threatened to launch an agitation if proper metalling is not done on the roads in the area.