The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Woman shoots herself in Mussoorie
Suicide note found; unsuccessful love affair the reason
Ajay Ramola

The body of the woman who shot herself in her house in Mussoorie on Sunday; and (below) a suicide note lying on the floor.

Mussoorie, February 26
Chitra Tyagi, a woman around 25-year-old, shot herself in chest with a countrymade pistol at her residence in Barlowganj, five kilometres from Mussoorie, this afternoon. The police believes failed marriage and an unsuccessful love affair can be the reasons for such a tragic act leading to her death. The police station in charge Parikshit Kumar rushed to the spot along with other police personnel and recovered the body along with firearm. The police has sent the body to the hospital for autopsy.

Parikshit Kumar said Chitra was residing with her parents after the failed marriage in Barlowgunj.

She was under severe stress due to the failed marriage with Sanjay Tyagi, who is posted as local intelligence officer in Haridwar district, and after the divorce she was living with her parents. She was further depressed after her love affair with another person N. Pandey, resident of Guniyal Gaon in Dehradun, also ended in a fiasco resulting in her decision to shoot herself.

Parikshit Kumar said the police had also recovered a suicide note where she had mentioned that she was fed up with her life and also blamed her unsuccessful love affair as the reason for taking such an extreme step.

Father of the deceased Ram Bahadur Kshetri narrating the fateful incident said he was working in his tea stall in the afternoon and came to the house for a moment when he found his daughter lying in an unconscious state. After closer look, he was aghast at to find that her daughter had shot herself with a pistol point blank in the chest.

He immediately called for help after which the police was informed immediately.

When asked about nobody heard the gunshot, he failed to give a satisfactory reply. Ram Bahadur also said his daughter had been living with him for the past three years and had severed all relations with her husband Sanjay Tyagi and had established a relationship with Naresh Pandey which was also strained.

Chitra is survived by a son from her failed marriage. She was currently posted at Dehradun Institue of Technology (DIT) in Dehradun.

The Mussoorie police has also begun investigation in the case and also is inquiring in other possibilities too.

The police also questioned Chitra’s parents about the pistol in the house. Ram Bahadur Kshetri has denied any knowledge about the presence of weapon in the house.

Gorkha morcha, Kurmanchal Assn celebrate Holi
Tribune News Service

Children give a performance during the Holi celebrations organised by the Kurmanchal Association.

Dehradun, February 26
The Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha held a cultural evening to celebrate holi with at the Garhi here today. Gorkhas celebrated the onset of spring in a traditional way. The members of the association performed traditional dance followed by Gorkhali songs.

The chief guest inaugurated the programme by lighting the lamp. A large number members of the Gorkha community living in Dehradun attended the function. The programme was organised to celebrate ethnic and traditional festivals to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Gorkha community.

The association also aims at fostering a spirit of unity and brotherhood among Gorkhas residing in the state.

Meanwhile, the Kurmanchal Association celebrated Holi here today. From children to elders, everybody made merry with colours, sweet dishes, foot-tapping music and dance performances.

Students made attractive rangolis and adorned earthen pots with glass and colourful craft material.

Children give a performance during the Holi celebrations organised by the Kurmanchal Associtaion, Uttarakhand, in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

The event took a pleasant turn when children dressed in colourful attires presented a traditional dance, depicting the story behind the celebration of the Holi festival. Their performance left everyone spellbound and were appreciated by one and all.

The function ended with children and elders applying gulal on the face of each other and savouring the sweet dishes.

Meanwhile, people at Rishi Ashram, Khurbura, Dehradun, also celebrated Holi with great enthusiasm and fervour. Chidlren dressed like Radha and Krishna presented Holi dance on the occasion.

Doon Civic Blues: Ward No. 53
Potholed roads a major problem in Mohit Nagar
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Roadside shelters built by the councillor in ward no. 53 in Dehradun. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, February 26
Residents of Mohit Nagar, ward no. 52, are facing problems due to poor condition of roads. Digging up of the roads to lay sewerage pipes have made the matter worst for the residents of the area.

KL Bhatia, a resident, said. “It is difficult, especially for old people, to walk on the potholed roads. Many of the people got injured in the past because of this.”

BM Dabral, however, drew solace from the fact that since roads have already been dug up for sewerage lines, they would get into shape after carpeting is done.

“Earlier the roads were broken at many places. Despite our complaints, some parts of the roads were not repaired. Now they have dug up the roads and they would carpet all of them. The potholes would also get repaired in the process,“ he said.

Sushma Rani talked about the sewerage problem being faced by the residents of the ward. “The residents have tough time dealing with choked or overflowing sewerage. Problem in one house affects the others. Now we are hopeful that the problem will be fixed soon,” she said.

Councillor Amita Singh said it would take approximately three months to complete the sewerage and carpeting work in her ward. About 80 per cent of the area has been completed so far under this project.”

Representative’s View

It will take three months to complete the sewerage and carpeting work here. The work on about 80 per cent of the area has been completed. — Amrita Singh

The problem of garbage is also being redressed. Lalit Madan, a resident, complained, “People from the locality throw their garbage into the vacant plot adjacent to my house. It remained there for days unless I hired a private sanitation worker to clean it up. Now the councilor has got a wall erected around it but a few still throw garbage into it.”

Amita Singh said the door-to-door garbage collection started under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission was slated to begin in her ward as well. Before that starts, she herself supervises the cleanliness in her ward. A group of sanitation workers could be seen coming to her house and giving their reports of the day to her. “I personally take their attendance in the morning and allot them the patch of the area to be cleaned. In the day, I supervise their work,” she said.

Active in her work, she got many development-related projects cleared, not only from the Dehradun Municipal Corporation but also from the Mussoorie-Dehradun Development Authority for her ward. This includes several drains, hand-pumps, tin shades and a sitting arrangement for senior citizens before Wadia Institute.

‘Art in me’ competition at Children’s Academy
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 26
To promote art and identify talent among children, an ‘Art in me’ competition was organised on the campus of Children’s Academy here yesterday. About 150 students participated in the event with great enthusiasm.

A panel of judges, including Aruna Bhasker, Dr.Kalpana and Charu Jain adjudged the competition. The competition was divided in six groups.

Group A was for the children up to three years, group B for the children up to four years, group C for the children up to five years, group D for the children up to six years, group D for the children up to seven years and group F for the children up to eight years.

The vice-principal of the school, Anita Vijan, gave away the prizes to the winners.

She appreciated the efforts of children and their parents for making their children participate in the competition.

The programme culminated with the vote of thanks delivered by Sonia Ahuja, junior coordinator of the school.

Issues related to legal services discussed
Tribune News Service

A member of the Legal Studies and Services Society, Uttarakhand, addresses a gathering at DAV PG College in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Dehradun, February 26
An annual meeting was organised today at DAV PG College here on the occasion of foundation day of Legal Studies and Services Society.

In the meeting, issues related to the legal services and strategies needed to enhance its services in future was discussed.

The members of the body highlighted the achievements of the society for the year.

The meeting was presided over by president of the society Shalabh Agarwal. Agarwal also said efforts were being made to provide legal services in the state. He said various workshops would be organised to create awareness on legal issues. Vinod Nautiyal, Information Commissioner, Uttarakhand, presided over the meeting.