Dehradun, March 1
The stalemate between councillor and employees of the power department continued till late evening on the issue of thrashing of line helper Sohan Singh Rawat by councillor, Gobindgarh, Surender Singh Kukreja, on Monday. Both sides were adamant on asking each other to apologise and none was ready to concede fault. A meeting mediated by Additional District Magistrate (E) Vinod Suman, Superintendent of Police, City, Jaswant Singh, Managing Director, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited, AK Jain, continued for nearly six hours but the stand-off persisted. The meeting was then called off to give time to both the parties to mull over the issue the next day.

The entire day was spent in holding meetings with respective parties. First MD, UPCL, AK Jain, held a meeting with union leaders, then with councillors. Councillors, thereafter, held a meeting with BJP, city president, Punit Mittal. Then councillor and union leaders were called at MD, UPCL’s room, in the presence of ADM (E) and SP, City.

AP Amoli, president of the Urza Kamgaar Sangthan, said the adamant attitude of the councillors was demoralising. He said: “If politically sound and influential people do not pay bills for months and beat up the employees of power department when they go to disconnect their electricity connections, then it will become quite demoralising for the employees.” Amoli said if councillor Kukreja gave the apology in writing to Managing Director, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), they were ready to get back to their work.

On the other hand, BJP, City, president, Punit Mittal, who held a meeting with Kukreja and other councillors on the issue, said: “There is no question of the councillor apologising as he is the sufferer in this case. He had been offering to pay the bill and complaining about the error in the electronic meter for the last six months but was not heard out by the deparment concerned. We are ready to compromise on the request of the administration and keeping the public interest in the mind but it does not mean that the councillor is guilty.” He said if no mid-way could be sought, then they would demand action against the alleged 11 employees of the power department who misbehaved with the councillor and his son about which he claimed to have CCTV footage as well. CCTV camera is installed at the residence of the councillor.

Kukreja said the councillors were public representatives and if anyone, especially responsible government servants, could misbehave with them and escape punishment, then it would send a wrong message in the publc. Anybody would take them lightly.

Vinod Suman, ADM (E), said he tried his best to resolve the issue and might try again to bring both the parties together on Friday.

Ashok Verma, leader of the Opposition, Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC), said the matter should not have been dragged so much and for so long and the councillor should have shown magnanimity by bringing it to a dignified end. He accused other BJP councillors with misleading Kukreja.

Police sources said if the matter did not get resolved, then those against whom FIRs had been filed, would have to be arrested. 

Roorkee, March 1
With 17 teams participating from 12 states and five paramilitary forces, the All-India Police Water Sport began here today.

The five-day national-level event is witnessing 500 players who will be vying for medals in 26 disciples of rowing, kanoeing and kayaking. It is being held at Sonali Park. A total of 87 medals are up for grabs in this event with all teams accompanied by coaches, training staff and officials.

This event is being organised in Uttarakhand for the third time with it being succesfully held in 2004 and 2010 earlier. Inaugurating the event, Chief Secretary Subash Kumar stressed on the need of sports in one’s life as it fostered team spirit and inculcated a positive approach.

While Inspector General of Police Alok Sharma emphasised on the need of participating in newer sports by police personnel, be it the Olympic, the Asiad or other multi-global events, these sports were proving to be medal baggers for various countries.

IG Sharma added that the event was being held as per international norms, with Roorkee having the state-of-the-art facilities and venue for water sports.

For precise decision, high-quality photo finish cameras have been placed to make sure all decisions are perfect and no possibility of players suffering from human error arises. Notably in previous editions, the Border Security Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police had won the event held in Roorkee.

This time the Uttarakhand Police too is a major contender with many participating sportspersons having bagged various medals in various national level competitions.

Sunil Kumar Meena, Commandant, 40th PAC, Haridwar was also present at the inaugural ceremony.

Haridwar, March 1
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and veteran BJP leader Uma Bharati today visited Matri Sadan ashram in Jagjeetpur. Uma met agitating Professor GD Aggarwal, Matra Sadan founder Swami Shivanand and other saints and activists of Save Ganga movement and extended her support to the ongoing movement.

Professor GD Aggarwal, who is known as Gyan Swaroop Sada Nandji, took to meditation for making the holy Ganga clean in Haridwar at Matri Sadan Ashram, 5 km from the city, last month. Aggarwal along with four other saints are doing meditation to ensure the holy Ganga remains clean and its sanctity doesn’t get affected. — TNS

Dehradun, March 1
A four-member delegation from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Forestry Centre, Thimpu, visited the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) today.

The delegation, headed by Dr Sangay Wangchuk, Director, SAARC Forestry Centre, held discussions with ICFRE officials to address the concerns regarding the management of natural resources in the SAARC countries.

The major issues were the need for forestry research to address livelihood issues as well as multilateral environmental issues, including hydrological studies and impact of climate change on Himalayan ecosystems.

The discussions brought out the need for collaborative research on aspects such as valuation of ecosystems goods and services, forest hydrology, impact vulnerability and adaption of Himalayan ecosystems to climate change and preservation of biodiversity. Besides, the speakers also felt a strong need to establish institutional linkages with educational and research institutes in the SAARC countries for exchange of knowledge and capacity building.

It was also discussed that a special issue of "Indian Forester" focusing on issues concerning the management of natural resources in the SAARC countries would be brought out tentatively in December coinciding with the SAARC Charter day.

Apart from Dr Sangay Wangchuk, Director, SAARC Forestry Centre, the delegation comprised A K Lal, Head, Passang Norbu and Chado Tshering. The delegation met Dr VK Bahuguna, Director General, ICFRE, and senior officers of the council. 

Dehradun, March 1
A two-day all-India seminar on applications of imaging, visualisation and optimisation technologies by the Institution of Engineer’s (India), Uttarakhand State Centre (UKSC), under the aegis of interdisciplinary coordination committee will be held on Friday in the city. The objective of IEI is to promote engineering knowledge and current technological information to the engineering fraternity for betterment and development of society.

While briefing the media about the seminar, KC Tripathi, president, IEI, Uttarakhand, said: “This seminar aspired to provide a forum for professionals, managers, scientists, engineers, educators & researchscholars to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, experiences and concerns in interdisciplinary way for the benefit & uplift of society. In the present day of advance availability of technological options, interdisciplinary approaches are required in various domains such as computer science, aerospace, power, mechanical, communication, petroleum and earth science engineering in which computing tools and techniques plays an important role.” RP Jamloki, former president, said the various applications in intelligent systems and natural resources management require imaging, visualisation and optimisation techniques.—TNS

Dehradun, March 1
The first day of the student union week at DBS PG College was a fun-filled affair. A large number of students participated in rangoli and mehndi competitions with great fervour and enthusiasm here today.

The chief guest for the event was Godavari Thapli, zila panchayat member, accompanied by Sunil Aggarwal, secretary, Association of Self Financed Institutes, Uttarakhand, as the guest of honour. They inaugurated the programme by lighting the ceremonial lamp and offering flowers to Goddess Saraswati.

Some girls demonstrated their artistic skills by applying henna on one another’s hands while some made interesting rangoli with colours, lentils, stones and flowers with thought-provoking slogans.

The winners of the competitions were announced in the latter part of the day. Pooja, Nazma and Pratima were the winners of mehndi competition while in the rangoli competition, Pooja Saklani and Pooja Nainwal stood first collectively. Anjali and Shrishti collectively bagged the second position while Priyanka and Meenakshi were declared third. 

Dehradun, March 1
The concluding day of DAV (PG) College’s union week was celebrated with zeal and merriment here today.

Students had a gala time enjoying the performances of the Indian idol fame, Kapil Thapa. The euphoric atmosphere captured everyone’s attention.

The chief guest on the occasion was state Chief Minister BC Khanduri, accompanied by senior congress leader Hira Singh Bisht and Rajpur MLA Ganesh Joshi as special guests. He inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial lamp and offering prayer to Goddess Saraswati.

Addressing the gathering, he discussed the role of students in nation building and said, “Students are the future of the nation and so they should never forget their moral responsibilities and duties. Many programmes are being run for the development of students and these would benefit them in the long run,” he averred.

Khanduri also presented awards to the deserving students and teachers.

Haridwar, March 1
As a part of the annual youth festival being held at Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Sati Kund, Kankhal, various events were held on the third day of the fest.

From light-fun events to sports, a large number of girl students participated from all departments of the college.

In the rangoli competition, Alka, Deep Mala, Kamakshi, Jainab, Katija and Menu impressed the audience with their kaleidoscopic designs of Lord Ganesha.

In the best of waste event, Riyanka Verma, Kajal, Shalu Chauhan, Neha Pant, Payal, Renuka and Monika Pundir made models depicting usage of waste materials, which is usually dumped by people.

Sayyida, Farheen, Shivani, Sapna, Hina and Radha were chosen for the final round of the essay competition. In the sports meet, Shaifali Chauhan, Monika Pundi, Mahek, Preeti Tomar, Radha and Shalini won in various athletics events. Judge for today’s events Neeru Jain appreciated the efforts pitched in by the students