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Sea of humanity at Jhanda Mela
Bookings for offering covers at Jhanda Sahib made till 2091
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Indo-US workshop
Truck plunges into Ganga; driver missing
Buildings of Tehri Garhwal schools in shattered condition
Alumni beat Cadets 2-0 in hockey at RIMC reunion
Annual Reunion
Dolphin institute given accreditation certificate by UGC Chairman
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Sea of humanity at Jhanda Mela
Dehradun, March 12 The credit for transforming the simple ceremony of raising the flag into an egalitarian and community show goes to Guru Ram Rai’s wife Rani Punjab Kaur. Her liberal stance is reflected in the simple ceremony of offering covers that are wrapped around Jhanda Sahib winning over society’s narrow mindedness and parochial urges. “It is faith that brings lakhs of pilgrims to Darbar Sahib. The syncretism practised by Guru Ram Rai and Mahants draws pilgrims from all religions,” said Devender Das, Mahant, Darbar Sahib, who presided over the ceremonies. Since morning, a large number of men could be seen wrapping covers around the mast. The old mast that was removed lay on one side. The dexterity of those involved in covering up the mast was there for all to witness as hundreds of hands balanced it. “A total of 20 shaneel covers, one darshani cover and 40 covers made of cotton clothe would cover up the mast. The pilgrims offer them as a gesture of thanksgiving and wish fulfilment,” said BP Saklani, in charge, Jhanda
Mela. Interestingly, the old mast is never discarded but a portion of it is used to make furniture and windows at all Guru Ram Rai schools, colleges and institutions. Event the covers from the old mast are distributed among pilgrims. These are valued as prized possessions by the pilgrims who attach great value to them. When Darbar Sahib opened its doors, every inch of space was occupied by pilgrims, who would stay here till March 14. “A round the clock community kitchen is running. All our needs will be looked after by the benevolent saint,” said Tek Chand (65), a resident of Ambala. The hospitality of the Darbar Sahib is legendary. Besides opening its rest rooms to the pilgrims, the schools run by the Guru Ram Rai Mission are also used for providing lodging to the pilgrims. On March 14, the sangat would be formally given a send off by Mahant Devender Das. |
Bookings for offering covers at Jhanda Sahib made till 2091
Dehradun, March 12 “Our mother’s wish has been fulfilled. Our mother, Swaran Dhup, had made a booking in 1995 and our turn came this year,” said Arun. The Dhups made regular trips to the city as they had immense faith in Darbar Sahib and Guru Ram Rai. “All family rituals like mundan etc., are performed at Darbar Sahib. We believe that the blessings of Darbar Sahib and teachings of Guru Ram Rai continue to guide us,” said Arun. Similarly, Pramjeet Kaur from Vancouver, Canada, had come with her mother Bakshish Kaur, a resident of Nawanshahr, to offer a “Shaneel” cover. “My mother had made a booking some 21 years ago after I was blessed with a son. Our turn came this year,” said a visibly-happy, Paramjeet Kaur. Unmindful of the rush around her, Paramjeet gratuitously watched the rituals being performed by Mahant Devender Das. On the other hand, besides offering a “Shaneel” cover, 14-year-old Manjeet Singh, a resident of Nawanshahr, accompanied by his parents, also had the privilege of meeting Mahant Devinder Das and seeking his blessings. At least four residents of Dehradun, including Rajender Agarwal, too had offered “Shaneel” covers at Darbar Sahib. Pilgrims make bookings several years in advance, usually by sending requests through letters or telephone calls. If everything goes according to plan, Gajjan Singh will get a chance to offer a darshani cover next year. Gajjan is a resident of Mohali and had made the booking some 25 years ago. “The booking for darshani covers have been made till 2091. Rajinder Saini, a resident of Chandigarh, may get a chance to offer a cover in 2091,” said Vishnu Kumar Nautiyal, PRO, Darbar Sahib. The bookings for “Shaneel” covers have made till 2032 while registration for simple covers have been made till 2013. |
Stress on need to introduce green chemicals
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 12 “There is near unanimity to completely rid the environment of harmful chemicals. The endocrine disruptive heavy metals used in pharmaceutical industry and other chemicals used by chemists are causing damage to the environment. We need to find ways of completely eliminating them and green chemistry holds promise,” said Bhavik R. Bakshi, professor, Department of Chemical and Bimolecular Engineering, Columbus (USA). He was speaking today at the Indo-US workshop on “Green Chemistry for Environment and Sustainable Development,” organized jointly by Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University and Texas University (USA). Dr Bhavik said these chemical wastes are of no use and should be eliminated. “We should even be able to find alternatives for toxics as the waste generated by them is harmful to the environment,” he said. Dr Bhavik also stressed on the need to follow energy intensive lifestyle of the Western world that encourages the release of toxics. Significantly Dr D.S Negi, associate professor, Department of Chemistry, HNB Garhwal University, said scientists from India and USA are working in tandem to find alternative chemicals that could replace toxics. “Prevention is better than cure; we should learn from the follies from the Western world and not work towards doing reactions even with water,” said Dr Negi. |
Truck plunges into Ganga; driver missing
Mussoorie, March 12 The locals informed the Devprayag police, who rushed to the spot and began the search for the missing driver, who is feared to be swept away in the gushing current of the river. The police also recovered documents lying on the slope and informed the owner of the truck, Bhagwan Singh Negi, about the incident. The driver has been identified as Surender Singh Negi . |
Buildings of Tehri Garhwal schools in shattered condition
Mussoorie, March 12 The natural disaster that occurred last year during monsoons has left wide cracks and rendered these school buildings without any roofs or windows, making it immensely difficult for the teachers to impart education to children,who have to scurry for cover during heavy downpour or the sun beating down with full force. The apathy of the Education Department can be gauged from the fact that most of the proposals of repair and improvement in the infrastructure of the affected schools are gathering dust due to the lackadaisical approach of the concerned departments. More than 500 students from the remote villages of the hill district and belonging to poor strata of society are enrolled in around 1473 government schools, out of which 103 primary schools are in a completely shattered condition. The higher secondary schools also face a similar situation with more than 11 out of 327 buildings still awaiting repair and upgradation work. The neglect does not end here as some school buildings have not been repaired or upgraded since the past 50 years, much to the despair of the villagers here. The school buildings here had suffered most of the damage during the natural disaster that had occurred during monsoons last year, and despite receiving additional Rs 500 crore as aid from the Centre during the previous BJP regime, no improvement was witnessed in the condition of the schools here. Around 18 school buildings are in dilapidated condition in Kirti Nagar block, while 17 buildings in Jaunpur block are such where the students do not have a concrete roof to shelter them from sun or rain. Around 800 students in Kirti Nagar block, 289 students in Chamba block and 269 in Devprayag block are receiving education in such conditions, much to the worry of their parents, who live under fear of untoward incidents that could occur on any given day. The father of one such school student, Rajender Singh, said that they have apprised the concerned departments about the risky situation of the schools in the area on several occasions but no action has been taken so far. He demanded from the new government to immediately take cognizance of the situation and repair all such schools before any untoward incident occurs in the near future. When contacted District Education Department officials said that they have received the proposals and would initiate any action only after the new government is in place in the state. It seems that the demand of repairing or upgrading these schools would have to wait till the time the political drama on who will be the next CM unfolds in day or two. |
Alumni beat Cadets 2-0 in hockey at RIMC reunion
Dehradun, March 12 In the finals of the RIMC Inter-Section Boxing Competition, Ranjit and Chandragupta came first by scoring 24 points, Shivaji came second with 17 points and Pratap came third with 12 points. Cadet Oinam Kuhmanlaba was adjudged the best boxer, Cadet Vishrut Singh as the best loser and Cadet Mridul Rawat as the best upcoming sportsman. The judges for the competition were Hav Achinto Roy, Naik Subedar K Selvam, Havaldar AD Bhonsale, Havaldar Chaudhari Dev, Havaldar Vincent Kit. The referees for the bouts were Lance Naik Ranjan Rai. |
RIMCollians walk down memory lane
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, March 12 The RIMCollians, as the alumni are fondly addressed as, greeted each other. Col Ajay Shekhawat, who had been the secretary of the alumni association for five years, attends the reunion celebrations every year regardless of where he is posted. He also expressed concern over the loss of trees and space in the premises. He said, “I am sad at not finding trees here. My naughty batch mates and I used to climb up to relish the goodies, which were uprooted in the hurricane last year.” Jagdeep Kairon, entrepreneur, who got injured in the spinal cord and had to leave military service, came from Malaysia to attend the ceremony and said, “I have come after 10 years to attend the founder’s day celebrations and feel excited to see Col Ajay Shekhawat and Zia-Ul-Hussain who used to be my role models.” Zia-UL-Hussain, an architect from Mumbai, said unfortunately he could not make it to the defence services but it did not deter him from meeting or keeping in touch with his batch mates, juniors and seniors. Quite interestingly, D Kapoor, 80, a retired bank official of the 1948 batch, managed to find his batch mate at the reunion. “I had stopped coming for reunion at the RIMC as I no longer managed to find my batch mates. But Charanjit Singh, another RIMCollian, who lives in Bangalore, met me by chance and insisted that I come this year. Now I feel elated over deciding to come here,” he said. |
Dolphin institute given accreditation certificate by UGC Chairman
Dehradun , March 12 After this achievement, the institute has been included among the list of one of the reputed NAAC accredited institutions of the country. Since inception of this institute in the year 2002 and within a decade, the institute fulfilled its commitment to impart quality education and to provide lucrative job opportunities to its passed out batches. The NAAC team comprising three members - Chandrakant Kokate, B. Yashoverma and Renu Sharma - who, based on the report, minutely conducted physical verification regarding infrastructure and relevant academic records of the institute last year on the 5th and 6th of April, 2011. After completion of the NAAC inspection, on the basis of CGPA marks allocation, Dolphin got 2.81 marks out of 4. During the course of inspection, the NAAC team was not only highly appreciative of the management work culture but also praised the Director and Principal for their efficient standard to carry out all institutional work. The NAAC found the existing infrastructure and the academic team of the institute in conformity as per norms laid down by the UGC similar to the activities being conducted by institutes in the field of higher education. In this series, the NAAC team suggested to gear up research activities. On the series of the inspections, 11 departments of the institute, namely Biomedical Science, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Medical Microbiology, Medical Lab Technology, Biochemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Forestry, Physiotherapy, Computer Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, faced minute inspection and observations by the NAAC team. Arvind Gupta, Chairman, Dolphin (PG) Institute, expressed happiness on receiving the certification and said that research activities in the institute will be encouraged with an aim to provide excellent teaching learning environment to students. He said that this success had come only due to joint efforts and great dedication of all staff members —TNS |
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