Derhadun, April 6
The speculation regarding increasing the number of seats in city-based Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) and not enhancing the strength of faculty members from the next academic session has created concern among alumni and former faculty members. However, highly placed sources allayed the apprehensions, saying that with the increase in the number of seats, the faculty strength and related manpower, too, would be raised.

Former Commandant, Arun Mamgai, who earned laurels for running RIMC for the longest period of eight years, said: “As we are hearing that the number of seats is going to be increased from 250 to 500 in RIMC and the faculty strength would remain static, which means the quality of the education, a hallmark of RIMC, would certainly take a severe beating. It would be very unfortunate if it happens so.”

Col JS Shekhawat, alumnus, who had been secretary of RIMC Alumni Association, said the way the new structures were springing up in the open expanse of RIMC, the space was bound to shrink, which would tell upon the splendor of this institute and reduce the area for the playground or other sporting or leisure activities. Highly-placed sources in the RIMC, on the condition of anonymity, informed that the proposal regarding increasing the seats in RIMC had been approved by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). It is now working out last-minute financial modalities and other intricacies to remove the rough ends before finalising the proposal. It was assured that an ideal student and teacher ratio would be maintained in the new set-up as well with the equitable increase in the faculty members. At present, there are 20 teachers and one doctor in the RIMC for 250 students.

Acording to sources, in rest of then four RIMCs operating in the country, the number of seats is 300. Owing to this, the proposal had lately been making rounds to increase the number of seats in this institute as well. Now with approval from the MOD, the proposal will be cleared for the next academic session in year 2013. However, it was told that it will take a period of five years to fully implement this proposal, as the institute does not have the required infrastructure to meet the demands of the enhanced strength of students, teachers and manpower. So new dormitories, dinning hall and related infrastructure will be raised in due time. It is after full preparation that the admission for the additional seats would be initiated. To address the apprehension regarding shrinking of space, the sources said the requisite space such as of playgrounds, courts or fields would not be touched but the places which are not used much would be roped in for construction of new buildings. 

Mussoorie, April 6
Tourists availing of the opportunity of an extended weekend due to two national holidays falling this week made a beeline for the Queen of Hills today to escape the soaring temperatures being witnessed in the plains of north India, bringing cheer on the faces of local businessmen.

Mahavir Jayanti on Thursday and Good Friday before the weekend have led tourists to rush to the cool climes of Mussoorie since yesterday.

A tourist from Patiala, Ravinder Singh Mann, while speaking to The Tribune, said due to the two holidays before the weekend they thought to take a four-day break from their usual busy schedule.

The elated local businessmen said they would be benefited financially by the heavy rush of tourists that would end on Easter Sunday.

The cable car on Gun Hill that had remained non-functional till a few days ago was also upgraded and it started functioning much to the delight of the tourists, who were interested in having a panoramic view of the Himalayas and the Dun valley from Gun Hill.

However, the rush of tourists also brought with it problems galore, as the town witnessed traffic jams at several places due to the lack of parking spaces. Commuters were stuck at several points on the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway as the road had been dug for the sewerage project.

Roop Chand Sharma, another tourist, said the tariffs of hotels, which were nominal till yesterday, had skyrocketed in just one night. The hotel room rates were beyond their budget and they were forced to cut short their trip.

The guesthouses were also renting rooms for a day or two at high rates. Some residential flats having no licence were also seen accommodating hapless tourists looking for rooms in the town.

Spokesperson for the Mussoorie Hotel Association Sandeep Sahni told The Tribune that most of the hoteliers were charging the rates displayed at the hotels, as the association had forewarned them sternly against overcharging tourists. He said the tourists could book rooms online or through telephone to avoid any disappointment later.

Officials of the local administration said they were on the vigil along with the police and had directed the hoteliers to display room rates at their receptions for the convenience of the tourists.

The tourists had been advised that in case of any complaint they could approach the police and the administration. The Municipal Council, the Jal Sansthan and the Health Department also put their act together as the last minute repair of public toilets, sewerage and the road was on till the filing of the report.

The rush for four days before the peak tourist season would also be a litmus test for various departments and allow them to overcome any shortcomings likely to emerge later. 

Haridwar, Apri 6
In a major success to Haridwar police, an inter-state gang of vehicle thieves was busted today, in which seven gang members were arrested, while two succeeded in escaping from police arrest from the spot.

As per Senior Superintendent of Police, Haridwar, Pushkar Sailal, the police was in search of this gang for quite some time that had hand in multiple four-wheeler and two-wheeler thefts.

The police nabbed members of this gang when in broad daylight they were trying to take away a Bolero vehicle, UA 06 D 5934, from the busy Ashoka Talkies Road near Arya Nagar.

In a joint operation with special operations group, the SOG team arrested Irfan Khan, resident of Uddham Singh Nagar, along with Aslam, resident of Moradabad, and five other accomplices while they were trying to escape with the vehicle.

Though the police had rounded the whole area, two gang members, Ravindra alias Pandit and Ibad Ali escaped by fleeing on motor cycles.

On their confession, the police also seized 3 Hero Honda Splendour motor cycles, one Alto car, 1 Passion motorbike, 1 Indigo car and 3 Pulsar 150 cc motor bikes. The arrested also revealed that they had sold 3 stolen Bolero SUVs to Guddu, resident of Sambhal, for whose arrest a special team has been dispatched.

Many of these arrested gang members have more than 20 cases registered against their names of vehicle theft in Moradabad, Noida, Gaziabad and Haridwar.

Under sections 401, 403, 411, 313, 414 of Indian Penal Code, a case has been lodged against the gang members, who were arrested by Sub Inspector Pradeep Rawat, Ashok Dangwal, Pramod Uniyal, Rafat Ali and more than a dozen police constables.

Haridwar, April 6
Hanuman Jayanti was celebrated today with gaiety in Haridwar. Devotees in large number thronged temples after taking a holy dip in Ganga.

Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated on the 15th day of the Shukla Paksha during the month of Chaitra, also known as Chaitra Poornima.

Religious sermons, Shri Ram Katha, Sunderkand recitation and Hanuman Chalisa hymn chants could be heard throughout the day.

At Balaji dham situated at Hari Lok, a religious function was organised today which also marked the 14th year of the completion of the temple.

A beautiful royal procession (shobha yatra) was taken out in the city that started from Pull Jatwada passing through inner lanes of Sarafa Bazaar, Kathaira Bazaar, Police-rail chowki, Peeth Bazaar, Chauhanan and finally reached at Hari Lok.

Religious guru Chhote Maharaj highlighted the importance of Lord Hanuman, his teachings and life.

The Shri Balaji Kamdhenu Dharmik Sewa Trust managed the whole proceedings with musical renditions of bhajans being done on the temple premise till late night.

At Salasar temple, Shri Tulsi Manas Mandir, Tibdi Hanuman Mandir, Jwalapur, BHEL, Mayapur, Devpura, Bhoopatwala, Sapt Sarovar and various other temples, a special puja was performed with prasad was destributed.

Lakhs of devotees thronged holy Ganga ghats, particularly Braham Kund at Har-Ki-Pauri, to take a holy dip.

From the wee hours of the morning, devotees from around the state and neighbuoring states began to throng the ghats and till evening, influx of devotees is being visible.

Devotees offered Ganga water to Sun God, performed a special puja on the auspicious Poornima.

Meanwhile, the Christian community commemorated Good Friday today, with Reformed Presbyterian church at Devpura, BHEL, and St Mary organising special prayers to remember the sacrifice of Lord Jesus for humanity.

A large number of people visited churches, remembering the crucifixion of Lord Jesus with church bishop giving religious discourses.

DEHRADUN: Hanuman Jyanti was celebrated with fervour and enthusiasm in Dehradun today.

A large number of devotees thronged various Hanuman temples in the city to pay their obeisance. A large number of people also participated in a shoba yatra that was also taken out in the city which passed through various parts of the city.

Various scences from the life of Lord Hanuman were depicted in jhankis that formed part of the Shobha Yatra.

Dehradun, April 6
A chaos-like situation prevails at Doon Hospital due to the shortage of nurses. The nurses on duty are being forced to do double shifts and if the situation persists, the authorities may not be able to operate new units as planned.

The hospital has now requisitioned to the Health Department its requirement for at least 20 nurses to run the newly built neurosurgery unit.

An equal number of ward boys will also be required to get the unit going.

“Our problem has become more acute after eight nurses were relieved for undertaking studies in BSc (nursing). Further the contract of four nurses was not renewed by the department. A few nurses are on maternity leave. Besides, we will need 20 nurses to run the neurosurgery operation theatre that is being readied,” said Dr BC Pathak, Principal Superintendent, Doon Hospital. Once the operation theatre for neurosurgery becomes operational, Doon Hospital will have to provide round-the-clock services of nurses in addition to the ENT operation theatre, orthopaedic operation theatre and general operation theatre.

Last year, Doon Hospital had gone ahead and made operational ICU requiring one nurse per bed.

In contrivance of the Indian Nursing Council norms, the hospital authorities entrusted one nurse with the responsibility of two beds.

The problem is expected to further intensify once the authorities begin setting up separate units for diabetic patients, which the hospital plans to set up in the future. “The patients suffering from lifestyle diseases require specialised care. Unless we overcome the shortage of nurses, it will be difficult to run new units,” said Dr DP Joshi, general secretary, Provincial Medical and Health Services, Uttarakhand.

While the acute shortage of nurses calls for immediate hiring, the last hiring of nurses through the State Public Service Commission was done in 2010 .

“We are aware of the problem being faced by the hospital due to the shortage of nurses. For now we can only hire nurses on a contractual basis and we are looking into the matter,” said Dr Geeta Joshi, Additional Director (medical care).

Haridwar, April 6
To give solace to the souls of 180 unknown people, a group of social activists from the state of Rajasthan came today to Haridwar to immerse the ashes of these deceased people in the holy Ganga river ghat.

As per Hindu rituals, religious rites were performed prior to the ashes immersion, which were brought in cans collected from various cremation ghats in Rajasthan.

It was an emotional moment for all those present at the Ganga ghat when these churns were brought depicting the humanity as these people showed that they cared for those who didn’t have anyone to submerge the ashes. A dozen-odd activists of the Mewad Pratap Dal Society came to Haridwar for ashes immersion in the holy Ganga but today the sheer number of urns itself points to the dedicated work the society activists are involved in.

Notably, since its formation in 2004, the Mewad Pratap Dal has been involved in carrying out the last rites of those deceased who are unclaimed, and also perform rituals like ashes immersion as a contribution to humanity. In the past few years, a large number of people are joining and helping them in this cause, be it financially or morally, in view of the social noble cause the society is performing.

Informing The Tribune, secretary of the society Lala Shalvi, hailing from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, said that the society had been created for this very cause of performing last rites. “We are feeling quite relieved

today after immersing the ashes in the Ganga as it has immense religious spiritual significance in Hindu religion, and finally the souls of the deceased will be getting peace,” said an emotional Ramesh Sonarthi, one of the activists from Rajasthan.

Dhan Shyam, another activist from Mewad, said that the noble act of the Rajasthani activists was appreciated by each and every one present at the occasion, while tears rolled from the eyes of the people as it is not often that ashes of hundreds of unknown people get immersed in the river.

Earlier, the Rajasthani delegation arrived in the afternoon at Rajasthan ashram, where they were received by the local social activists, particularly those from Rajasthan.

They were then taken to the ashram from where they moved to Asthi Pravah Ghat for the ashes immersion with teerth purohits aiding them in performing of the rites.

Haridwar, April 6
On the 32nd Foundation Day of the BJP today, party leaders here vowed to work hard to ensure that the party returned to power at the Centre in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

Former Urban Development Minister and three-time MLA Madan Kaushik presided over a special function held at the party office at Devpura here. Kaushik said on this day in 1980 the BJP was formed out of the Jan Sangh. The party reached its pinnacle in 1998 when under Atal Bihari Vajpayee it formed the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

Kaushik also highlighted the role of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in paving the way for the formation for the BJP. “Mukherjee was Minister for Industry in the interim government led by Jawaharlal Nehru but resigned from the Cabinet on the issue of the Liyakat Pact. He later formed the Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951. Deen Dayal Upadhyay, whose organisation skills were unmatched, was the moving spirit of the Jan Sangh. Both Mukherjee and Upadhyaya laid the foundation stone of the BJP, which is one of the largest parties in the country today,” said Kaushik.

Vikas Tiwari of the BJP youth wing urged young party activists to follow the high level of discipline and work for the party.

Dehradun, April 6
On the third day of the Rashtriya Indian military College (RIMC) Inter-Section Basketball Competition, a total of 4 matches were played today. In the juniors category, the first match that was held between Ranjit House and Shivaji House in which Shivaji House won 64-45 with Cadet Pratyush Nayak scoring 28 points from Shivaji House.

In the middles category, Chandragupta House defeated Ranjit House with a score 42-34 with Cadet Vivek scoring 18 points from Chandragupta section. In Pratap House and Shivaji House, Shivaji House won 30-26 with Cadet Abhimanyu scoring the highest 12 points.

In the seniors category, Shivaji House against Pratap House, Shivaji House won 70-34 with Cadet Saurabh Shukla and Pratik Pegu scoring 18 points each from Shivaji House.

The refrees for the matches were Lance Naik Munda, Havaldar Jagwinder and Subedar Kundan.

The scorers for the matches were Cadets Chitiz Panwar, Chandrashekhar, Gaurav, Siddhant and Orkhodeep. 

Dehradun, April 6
ICL Chandigarh won by 7 wickets against the Dabbu XI team in the 4th Uttarakhand Cricket Cup match here today.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, the Dabbu XI team scored 252 runs losing all wickets. Ashish Joshi scored 51 runs. Rajendra Bisht and Bhuwan Harbola contributed valuable 38 and 35 runs. Among ICL Chandigarh bowlers, Sandeep Jakhar took 5 wickets in his 7-over spell.

Chasing the target, ICL Chandigarh easily achieved the target score losing 3 wickets in the process, thereby ensuring 7 wickets win. Talwinder Singh scored unbeaten 113 runs followed by Amrit Pal Singh who scored 46 runs. Dabbu XI bowlers were unimpressive. Ravi Bisht and Bhuvan Harbola took 1 wicket each.