Minister: Regularise illegal constructions
Dehradun, April 23
State Planning Minister Dinesh Aggarwal directed officials of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and the Urban Development Department to select the places for construction work in such a manner that it did not require displacement of the residential colonies or lead to public outcry. He gave the example of the construction on the bypass road up to the IMA or local bus-stand which generated public outrage.

12 workers of Rockman, Satyam go on fast
Dehradun, April 23
Twelve workers of Rockman and Satyam companies launched an indefinite fast at the Parade Ground here today.

Arya puts on hold decision to expel 35 Cong leaders
Dehradun, April 23
In a bid to defuse growing tension between the Harish Rawat faction and its opponents, Uttarakhand Congress president Yashpal Arya here today put on hold the decision of the Congress Disciplinary Committee to expel 35 party leaders.

Dehradun, April 23
Haldwari village, which is also famous for a natural sulphur spring, could be converted into a tourist destination. It is about 40 km from Dehradun.

The local residents are hopeful that with the concept of rural tourism gaining popularity worldwide, the village having sulphur-rich water spring could be developed into a tourist spot. It will play a key role in the development of this remote village.

Haldwari is accessible by a 2.5 km trek from Ragad village, the last road head. It is 18 kilometre from Maldevta.

The village is known for the sulphur spring, where the local people come to take bath, especially during weekends.

"People from nearby villages and tourists from Dehradun take bath in the sulphur spring in our village. It is believed that sulphur bath is beneficial in a number of aliments, including skin diseases," said Dinesh Singh, a local resident.

In the past, Haldwari was one of the hot spots for mining of limestone. Truck used to move up to the village, but the ban on quarrying in the Doon valley in the late 80s gave a major setback to the road connectivity.

"The companies involved in mining used to maintain the road. Even after the ban of quarrying, the roads were in good shape but after heavy rainfall in 2007, many bridges were washed away. Since 2007, we are struggling and have approached the state government many times for connecting the village with all-weather road. But, nobody is paying any heed to our request," complained Balwant Panwar.

The temporary road connecting Ragad is bumpy and only jeeps and cars move on the Kucha road. At present, two jeeps ferry passengers from Raipur to Ragad and vice versa.

Nature lover Sudhanshu Negi, who is a regular visitor to Ragad, said, "The August 23, 2011 cloudburst in Karligad village had an adverse affect on the sulphur springs in Sahastradhara (Dehradun). Now the sulphur water level in Sahastradhara is low. Compared to it, the flow of sulphur water is very high at Haldwari. It is located near Dehradun and can be developed into a picnic spot."

The free-flowing Song river is another attraction in the village. The houses are located in isolated places and Haldwari is home to 40 families. Most of the villages located in and around Haldwari remain cut off from rest of the world in monsoon due to washing away of the road. 

Dehradun, April 23
To check property tax evasion, the Department of Urban Development will soon introduce Geographic Information System (GIS) property mapping (scale 1:100) in Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital and Haldwani.

With more than 50 per cent of the properties outside the tax ambit in most of the towns, the GIS mapping is expected to create a data base, increase tax collection and attain the objective of the Property Tax Management.

"As part of the pilot project, GIS mapping was undertaken in Salawala near Dehradun which revealed that more than 60 per cent of the property was not recorded. We found a huge gap when we compared the data of the survey work with our present records. The GIS mapping will not only enable the Urban Local Bodies Department to determine the number of properties in their jurisdiction, but also bring several properties under the tax net," said Radhika Jha, Project Director, Uttarakhand Urban Sector Development and Investment Programme (UUSDIP).

The exercise will help in streamlining the property tax assessment and collection system in the selected cities and in the long run it will help in increasing the revenue of the Local Bodies Department.

For undertaking a field-level survey and digitising the data of all properties in four towns of Uttarakhand, the funds will be provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The agency (for field work) will be selected through the bid system for which a request for the proposal has already been prepared. A laboratory will also be set up for imparting training to employees of the Urban Local Bodies Department. "Increasing urbanisation is inevitable and overcrowding of cities is a great challenge for sanitation, disaster management, etc. GIS and remote sensing prove useful for preparing maps, digitising spatial data," said MH Khan, officiating Deputy Programme Manager, Uttarakhand Urban Sector Development and Investment Programme.

The data collected by digital mapping from the National Remote Sensing Centre, an important segment of ISRO, will be used for the implementation of the system.

Dehradun, April 23
State Planning Minister Dinesh Aggarwal directed officials of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) and the Urban Development Department to select the places for construction work in such a manner that it did not require displacement of the residential colonies or lead to public outcry. He gave the example of the construction on the bypass road up to the IMA or local bus-stand which generated public outrage.

He directed them to convert unauthorised constructions into authorised ones by holding compounding camps. He also instructed them to make the needful amendments to the masterplan by removing the discrepancies from it.

He passed instructions on to remove bottlenecks from Adat Bazar and asked the officers to prepare a land bank in the Dehradun.

Aggarwal is holding an open public forum in Sevakalan on April 29 along with officers of different departments to resolve the grievances of the public.

Mussoorie, April 23
Local historians and residents of Mussoorie remembered the greatest English playwright of his time William Shakespeare on his 448th birth anniversary and 396th death anniversary here today.

Students from public and Hindi medium schools recited verses from his famous play Macbeth and Julius Caesar, which are presently in the syllabus of the schools. A biography of the playwright was also read out to the students.

Principal of Mussoorie Public School Mukesh Lal said that his school had been actively observing the birth and death anniversary of the “Bard of Avon” that coincidentally falls on the same day.

He said the plays of Shakespeare were relevant even today as they often have in them an element of racial tension. Othello, The Merchant of Venice and Titus Andronicus reminds us not to engage in racial scuffles as it lead to unnecessary bloodshed.

Eminent historian and chronicler from Mussoorie Gopal Bhardwaj showed the original scrap book of Captain Fredrik Young, the founder of the town. He said love for Shakespeare could be proven from the etching of bard found in the scrap book that has been preserved in its original form even today. The etching, if sold today, could fetch more than £400 in Sotheby’s, added Bhardwaj.

He also said the town use to reverberate with the plays at the theatres, especially built for the Shakespearean plays during the British rule.

Until 1884, the Landour theatre in the Lal Tibba area, which was a convalescent depot for the soldiers passing their time on furlough, acted as a hub to showcase the plays by Shakespeare where eminent personalities enacted various characters from “Macbeth” and “As You Like It” . Alice McDonald, the mother of eminent author Rudyard Kipling, also actively participated in the Shakespearian plays in Mussoorie.

The plays were also held at the Himalaya Club and the Rink Theatre often. The British were so fond of Shakespeare that the Rink Theatre was constructed in 1892 resembling the Globe Theatre of London and the measurement of the theatre was exactly the same to the last inch. Later with the advent of cinema halls in 1910 in Mussoorie, the Shakespearean plays lost their sheen and after Independence, the theatre in the town came to an abrupt end.

Gopal Bhardwaj lamented the fact that the plays are not performed in the town anymore and believes that his plays inculcated a sense of adventurism and creativity among students. Therefore, the revival of his plays in the town would benefit not only the students but the old likely.

Dehradun, April 23
Governor Margaret Alva has stressed the need to provide education to girl child .

Speaking as a chief guest at a function organised by Himjyoti School, Dehradun, in New Delhi recently, the Governor said the school was doing a wonderful job by building the personalities of brilliant girls who might have otherwise not been able to realise their potential. "Education plays an important role as a foundation for girls' development to lead a useful life," said the Governor.

She said if more initiatives like Himjyoti were taken in the country, it would take care of and provide support to girls.

"Many of Himjyoti School students hail from the remote areas of the hill state. The aim is to empower them and enable them to take their rightful place as women of substance who would contribute something useful to society," she said.

Alva said the school could be a source of inspiration for many to replicate in other parts of the country, making it a social movement.

Talking about the ballet "Ganga" presented by students, the Governor said there was need to strengthen resolve to save the Ganga which was not just a river but a civilisation. "It is one of the most polluted rivers in the country today and also one of the 10 most threatened river basins of the world. All of us are responsible for this alarming situation. The quality of the Ganga's water is steadily worsening. Not only is the water unfit for drinking, but it is also considered harmful for agricultural purposes."

Dehradun, April 23
After performing to full house in Mumbai and Pune, the famous Hungarian chamber ensemble Kodály String Quartet has several programmes lined up in Dehradun.

They gave a charming performance at the Rose Bowl of Doon School here today. The quartet played classical pieces of Beethoven, Mozart and Franz Peter Schubert.

Facilitated by the Dehradun chapter of SPICMACAY and the Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre (New Delhi), the quartet’s visit to Dehradun is to provide the younger generation a glimpse of the rich Hungarian classical music tradition.

“The Kodály Quartet was established in 60s as a tribute to the legendary Zoltán Kodály, who was not only an excellent composer but also a chronicler of the Hungarian folk songs. In his lifetime, he roamed the villages, busy collating old folk songs written nowhere but often heard song by people of that time. Later, he simplified learning of music by giving sound names based on tonality. The pedagogue developed by him is popular in schools across the world,” said Erika Toth, a violinist in the quartet.

Buoyed by the response that the quartet received in Pune and Mumbai, the ensemble members say, “Even though were told about the limited audience for the western classical music in India, the audience in Mumbai and Pune was quite responsive and floored us with their minute observations, “ said János Fejérvári, the viola player of the quartet.

The leader of the string quartet, Attila Falvay and the first violin player joined the Kodály String Quartet in 1980. He said, “We never had a chance to play with the Indian classical musicians.

There is lot of improvisation even in the Indian classical music but this cannot be said about the chamber music that we play. We adhere to the principle of sight-reading and sight-playing,” he added.

The fourth member György Eder performed on cello. 

Dehradun, April 23
St Joseph’s Academy celebrated the feast day of the Principal, Bro AJ George, here today.

He has taken St George, one of the most prominent military saints, as his patron and constantly strives to follow his footsteps.

On this occasion, the junior section conducted a special assembly to celebrate the feast day.

Speaking on the occasion Bro AJ George said he was overwhelmed by the students’ performance and thanked the junior section coordinator Hasan and the staff for all their efforts.

The middle and senior section also celebrated the day with exuberance. A special assembly was conducted in the school auditorium to honour the Principal.

After the prayer, girls of the senior and middle sections presented a dance followed by a power point presentation. The school choir also presented a song to congratulate him.

In his address, Bro George enlightened the gathering on the relevance of the day and also about the life of St George. He also thanked the entire SJA family for making the day memorable.

Dehradun, April 23
Both the teams of Welham Girls’ School won their respetive matches in the Welham Girls’ School Invitational Hockey Tournament being played at the school ground here today.

In the first match, Welham Girls School (B) defeated St Agnes School 3-0. Vedika, Aashna and Saumya scored for the winner team.

In the second match, Welham Girls School (A) beat Moravian Institute 1-0. The lone goal was scored by Shriya. 

Dehradun, April 23
A young resident of Shyampur village at Vasant Vihar, Priyanka Sharma (21) committed suicide this morning by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in her bedroom when her demand for a new mobile phone was turned down by her father. She was the only child of her parents and was studying in B Com II in DAV College, Dehradun.

She left a suicide note whereby she owned the responsibility for committing suicide and did not blame any one for the act.

Her father Ompal, who drives an auto rickshaw said Priyanka asked for a new mobile phone a day before which he refused saying that he could not spare money for a new mobile phone this month and would buy her next month. The girl, he said, felt sad. It was in the morning when he left for work and her mother Uma Devi went to washroom, Priyanka bolted bedroom from inside and raised the volume of TV and committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling fan with her dupatta.

When her mother came out of washroom, she knocked at the door of her room. When she did not get any response after repeated knocks, she informed her husband on the phone and sought the help from neighbours. Her husband reached home and the door was broken and the girl was seen hanging.

The police was called and the girl’s body was brought down. The District Magistrate accepted the request of parents not to conduct the post-mortem of  the deceased.