Mussoorie, April 28
The monthly Municipal Council (MC) meeting held today was marred with ugly scenes when the disgusted ward member from Barlowganj threatened to take her life due to the non-compliance of the development works pending since 2008.

Santosh Arya, the ward member from Barlowganj, alleged that she had submitted several proposals of public interest repeatedly since 2008 but the MC officials paid no heed towards them due to reasons best known to them.

She also alleged that MC president OP Uniyal along with other officials had stalled all the proposed development works since 2008 in her ward due to unknown reasons and questioned the role of the Municipal Council officials at not initiating any development work in her Barlowganj area since 2008, despite reminding them repeatedly.

The disgusted ward member also threatened to take her life if the proposals submitted by her were not approved this week. She further said that the due to absence of adequate parking in Barlowganj, it has led to squabbles between the car owners and the Uttarakhand Roadways Bus drivers on several occasions, resulting in injuries in the past.

She had submitted the proposal way back in 2008 but the MC officials have not shown any interest towards it. Another such proposal was widening of the road at Khetwala, which was being used by schoolgoing children and they are forced to walk on dangerous path on a regular basis, risking their lives but MC officials were yet to act on the proposal.

Santosh Arya also lamented that on one hand the MC had passed the proposal for repairing the mazdoor sangh building at Shifon Court near Library Bazaar, on the other it was refusing her proposal of repairing the leaking roofs of the sweeper colony in Barlowganj. Later, speaking to The Tribune, Santosh Arya said that the people of the area had elected her to cater to their needs in the last elections and she was committed towards their wellbeing at any cost. Arya, alleging partisan attitude of the MC towards her ward, said that the residents of Barlowganj will be sitting on a symbolic dharna within three days, and if the demands are not met despite that, she would be forced to adopt extreme measures that included even hunger strike and committing suicide.

The MC also passed several proposals, including the bills of the High Court advocate incurred in the financial embezzlement case against the council in the meeting today.

The MC president OP Uniyal responding to Santosh Aray's allegation said that for him all the members were being treated equally. However, if she had such strong reservations about the working of council officials he would look into the matter and direct them accordingly.

Sushil Agarwal, Jai Kumar Gupta, Nand Lal and executive officer Rohitash Sharma were also present at the meeting.

Dehradun, April 28
Three pilgrims have died due to inclement weather conditions in the Kedarnath region of the state.

The incident took place yesterday at Devdarshani, one kilometre ahead of the Kedarnath shrine on the Gaurikund Kedarnath trek route.

Deceased included two pilgrims from Gujarat and another from Kolkata. They had come to pay obeisance on the auspicious occasion of opening of the portals at the Kedarnath shrine.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has expressed grief on the incident. He has directed the district administration to set up rescue camps on the route, keeping in view the inclement weather.

He has also directed the officials to ensure the availability of medical facilities, including medicines in the camp for the pilgrims. The Chief Minister has also asked the disaster management authorities to set up relief camps.

Meanwhile, Director, Met Department, Dehradun, Anand Sharma, has advised the pilgrims to carry woollen clothes and raincoats as snowfall and rain may occur in high reaches in next 48 hours.

Haridwar, April 28
With revered obeisance and faith the pious occasion of Ganga Saptami, the day on which the holy Ganga river descended on earth, was celebrated with gaiety in Haridwar. It is mentioned in numerous Hindu scriptures, including Padma Purana and Narada Purana, that holy Ganga descended on earth on the seventh day of the Shukla Paksha (waxing phase of the moon) in the Vaisakh month.

Devotees took a holy dip in Ganga river, particularly at Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri and adjacent ghats of Malviya, Birla, Nai Sota, VIP, Kushaghat, Ramghat, Alaknanda, Gobindghat and Prem Nagar ashram ghat offering rituals at Ganga river, considered as mother. Teerth purohits held special pujas, aarti of Ganga river on this auspicious day, when goddess Ganga unfurled through from the matted locks of Lord Shiva from Gangotri Himalyas after tapasya of Bhagirath.

Ganga Sabha, which maintains the proceedings of Har-ki-Pauri, held a special puja at Braham Kund and offered milk to the mother Ganga, seeking blessings.

Akhil Bharatiya Yuva Teerth Purohit Maha Sabha also held a special function to the mark the birth of holy Ganga. A meeting was also held in sync with the festival where orators dwelled on the ways to make sure holy Ganga remains clean and its sanctity is maintained, which is getting affected by numerous hydro electric projects on Ganga and its adjacent tributaries. Ujjwal Pundit, chief of the Maha Sabha, said that government should stop the sewer water that mingles into the holy river on its course.

The teerth purohits also observed the day as a pledge day to make sure devotees are made aware about the significance related to maintaining sanctity of the river which has been providing salvation and blessings since ages.

Haridwar, April 28
Vidit Kumar, a student of Delhi Public School, has brought laurels to the state by winning a silver medal in the National Equestrian Championship held in New Delhi recenly.

Vidit, a student of Class X, was part of the school team that represented Haridwar district. Principal, DPS, KC Pandey said this achievement had shown that there was immense talent in the state.

Coach Saurabh Bhatia hoped that in the coming days, Vidit would become a national-level player.

Vidit's father Sanjay Verma owed his success to the school management.

Mussoorie, April 28
The dream of receiving English medium education came true for more than 200 poor students from Senji village and around yesterday.

A school having a sprawling campus that was inaugurated yesterday could be compared with any public school in the vicinity. The Hans Foundation headed by Mata Mangla Devi would manage the school under the Mata Raj Rajeshwari Education Scheme.

The students of the school welcomed Mata Mangla Devi and her husband Bholey Maharaj. The students presented folk and cultural programmes on the occasion.

Mata Mangla Devi and Bholey Maharaj were elated to see the poor students dressed up immaculately. They said their endevour was to impart education free of cost to children in the school from nursery to Class VII intially. Later, the school would be upgraded to a full-fledged inter college.

Mata Mangla said the Hans Foundation had been working for the students from the economically weaker section in Uttarakhand with an objective to empower them with quality education in English medium. She added English as a language was preferred internationally, but the poor students were often left out as their parents could not afford to admit them to public schools which demanded exorbitant fees. Therefore, it was decided that the foundation would establish such schools in remote villages.

Mata Mangla told mediapersons that the focus of the school would be to enable the students become responsible citizens so that they could assist in the growth story of the country. The focus would also be to ensure that the students received moral education, besides regular curriculum. She said they also planned to open a hospital where medical facilities free of cost would be provided to poor villagers.

Bholey Maharaj said it was commendable on the part of the Hans Foundation to impart quality education in an age where public schools were demanding capitation fees, besides huge tuition fees. He added the foundation had emerged as a pioneer in providing education to the poor children.

Padmendar Singh, Uttarakhand in-charge of the foundation, also said the school would provide free education to the poor students.

DEHRADUN: Using the arthroscopy method, orthopaedic surgeons of Mahant Indresh Hospital today conducted a successful operation on 37-year-old Devinder Raj, resident of Palio village.

He was unable to walk due to a torn ligament. After a team of doctors led by Dr Puneet Gupta, head, Orthopaedic Department, and Dr Ramesh Gaur performed a successful operation for a torn ligament of knees, Devinder Raj is now able to walk. — TNS

Dehradun, April 28
From chasing a dream in a dusty town of Iglas (Aligarh) in Uttar Pradesh to reaching the hallowed portals of Sussex University in UK for doctorate studies in Plasma Physics to carving a niche in environmental sciences at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, VC of Doon University Prof VK Jain has certainly ambled a long road to success.

He says his enthusiasm for exploring science would have been nipped in the bud had the constant support of his guides and teachers not assisted the course of his journey.

In his new stint as the VC of Doon University, Prof Jain believes that allowing the best ideas to bubble is germane to powering scientific research and in the coming days, this theory is set to take shape at the Doon University. “To be able to set up a quality faculty within the confines of a state government-funded university is a challenge but not an impossiblity. We hope to give impetus to research and development by inducting faculty members with proven research output,” says Prof Jain while speaking with the Tribune.

Besides setting up quality faculty, establishing a school for physical sciences with a focus on basic and applied sciences, including the streams of Genetics and Nano Technology, is also among Prof Jain’s priorities. “According to the provisions of the university charter, nine schools in different streams have to be set up. Presently, five schools are operating and we hope to start the sixth one shortly,” he added.

Inspired by the atmosphere that pervades the prestigious JNU, Prof Jain is aiming to replicate some of the experiments here. “Along with making the campus disable-friendly, we will also make it carbon neutral and put in place energy-efficient systems,” he added.

While his heart swells with pride at the mention of India’s achievement in the missile and satellite launch, he does not forget to mention, “Even though we have taken a giant leap in the areas of strategic importance, on the scientific front we are still lacking in areas where quality and precision is required. In 99 per cent of our laboratories, the analytical equipment used for experiments does not carry the made-in-India label even after 60 years of Independence,” he comments.

He further adds that there seems to be a deep disconnection between the research being carried out at the national laboratories and its commercial viability. “In the past couple of years, there has been less focus on immediate needs. Now instead of giving impetus to innovation and product development, the national laboratories have begun dishing out MPhil and PhD degrees, which, in my opinion, is against the mandate of the national laboratories,” affirmed the professor.

Before signing off, he says the next big thing to watch out for is the outcome of joint research currently underway in France on the controlled fusion reactor. “India is also one of the member countries. If a breakthrough is achieved, we would be able to produce power from raw material such as Deuterium that is fairly radioactive free,” he averred.

Mussoorie, April 28
The demand for the construction of a state of the art skating rink in Mussoorie is gaining momentum.

Sportspersons, educationists and residents of Mussoorie, under the aegis of the Indian Education Society, Uttarakhand, met Municipal Council president OP Uniyal and demanded the construction of a multi-purpose rink at a barren land of the MC on the Spring Road, where roller skating along with ice skating activities could be held at a nominal cost.

The ward member from the Bhilaru area, Nand Lal, told Uniyal that the town once boasted of having two skating rinks of the British era, and of these the one at Kulri having a wooden floor was considered one of the largest rinks in Asia. Mussoorie is known for several international skaters, namely Nand Kishore Bhamboo, AP Singh, Beena Bhardwaj, Gopal Bhardwaj, Anil Raturi, Ravindar Rauthan and Karan Chauhan. They all represented the country at various international tournaments and brought laurels to the town. Bhamboo was selected on the panel of skating referees in the Barcelona Olympics.

The skaters from Mussoorie have the honour of participating in the roller skaters rally from Mussoorie to Delhi and Mussoorie to Amritsar.

Mussoorie came to be known as the skating hub of the country. But at present the sport was neglected due to the lack of a proper rink as the old ones had been rendered useless due to their pathetic condition. As the rinks were owned by private parties the probability of the revival of the sport on there was remote. Hence, there was an urgent need for an MC-run skating rink.

Secretary of the Indian Education Society, Uttarakhand, Roop Chand urged Uniyal to build a grand skating rink at the land available on the Spring Road in honour of the players who brought the town to the limelight.

Uniyal said it was indeed sad that skating activities had come to a standstill in the town. He added the MC was sympathetic towards the demand and would approve any proposal regarding it unanimously.

Dehradun, April 28
Members of the Gorkha Yuva Janmukti Morcha staged a day-long dharna at the Parade Ground here today in protest against the lathicharge on their party members at Darjeeling on April 22.

They raised slogans against the police.

The protest was held under the leadership of Laxman Singh Thapa, President of the state wing of the morcha, Ashu Lama, coordinator, Anil Singh, general secretary and Mahendra Gurung, general secretary (Yuva Morcha) were also present.

Dehradun, April 28
Doon School and Welham Boys' School continued their winning streak on the third day of the All-India Afzal Khan Basketball Tournament being played at The Doon School here today.

The host Doon School defeated Scindia School, Gwalior, 53-32 in their first match and also beat Pine Groove School 34-23. Welham Boys' School beat Pine Groove School 63-39. The Welham boys also defeated Lamartineire, Kolkata, 38-14.

Delhi Public School, New Delhi beat Yadvindra Public School, Patiala 50-31,Woodstock School beat Meerut Public School 48-25, Delhi Public School, New Delhi, beat Scindia School, Gwalior, 86-56 and Woodstock School, Mussoorie, defeated Lawrence School, Sanawar, 56-37.