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Support for Power projects
Portals of Badrinath, Kedarnath open
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'Chilling injury' affecting major fruit crops in Doon valley
5 held for cab driver's murder
Hockey Tourney Welham boys thrash Doon team Dehradun, April 29 The 8th S Khandhari Memorial Hockey Tournament started here today.
Three tourists booked
Nainital Diary
40-year-old tusker killed
Success for Welham, Brightlands in roller skating
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Self-immolation threat by villagers
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, April 29 The people of Uttarakhand have been battling the crisis of sustenance and survival in their life. The hydro-electric projects have been stalled by the environmentalists under the garb of saving the Ganga. Women and men of Peepalkoti, Jaisal, Haart, Sen, Vaimro, Matha, Bula villages in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand along with local businessmen are sitting on a dharna, threatening the government to start the project immediately. The Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) along with the Uttarakhand Jan Manch and other organisations today came out in support of these demonstrators. Protesting against the closure of the Him Urja Vidyut Pariyojna at Nandprayag, Vishnugaad Peepalkoti in Kodia village and the people of Sutolol Konnal blocked traffic on the NH 58, the way to the holy shrine of Badrinath, so that the voice is heard by the UPA government at the Centre. The chakka jam was observed for half-an-hour only for the inconvenience to tourists in mind. Pushpa Devi, president of local Mangal Dal, said, “We have lost our home, land and livelihood to this hydro-electric projects waiting for electricity and employment. Today we are on crossroads with neither the home nor electricity”. Padamshri Avdhash Kaushal, Chairperson, RLEK, while addressing the protesters, said, “We request and persuade you to desist from self-immolation. In fact, you should create such conditions so that the culprits sitting in Delhi who have blackmailed the government to stall these hydro projects midway are forced to immolate themselves. Naresh of village Math said, “We want the hydro electric projects to start as the delay is depriving us from employment and electricity which is important for our development. We will not tolerate the interference of outsiders, who do not have any connection and understanding of our issues” “The Prime Minister has to now make a choice whether to save one Aggarwal or hundreds of villagers from self-immolation” said Rajendra a village youth. The villagers burnt the effigies of Maneka Gandhi and GD Agarwal.
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Portals of Badrinath, Kedarnath open
Dehradun April 29 The weather too remained pleasant throughout though it had rained a day before. Some 200 security and police personnel had taken their positions before the portals were opened. The devotee waited patiently in a queue till afternoon for their turn to enter the sanctum sanctorum and offer their prayers. Since the route to Badrinath is much convenient and motorable,the footfall of devotee is always much higher than the other three dhams, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri. Industrialist Anil Ambani and his family had darshsn of both shrines. They visited Kedarnath yesterday and Badrinath today. The Kedarnath temple at Rudraprayag district too was opened for the devotee a day before. The weather turned inclement with a downpour giving way to snowfall. The deity was installed in the sanctum sanctorum at 7 in the morning with some 4,000 devotees shouting, Jai Baba Kedarnath in unison. The dignitaries such as Anil Ambani, Uma Bharti, District Magistrate Neeraj Kherwal were present on the occasion.
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'Chilling injury' affecting major fruit crops in Doon valley
Dehradun, April 29 Tropical and subtropical plants exhibit a distinct physiological damage when they are exposed at low temperatures below 10°C. This is referred to as 'chilling injury.' Chilling injury may lead to indirect damage to plants and can lead to starvation. The study entailed field surveys that were carried out in the spring months to assess the effect of extreme winter conditions. Surveys were carried out in four blocks of the Doon valley. A total of 37 orchards of different fruit types were surveyed in 21 villages located in Sahaspur, Vikasnagar, Raipur and Doiwala blocks of Dehradun district. While the first three are situated in close proximity, Doiwala is on the fringe of the Doon valley. Doon valley is well known for its salubrious climate all through the year; however, December and January are the coldest months. Thirty years (1972-2001) average maximum and minimum temperatures during December and January were 20.2°C, 4.2°C and 22.6°C, 4.5°C, respectively. However, during December 2002 and January 2003, the minimum temperatures were unusually low. During the last week of December 2002, the minimum temperature varied between 1.2°C and 1.5°C against a 30 years' average of 3.7 to 3.9°C. Similarly, during January 10-4, 2003, a temperature of 1.0°C was recorded against a 30 years' average of 4.3°C. These cold wave conditions continued till January 26, 2003, after which there was a gradual increase in temperature. This unusually low temperature led to chilling affect in mango, litchi, papaya and guava crops. Data so gathered in the study revealed that in mango crop maximum cumulative mortality of 78.4 per cent occurred at lower elevation, followed by 61.2 per cent at mid-elevation. In Doon famous litchi, effect of chilling injury in this fruit indicated that mortality rates were nearly 10 per cent at elevation of 500 metres above sea level and reduced with increasing elevation. Similarly, in guava, trends in analysis of mortality rates among guava showed that orchard category had the major influence in death of plants due to chilling followed by age group and elevation. Low temperatures and chilling injuries are fairly common in the subtropical regions where plants have adapted themselves to withstand low temperatures, but more recently shifts in weather patterns have been noticed.
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5 held for cab driver's murder
Dehradun, April 29 Of these two, Rahul and Pankaj are Dehradun residents and other three - Kulwinder alias Shavi, Ajay and Manjit - hail from Jalandhar. All the five persons had initially got together with an intention to go to Mussoorie to have good time and hired their acquaintance Sanjeev Kumar as a driver. It was a day before the murder, Shavi, a hardened criminal who had been jailed thrice for serious thefts, hatched a plan to damage Innova car of Sanjeev. He also harboured enmity with Saneev for having a fight with him in the past over money matters. The next day, they drank and had food at a local hotel near ISBT and sat in Sanjeev’s car. On Purukul road at a secluded place, they asked him to halt the car, where Shavi strangulated Sanjeev, and the others helped him in crushing the victim’s face and head with stones and rods. Thereafter, they fled from the scene. Rahul and Pankaj had, meanwhile, left for Etawah to sell the car to a known friend. The police arrested these two on the way to Etawah. The rest three were arrested from Niranjanpur Sabji Mandi a day before. The police could crack the case with the help of vital information provided by the family members of the victim and mobile surveillance.
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Welham boys thrash Doon team
Tribune News Service
Dehradun, April 29 The tournament was held for the first time in 2004 in memory of S Kandhari who was the Principal of Welham Boys’ School from 1983 to 2001. Kandhari was a sports enthusiast, who encouraged sporting activities and believed that boys should take the responsibility to help train younger students and referee games themselves. In the inaugural year of the tournament, Welham Boys’ School was the winner. The reigning champions are the RIMC cadets. Eight teams are participating in the tournament this year- The Doon School, RIMC, St Georges, Mussoorie, Punjab Public School, Nabha, Wynberg Allen, Yadvendra Public School, Patiala, and the hosts Welham Boys’ School. Virendra Singh , a 1976-Montreal Olympian, and member of the 1975-World Cup Winning team Sanjeev Kumar, 1996- Atlanta Olympian Gundeep Kumar, 1988-Seoul Olympian Suresh Thakur and a junior international player Bhupinder Singh were present at the inaugural ceremony. In total, 15 matches will be played in the tournament and finals will be held on May 2. In today’s matches, Welham Boys’ School beat Doon School 2-0. Divij scored the first goal in the 20th minute while Briguraj scored the second one through a penalty corner in the 58th minute. In the second match, the RIMC team defeated Wynberg Allen School, Mussoorie, 2-1. Puneet from RIMC scored the first goal in the 15th minute while Manveer of Wynberg Allen School scored an equaliser in the 19th minute through a penalty corner. Nelson scored the winning goal for RIMC in the 45 minute through a penalty shot. The third match between Punjab Public School, Nabha, and St Georges’ College, Mussoorie, ended with a score of 2-2. Yash of the Mussoorie school scored the first goal in the third minute, which was equalised by Mandeep of the Nabha school through a penaly corner. Herman of St Georges’ College scored the second goal in the 22nd minute but Harjot of PPS, Nabha, scored the second goal through a field goal in the 47th minute to equlise again.
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Three tourists booked
Mussoorie, April 29 According to the police, three tourists Rahul, Vijay and Ravi, who were on their visit to Mussoorie, were creating ruckus in a drunken state near the fire station on the Mussoorie-Kempty road around noon today. The three youths also began threatening the passing residents and tourists by waving the pistol flame lighter in their possession. One of the tourists, Ajay Rana, who thought it to be a real pistol and fearing for his life, immediately called the local police, which rushed to the spot and apprehended the culprits. The three youths have been booked under Section 81, destroying peace of the town and have been sent for a medical analysis to hospital. Later, the police left them after a stern warning and a fine.
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Where women call the shots
Of late, the district of Nainital has surely come to depict women power in the state. The district has a lot many women at the top in both political and administrative spheres. In fact, they are dominating these spheres. On the political side, the district had recently seen three women winning on a total of six seats in the Nainital district. Not only did they emerge victorious from the prestigious Nainital, Haldwani and Ramnagar seats, but they also won with good margins. The winners had been Sarita Arya from Nainital, Indira Hridayesh from Haldwani and Amrita Rawat from Ramnagar. Two are the ministers in the Vijay Bahuguna-led state government with important portfolios in their kitty. Sarita Arya too is expected to get an enhancement from her stature of a legislator very soon. Incidentally, all three are from the Congress. Talking on the administrative side, Kumaon's new Commissioner Hemlata Dhaundiyal also happens to be one of the prominent women officers in the state. She has been a District Magistrate at Uttarkashi and has held several important portfolios, including that of Additional Secretary (Industrties) in the state. The district also has a woman District Magistrate. Nidhi Mani Tripathi had been transferred to Nainital before the recent Assembly poll. The entire exercise of the poll campaign, voting and counting took place with her being the District Election Officer. Contrary to the expectations that she would be transferred in the first reshuffle that took place after the new government assumed office, she is among the two District Magistrates that have been retained at the post without being moved out. Incidentally, Nainital also has a woman Meena Tewari as the district judge. Shyonak trees face extinction
In a research paper presented to the botany department of Kumaon University, a student has raised the issue of the medicinal plant Shyonak becoming extinct. The author of the paper, Bhawna Joshi Pande, has pointed out that the tree needs to be conserved in the state as it has immense medicinal properties and it is used in several Ayurvedic Belonging to the bignoniacae family, the tree is locally known as farkat, arlu, damdi, dhol damdi, jhola damdi and tater. She has pointed out that it is grown up to a height of 1300 metres above the sea level. Contesting that the parts of this tree are used for preparing medicines for ailments ranging from generic pains and fever to diabetes and blood pressure, the student says that the number of shyonak trees is on the decline in the region and their number does not exceed more than 400 at present. She has pointed out that because of being unaware of its benefits, the trees are being chopped off at several places. The other reason for their destruction is the large instances of forest fire. Pande is of the opinion that if nothing is done to conserve the tree, it will become extinct in the next 10 to 15 years and the region will lose a
precious flora.
Replica vanishes from office
Malpractices seem to have become an inherent part of the functioning of government departments. Very often a common man is the one who detects the wrongs that are taking place or have taken place but is forced to remain quiet knowing that even if he blows the whistle, he would be at the receiving end. Yet there are persons who cannot see wrong being done by turning their face the other way. An instance that was brought to the notice of this correspondent was the vanishing of a replica of the famous Narayan Ashram from the premises of the Commissioner's office in Nainital. Investigations revealed that the replica had been gifted to the former Commissioner Rakesh Kumar and had been adorning the complex for several years before it just vanished. Further investigations led to the revelations that the replica was not the only thing to have vanished. It has become a norm of sorts that whenever the Commissioner is transferred, several things are pilfered before the next one arrives. Narayan Ashram is perched on a mountain at about 2,734 metres above the sea level and is located in the vicinity of Sosa, a village belonging to the indigenous people of the region called Shaukas or Rungs in Pithoragarh
district. The ashram was established in 1936 by a hermit and a social worker, Narayan Swami. The land for the purpose was donated by the late Kushal Singh Hyanki of Sosa to the Swami and some plots of the adjoining lands were purchased from the people of Sosa. The efforts made by Narayan Swami to establish an ashram in so remote a place makes one respect the man and the place all the more. It had taken about 13 years to build the ashram which had started as a hut. The ashram has come up as a centre for socio-spiritual development.
Date-of-birth
jokes
The age controversy involving the Army Chief General VK Singh has percolated down the level of officialdom and has become a kind of reference while jokes are being shared among the officers. Recently, when a top level officer of the state was on a visit to the Lake City, he was asked about how much time he had on his hands before he retired. His reply had been a cheeky one. He said, "Unless we are a general, our date of retirement is fixed the day we join our duty. Our date of birth is clearly mentioned in our certificates that we submit at the time of being recruited. By Rajeev Khanna
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40-year-old tusker killed
Dehradun, April 29 Deputy Director, Corbett National Park, CK
Kavidayal, disclosed that Corbett forest guards came across the body of a 40-year-old tusker on Saturday evening. He said there were reports of two tuskers fighting frequently in the Kalagarh range of the park since the past few days. He said the deceased tusker had deep injury marks, evidently revealing of being killed by another
tusker.—TNS
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Doon Warriors win cricket title
Mussoorie, April 29 In the first semi-final held earlier between Cant Sports Club and Gurunanak Fifth Centenary Sports Club (GNFC), Cant Sports batting first scored 102 runs at a loss of one wicket. Rajesh was the highest scorer with 36 runs. GNFC club could muster only 63 runs and were all out in stipulated five overs. Krish Rangad from GNFC was the only player to reach the double digit. In the second semifinal, Himalayan Sports Club batting first scored 59 runs at a loss of four wickets. Manish Gurung scored 36 runs for Himalayan Sports Club. Doon Warriors chasing the meagre total reached the target with a few balls to spare. Ravi Bisht was the highest scorer for Doon Warriors with 36 runs. In the final held later, the Doon Warriors Sports Club batting first scored 132 runs assisted by a blazing knock of 50 runs scored by Harish Negi. Cant Sports could only muster 60 runs and lost the final match of the tournament by 62 runs. Krish Rangad from GNFC was declared the player of the tournament while Musosorie Modern School was declared the best team of the tournament. Kuldeep from Tanishq Academy was declared the best bowler of the tournament. Chief guest on the occasion Jot Singh Gunsola distributed the awards and citations to the winners on the occasion. He also said the sports fraternity was demanding a sports stadium to carry out sporting activities in the town. He also said he would pursue the matter at the highest level in the government. He also presented the cash prize of Rs 15000 to the winners. In addition to that, the sponsors of the tournament also presented a cash award of Rs 5000 to the winners. The organisers of the tournament Mussoorie Sports and Cultural Committee also presented a cheque for Rs 60,000 to the mother of the late Anil Godiyal in whose memory the tournament was organised here. The president of the organizing committee Narendar Kumar, Sammuel Chand, Sunil Panwar, Sandeep Agarwal, Parvinder Rawat and others were present on the occasion.
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Success for Welham, Brightlands in roller skating
Dehradun, April 29 The competition was conducted at Crony Skating World, Dehradun, where as many as 315 students from 35 schools of Dehradun and Mussoorie participated. Shiv Painyuli, president of the association, along with Pankaj Bhardwaj, renowned player and fitness expert, gave the winners of various categories skating awards. The results are as follows: Under -10 (Boy's) - Gold Medal, Akshat Dokania, Welham Boys; Silver Medal - Gurang Bhatia, Welham Boys; Bronze Medal - Shiv Verma, Rock Boys. Under - 10 (Girl's) - Gold Medal, Arisha Kapoor, Brightlands School; Silver Medal - Samridi Tiwari, Brightlands School; Bronze Medal - Arikta Thapliyal, Delhi Public School. Under -12 (Boy's) - Gold Medal, Snehashish Tiwari, Brightlands School; Silver Medal - Aditya Dokana, Welham Boys; Bronze Medal - Harsh Vardhan, Welham Boys.
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“We will immolate ourselves if these hydro projects are not started by May 10,” said Mandodari sarpanch of van panchayat of Haat in
Chamoli.
The portals of Badrinath opened at 4 in the morning amid Vedic rituals today in Chamoli district. A surging crowd of around 8,000 devotees came to seek blessing from the deity.
