Kanwariya crushed to death by truck
Haridwar, July 12
In a shocking incident, a Kanwariya was mowed down by a truck at Chandi Ghat parking lot when he was sleeping adjacent to the parked vehicles of Kanwariyas.

Dehradun, July 12
The sword hanging on the heads of those traders of Chakrata Road who had been served with notices to dismantle 53 dilapidated buildings on the road within three days heaved a sigh of relief today. Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) assured them that only those few which would be highly vulnerable will be dismantled. For this, a new survey of the buildings will be conducted. The traders, who had been demanding permission to repair their buildings in the wake of the monsoons, too, had been allowed to do so by the MDDA, but barred from undertaking any new constructions.

While holding a meeting with the traders along with secretary, MDDA, and Additional Mukhya Nagar Adhikari of Dehradun Municipal Corporation, vice chairman, MDDA, RK Sundaram, however, said those who had constructed two to three-storey premises on Chakrata Road would have to face sealing of their premises. The defaulters had already been served with notices in this regard and one such building was also sealed on Chakrata Road today in the afternoon. The others who had undertaken construction on the ground floor escaped the sealing with the MDDA's directive.

MLA Rajkumar, who also arrived in the meeting, was not happy with the MDDA's plan to build six-storey premises on both sides of the road on public private partnership mode, which, he said, would take longer to complete and, hence, would further hamper the interests of the shopkeepers. He urged MDDA for holding back the shopkeepers from undertaking any new construction, saying they had been held in limbo for seven months. MDDA was neither expediting the construction work of six the storey- building nor was letting traders do any construction on their own. The traders were also upset with the confusion prevailing over the matter and the inordinate delay in executing work on the road.

Haridwar, July 12
As the Kanwar pilgrimage in Haridwar nears its peak, the influx of Kanwariyas has created tension for the mela administration.

It seems this year a record number of Kanwariyas will be coming to Uttarakhand to fetch the holy Ganga jal from Gaumukh, Gangotri, and Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, Ganga ghats.

Already administrative figures estimated Lord Shiva devotees at 65 lakh, with Kanwar pilgrimage now at it's peak.

Caught by surprise by the overwhelming number of Kanwariyas in the past two days, the authorities are making all-out efforts to implement revised traffic plans.

Such is the rush that the whole city seems to be dipping in saffron colour fervour as round the clock entry and exit of Kanwariyas is being witnessed.

Kanwar Patri, which is 44 km long, is abuzz with activities of devotees chanting Lord Shiva's names and motivating fellow Kanwariyas to walk at a brisk pace.

All the railway coaches are filled with Kanwariyas with hundreds occupying spaces on rooftops, between coaches and on engines, too. Notably 72 trains pass through Haridwar railway station with approximately 15,000 to 20,000 passengers commuting on an average daily. But these days this number is getting multiplied as daily 10-15 lakh Kanwariyas are arriving in the city.

Kanwariyas are seen on train rooftops on Rishikesh-bound trains as they head for revered shrine of Neel Kanth Maha Dev situated in Pauri-Tehri districts.

A hapless railway administration is just making sure that trains arrive and depart on schedule as, otherwise, the fear of Kanwariyas creating a chaos and posing problems for other railway passengers looms large.

Station Superintendent Samarendra Goswami told TNS that Kanwariyas are being urged to follow rules and avoid travelling on rooftops as it is quite risky.

He added that they were urging Kanwariyas on a regular basis to travel safely. Security forces had been in strength at vulnerable points to ensure safety and disciplne. Goswami accepted the fact that as Kanwariyas were pouring in lakhs, it was not easy to control them or forcefully evacuate them from trains as it may further create chaos. But necessary preventive measures were being taken by them.

Door framed metal detectors (DFMD) had been put up at the entry points at the railway station. Sniffer squads and bomb-disposal squads had been pressed into service and regular round-the-clock checking of trains by mobile railway police squads was being done as precautionary measures.

Haridwar, July 12
In a shocking incident, a Kanwariya was mowed down by a truck at Chandi Ghat parking lot when he was sleeping adjacent to the parked vehicles of Kanwariyas.

The incident occurred when Ritesh, aged 18 years, resident of Shivalik VIdya Vihar, Gaziabad, who had come to Haridwar to fetch Ganga jal in his Kanwar, was taking rest adjacent to a parked truck in which he along with his friends had come. As he was sleeping, another Kanwar truck number HR-46 7388 arrived at the parking lot with driver Vazir Singh trying to put in his truck at the right parking slot. During this he accidentally moved the truck back where Ritesh was sleeping, and the truck tyres mowed down the sleeping Ritesh, who died in the accident.

Enraged Kanwariyas cornered Vazir, who was handed over to the police, and as soon as the news spread, the Kanwariyas were seen in shock and anger. Police officials arrived at the parking lot specifically made for the Kanwar vehicles coming from Bijnore, Muzaffarnagar, Kotdwar and Najibabad side.

SP, City, Kiran Lal Shaw, said that the postmortem was done and the body handed out to the relatives of the deceased, while the truck driver had been arrested. No violence was reported as the police reached on time.

Mussoorie, July 12
With the news of the death of Bollywood action hero Dara Singh, wrestler, and best known for his TV portrayal of Lord Hanuman reaching Mussoorie, a pall of gloom set in the town today.

Dara Singh died at his Mumbai home on Thursday, days after suffering a heart attack. He was 84.

Dara Singh had a close connection with the hill town of Mussoorie, and that was evident from his nearly 20 trips to the town since 1960 on different occasions.

Local historian Gopal Bhardwaj, paying rich tributes to the great wrestler and actor who had given action films altogether a different dimension, said that Dara Singh first visited the town during Commonwealth International Wrestling Championship in 1959. It was in this championship Dara Singh defeated the great wrestler of his times King Kong in a free style wrestling bout held at the Rink Hall, considered to be the biggest in Asia then.

Gopal Bhardwaj reminisced that the championship held at Mussoorie created a flutter among the kids like him, who, on hearing about the great bout between the two rivals, rushed to towards Rink Hall to catch a glimpse of Dara Singh. The great Indian wrestler defeated King Kong in this bout handsomely, much to the delight of the residents and the tourists alike here.

Bhardwaj further said that the win over King Kong here raised him immediately to international fame and it was after this bout he never looked back and won around 500 fights consecutively.

“The whole area around the Rink was energised and the crowd swelled with every passing minute, such was the craze for the Indian wrestler back then,” added Bhardwaj.

Dara Singh, on the invitation from the National Roller Skating Association, once again visited the town in 1969 as chief guest where he distributed the awards to the participants from around the country. Beena Bhardwaj, the national champion in roller skating, said that Dara Singh was impressed with the talent displayed by the roller skaters. He mentioned to some officials that skating was the sport that he could never take to in his life, as it required balancing on the wheels, added Beena.

Dara Singh visited the town on a number of occasions after that and also shot his film titled “Veeru Ustad” in 1976 in Mussoorie.

Vinay, now aged 42, remembering the shooting of an action sequence on the roof of the cable car for the film “Veeru Ustaad” at Gun Hill, said that it was an unforgettable moment for him to watch the iconic figure up close thrashing out the villain in the scene.

Ashish Verma, remembering his close encounter with Dara Singh in 1991, said that Dara Singh had come for some function to Mussoorie, and during his stay at the hotel, met him and invited him to dinner.

“Dara Singh was the most lively person he had ever met in his life, who always advised young men like him not to lose hope and keep struggling without complaining,” added Ashish.

With the death of the Dara Singh, India has lost not only a good wrestler and actor but a human being who lived life to the fullest.

Dara Singh also enthralled the people of Dehradun with his wrestling prowess at Pavilion Ground in the mid-sixties and played an important role in motivating youth towards wrestling.

They said that Dara Singh will always have a special place in their hearts for his immense contribution to society through his work in films and wrestling.

Dehradun, July 12
Jyoti Dhawan has taken over as the first woman president of the Rotary Club, Dehradun, which is the oldest club in Rotary district 3080. Jyoti was collared as president of the Rotary Club, Dehradun, for 2012-13 by the district governor in the presence of a large number of prominent people and members of the host and sister clubs.

She took over the reins of the club from Dr MC Luthra, who wished her all success. He expressed confidence that Jyoti would ably complete with all ongoing rotary projects and launch many more.

District governor Manmohan Singh said it was after a long legal struggle that women could get an entry into the Rotary International in 1989 and since then they had proved to be of immense value to the organisation.

He said he was sure that Jyoti would bring laurels to her club and the Rotary movement for the betterment of society. She had won accolades and awards during her association with the Rotary and was adjudged the best Rotarian in the district this year.

In her speech, Jyoti expressed her gratitude to the members and the district governor for reposing their trust in her. “You are in safe hands,”' she quipped as she concluded her speech.

Manmohan also distributed a number of district-level awards won by the club and its members, including the Best Club award. Those who were given awards were Dr MC Luthra, (The Best President) and Jyoti Dhawan (The best Rotarian). David Hilton, Dr Savita Luthra, Anuj Singh, Patricia Hilton too were given awards for their services to the Rotary cause.

He also installed the new Board of Directors, namely Dr S Farooq, David Hilton, Dr SL Gupta, Sumeet Nanda, Dr KK Sinha, Dr Endlay, Gauravdeep Singh and secretary Sandeep Aggarwal.

Manmohan also inaugurated a refrigerated drinking water outlet for public at Dallanwala, which was donated by Rotarian Dr S Farooq.

Dehradun, July 12
Director General of Police Vijay Raghav Pant has directed the departments concerned to expedite the construction of premises of the Police Department in various parts of the state.

He also urged the Forest Department to work swiftly on all matters pertaining to land transfer in these cases.

Reviewing the construction work of housing colonies for police post, Kalsi, in Dehradun district, Buggawala in district Haridwar, Narender Nagar in Tehri, Maneri in Uttarkashi, Ghangariya in Chamoli, Kedarnath and Gaurikund in Rudraprayag, Mukteshwar in Naintal, Banna Khera in Udham Singh Nagar and Patrampur in Bagheshwar, Police Training Centre, Narender Nagar, Disaster Management Training Centre, Sariyapani, Almora, he directed to expedite work so that the police force could utilise these facilities in time. 

Dehradun, July 12
Milk Diary Development Minister Durgapal inspected Dairy Development Department in the secretariat today. While holding a meeting with officials of the department, he directed them to make a proposal for

members of milk cooperatives. He also stressed on computerisation in the day-to-day functioning to bring in more transparency.

He directed officials to arrange for the first aid for ailing/injured animals and a veterinary doctor for these cooperatives. He advocated bonus and regularisation of those employees who were working on a contract basis.

The minister instructed them to arrange for poly pack for Milk Federation, Uttarakashi. To ensure green fodder for the milk producers, he suggested to rope in van panchayat to arrange for the fodder. 

Dehradun, July 12
The members of the Dehradun Bar Association (DBA) burnt copies of five contentious Bills on the second day of their strike in the district courts complex today.

The members were highly incensed with the content of the Higher Education and Research Bill, which, they felt, was being moved by the Centre to depute the advocates outsourced from outside the state on a contract basis, which will make the entire litigation an expensive proposition.

The members sat on dhara in the day, held a mini rally on the Kuchery road and later met the District Magistrate to hand him over their memorandum addressed to Union Minister Kapil Sibal. 

Dehradun, July 12
Mayor Vinod Chamoli visited Race Course ward today. He inspected clogged drains and directed to clean them. He also went to the mini park in the area and gave directions to instal swings in it. A road broken at many places before a slum colony was also ordered to be repaired.

He instructed to cancel the contract given to the contractor to whom a vacant plot in the area was given for beautification, but it became dirty with garbage and overgrown shrubs and grass.

Dehradun, July 12
The Students Federation of India and the Democratic Youth Federation of India today held a meeting in Dehradun to offer tributes to senior journalist and writer Sudhir Thapliyal.

Recalling his old association with Sudhir Thapliyal, CPM state secretary Vijay Rawat said Sudhir was a well-known personality both as journalist and writer and always kept sympathy for progressive organisations.

"His love for Mussoorie brought him back to the hills after quitting his journalistic profession, where he wrote four novels", Rawat pointed out.

Students Federation of India state president Lekhraj said Sudhir Thapliyal also served the victims of Uttarkashi earthquake, thus revealing his concern for the people in distress.

The SFI's Abhishek Bhandari and the DYFI's Ajay Kumar also paid their homages to Sudhir Thapliyal.

A two-minute silence was also observed at the meeting to offer tributes to him.