Thousands offer namaaz on Eid
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 20
Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Mah-e-Ramzaan, was celebrated with gaiety and fervour here today.

At Jama Masjid in Jwalapur, thousands of devotees, who ended their fast today, performed namaaz. The mosques at Bada Masjid, Kotarwan Masjid, BHEL sector-1 and Subash Nagar were also jam-packed.

District Magistrate Sachi Kurwe and SSP Arun Mohan Joshi, along with other administrative officials, extended their wishes to the people on the occasion.

Elaborate security arrangements were made for the smooth conduct of the festival. Section 144 of the IPC was imposed yesterday in the district.

The Municipal Corporation had also carried out a cleanliness drive in the city, particularly at Jwalapur, where Muslim community people live in large number. MC executive officer Harshwardhan Mishra said arrangements for drinking water, cleanliness or garbage disposal were made so as to make sure people don’t have to face any problem.

In Roorkee, festival of Eid was celebrated with enthusiasm and harmony. SP (Rural) DS Gunjiyal said in view of the sensitivity of the area, additional police was deployed throughout the day.

Haridwar MLA and Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat, in a press statement, addressed people on the occasion.

Rain throws life out of gear in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 20
Heavy rain lashed the city around 11:30 am and continued for three hours resulting in waterlogging, mudslide and traffic jams.

Instances of mudslide at railway track near the Motichur railway station had also been reported with railway employees started removing the debris to ensure that the movement of trains doesn't get hampered.

Water got accumulated at Bhagat Singh Chowk, the Chandracharya chowk-Ranipur Mod stretch, Shiv Moorti, Laltaura Pull, Sabzi Mandi, Vishnu Ghat, the Har-Ki-Pauri area, Devpura Chowk, railway station, bus station, Shankar Ashram Chowk, Jwalapur, Kathaira Bazaar and other places.

Till evening, it was near impossible to cross the roads with commuters either taking longer routes or waiting for water level to decrease.

The rain had an impact on the celebrations of Eid for a few hours as people refrained from moving out during the downpour.

But as soon as the rain stopped, people thronged the markets to buy gifts for friends and relatives on Eid.

Efforts on to check falling Kosi water level
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, August 20
The fund4 released under MGNREGA and integrated watershed management project methods will be used by the district administration to check the depleting water level of the Kosi, the lifeline of Almora district, sources from the Almora district administration said.

According to Almora District Magistrate Akshat Gupta, the administration has taken seriously the reports published recently in the media that the existence of the river is threatened. “We have decided to take help of the scientists from the Himalayan Research and Environment Development Institute, Katarmal, the Vivekananda Parvatiya Anusandhan Sansthan and Kumaon University in chalking out a strategy to save the river permanently," said the DM. The District Magistrate said the administration had drafted a strategy to treat the recharge zones of the river by massive plantation programmes in villages in the watershed areas of the river.

“The massive plantation programmes will be done by the Forest Department which will be followed by the construction of check dams and barrages for the rain water," said the DM.

The District Magistrate said he had called a meeting of hydrological scientists from the leading research institutes based in the Kumaon region to discuss the issue of decreasing flow of this river.

Students forced to study in open, govt snores
Construction work on new school building halted due to paucity of funds
Ajay Ramola

Mussoorie, August 20
The delay in the construction of new building for the past three years has forced the students of Government Inter-College in Kempty to sit out and study in open amid heavy rain due to apathy of the department concerned.

The construction of two-floor building that was started in 2008 with much fanfare is still awaiting completion due to the fund crunch, if the executive agency, Uttar Pradesh Rajya Nirman Nigam, is to be believed. Due to the delay in the construction of the new block, the school management is forced to run three classes in the verandah of the old school, leaving the students completely drenched during rain.

According to Principal of the school KK Raturi, the executive agency is already occupying two rooms in the old school building. It has forced the teachers to run the Class VI, VII and VIII in the verandah of the old school. During heavy rain, they are left with no option but to declare holiday to save the students from being drenched.

President of the Parent Teachers Association Shamsher Singh Rana said they had sent reminders to the authority concerned on numerous occasions but they had not responded to their pleas and were playing with the future of the students.

According to junior engineer, Uttar Pradesh Rajya Nirman Nigam, Nand Mohan Rauthan, they had received a budget of around Rs 21 lakh in 2009. In 2011, they received another instalment amounting to Rs 52 lakh for the construction of the new school building here under the Special Component Plan but in 2012, due to unavailability of the fund, the work had been halted this year. He further said Rs 1.25 crore was required for the completion of the work and the proposal in this regard had been sent to the government for re-starting the work of the remaining building.

Rajiv Gandhi remembered on birth anniversary
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
The Congress celebrated the 68th birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by organising a seminar at Congress Bhavan here today.

On the occasion, Vice-President of the state unit of the party Suryakant Dhasmana recalled the contribution of the late Prime Minister in ushering in the IT revolution in the country.

He said Rajiv Gandhi wanted to make India a superpower in the world. He claimed that the nation took giant strides in development under the Congress rule.

Dhasmana said Rajiv Gandhi also worked towards the strengthening of panchayats through the Panchayati Raj Act and ensured reservation for women in panchayats. “Rajiv Gandhi always dreamt of a developed India of the 21st century and called upon party workers to take both the state and country to new heights in development,” he said.

Former minister Ramprasad Tamta, Uttarakhand Cooperatives Federation Chairman Pramod Kumar Singh, councillor Beena Bisht, Vinod Chandola and Ramkumar Walia also participated in the seminar.

Meanwhile, Rajpur MLA Rajkumar paid floral tributes to the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at a function held at his office today. He said the late Prime Minister created a large number of employment opportunities for the youth.

Block Congress president Neenu Sehgal, councillors Vinay Kohli and Bijendra Pal were also present.

In another programme, the Rashtriya Rajeev Sena (RRS) remembered Rajiv Gandhi at a function held at Hindi Bhavan here today.

RRS national president and Haryana minister Chander Sharma called upon party leaders to wage a battle against corruption. He said the youth must come forward to fulfil the dreams of Rajiv Gandhi.

President of the state unit of the RRS Sushil Rathi said Rajiv Gandhi was the first politician to highlight corruption in the country by pointing out that only a small percentage of funds released by the Centre reached the beneficiaries at the village level.

Travelling Literature Festival from Aug 25
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 20
After two successful years in the state, Ghummakkad Narain- The Travelling Literature Festival is again back in Dehradun.

The festival, which was inaugurated on July 30 at the National Museum by Nandita Das, noted actor, Director and Chairperson of the Children's Film Society of India, will be travelling to Dehradun from August 25 to 27 where it will have 25 sessions for children in public and government schools with author reads, creative writing sessions and film screenings in its itinerary.

The festival in Delhi significantly included the cross-border peace workshop with 50 students from India and Pakistan working over six days to discuss issues of peace and conflict based on the writings of Charles Dickens, Pablo Neruda and Sadat Hassan Manto.

In Dehradun, government schools at Deepnagar and Ajabpur and the Jaswant Modern School at Rajpur road will be the venues for the festival this year.

Dinesh Chamola will be presiding over the Hindi session ‘Kahani ka safar’. Priyanka Bhattacharya will preside over the session ‘Beauty and the beast’. Further, story making by Sanjana Kapoor, drawing cartoons by Adarsh, animation of folk stories by Tara Douglas and reading from a book by Hindol Sengupta will part of the festival. Film screening of ‘Tintin’ will also be another highlight of the festival.

After Dehradun, the festival will go back to Delhi and will subsequently travel to Delhi colleges from September 13 to 15. The festival will finally close with International Storytellers Festival from September 23 to 29.

A NIVESH and Himalayan Hub for Art, Culture and Heritage (HHACH) initiative, the concept of Ghummakkad Narain is linked to an elderly gentleman who is extremely fond of books and travels around reading them out to children. “He is fun to have around as he makes reading a fun affair. He is a store house of knowledge and shares it in the form of stories. He’s loved by children and elders wherever he goes,” said Rachna Bisht from NIVESH, elaborating on the festival’s.

Bisht further said, “Through the festival, we have tried to bring children closer to books and reading in order to stimulate their imagination and foster their development. This will help them understand themselves better. Our motive is not just to educate children but to retain their interest in studies through reading and sharing so as to make them thinkers of tomorrow,” she said while adding that the festival was also a tribute to her late father Soviet Land Nehru Award winner and eminent literary personality Thakur Vishwa Narain Singh.

Idol of Durga stolen from Berinag temple
Our Correspondent

The idol of Goddess Mahishasurmardini that has been stolen from a Berinag temple in Pithoragarh. A Tribune photograph

Pithoragarh, August 20
The idol of Goddess Mahishasurmardini has been stolen from the ancient Patal Bhuvneshwar temple at Berinag subdivision of this district. The idol belongs to the 12th century.

The police is suspecting the role of locals and some notorious tourists in the case. "A dog squad has been pressed into service to arrest the thieves," said DIG (Pithoragarh range) GS Martolia.

The head priest said when he came to open the door of the temple on Saturday morning, he found the lock changed. He reported the matter to the police, which broke the lock only to find that the idol measuring 33 x 56 cm was missing.

The DIG said they had alerted their police posts along the Nepal border and inter- district pickets to look for the culprits. However, he ruled out the handiwork of smugglers in the case.

According to archaeological officials of Almora, the idol belongs to the Katuri era of Kumaon history and is made up of eight metals. 

Tributes paid to Australian author John Lang
Ajay Ramola

An illustration of John Langs that appeared in his book. Photo courtesy: Gopal Bhardwaj

Mussoorie, August 20
People from all walks of life today gathered near the cemetery on Camels Back Road to pay tributes to John Lang, Australian humanist, author, lawyer and journalist on his 148th death anniversary, today.

John Lang was buried at the Camels Back Road cemetery on August 20, 1864, and his grave is intact till today.

People offered floral tributes at the portrait of the eminent author, who had spent the last years of life in the town. Scribes also lit candles in his memory.

Local historian Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi, who coordinated the ceremony, recalled the life of John Lang and said as a barrister, journalist, writer, scholar and inveterate traveller, Lang was a great friend of India. Lang founded a popular newspaper, The Mofussilite, which often took a critical line against the East India Company. He also advised some prominent Indians, including the Rani of Jhansi, in their legal battles against the British.

Uttarakhandi has urged the government to build a monument in his memory.

Another eminent author, Ganesh Saili, said the grave of the Australian author was discovered by Ruskin Bond. He, along with Bond, went to the Christchurch and dug out the old records of his death, which led to establishing his connection with the hill town of Mussoorie.

Bijendar Panwar, Shoorvir Bhandari, Satish Dhanudiyal, Vipin Gupta, Rajat Agarwal, Dr RC Garg, Vimal Nawani, Sunil Silwal and Bijendar Pundir were present on the occasion.

SC/ST federation bats for quota in promotions
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 20
Various employees unions yesterday pressed for the restoration of reservation in promotion in government services.

Under the aegis of the Uttarakhand SC/ST Employees Federation, hundreds of employees participated at a meeting held at Town Hall, here.

Addressing the employees, chairperson of the Uttarakhand SC/ST federation termed the verdict made by the Nainital High Court the one hurting the interests of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe people .

He said the SC/ST people had been given constitutional protection and rights, which anti-reservation forces were trying to nullify.

District chief of the federation Madan Pal said, “The judiciary should not be given right to decide issues related with reservation.Even in the judiciary, reservation should be made. Suppressed classes should also be given a representation in the judiciary.”

Extending support to the federations' demand, Bahujan Samaj Party veteran leader Nathu Singh said aspirations of the Dalits could only be fulfilled by giving them due reservation and proper constitutional representation.

He added that owing to sacrifice of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar, the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes got their due recognition but anti-reservation forces were not happy with the change in their social status, who had been suppressed for centuries in the name of caste and creed.

Akhil Bharatiya Safai Majdoor Sangh state secretary Rajesh Chachar suggested that a pan-India movement should be staged if the interests were to be safeguarded otherwise similar related steps would be taken by anti-reservation forces.

At the meeting, a 15-point demand letter was also read out which was also revolved around the reservation aspect.

Human rights panel secy duped of Rs 17,000

Dehradun, August 20
General secretary, Human Rights Association of India, Uttarakhand, Aarti Vaish was duped of Rs 17,000 by a phone caller last week.

The caller gathered information about her bank account by making a call to her saying that she had won a lottery and the lottery amount would be deposited in her bank account. He withdrew the amount within three days.

Vaish, however, said she shared the information with the caller in order to trap him and get him arrested before he could withdraw money from her bank acount. But despite her prior information, she said, the police took no action and the accused escaped by withdrawing Rs 17,000 from her bank account.

She said, “It is not only me but the accused also withdrew Rs 30,000 from the bank account of another banker, whom I knew. These are common incidents happening throughout the city. Anonymous callers or hackers lure people, saying that they had won lottery and collect information about their bank accounts. Later, they withdraw money through Net banking.”

She said the police was not taking such cases seriously, owing to which these incidents were on all time high. “My case could be registered with the intervention of high police officials. If the person of my stature can be meted out such a treatment from the police, then public would certainly have a tough time,” she said and added, the police was more keen on collecting money in the name of vehicle checking but least interested in reining in various gangs involved in breaking ATMs, chain snatching, vehicle stealing, etc.—TNS

Three arrested for murder

Dehradun, August 20
The police yesterday arrested three persons for allegedly killing Kuldeep Sharma, a resident of Prem Nagar, at a taxi stand near the Rispana bridge on August 14.

The accused, identified as Niraj Rawat, a resident of Kotdwar, and Sajid and Pappu, both of Rajiv Nagar, have been sent to jail.

During interrogation, the accused said on the day of the incident, the victim, who used to work as a diesel generator operator at the IMA, had hired a tempo being driven by Niraj Rawat to go to Dehradun from Kotdwar.

The victim was drunk and carrying liquor bottles along with him. Niraj Rawat took him to a taxi stand where he called his friends, Sajid and Pappu, and all of them consumed liquor.

However, when Kuldeep Sharma later asked Niraj Rawat to drop him near his house, it led to an altercation. In anger, Niraj Rawat attacked Kuldeep Sharma with a liquor bottle on his neck and belly repeatedly till he died. When this was going on, the other two held Kuldeep Sharma's arms and legs tightly. Later, they fled away from the scene. Some vegetable sellers who were standing near the crime scene, too, fled away in panic.

However, when members of the taxi union saw Kuldeep Sharma lying in a pool of blood the next morning, they reported the matter to the police. —TNS