Dehradun, November 7
BVRC Purushottam has been appointed new District Magistrate of Dehradun city.

On the first day of taking charge today, the new DM told the media that he wanted to pay special attention to education and health.

He said he would strengthen the public distribution system, so that the poor could get the ration facility. The DM said schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) would be made more effective.

He further said shortcomings in the proper implementation of the MGNREGA and other such schemes initiated for the benefit of the poor would be identified and rectified. The DM said his experience as the District Magistrate of Uttarkashi and the Additional Secretary, Secretariat, would come in handy in bridging the gap between the district administration and the Secretariat.

He also spoke on poor traffic management in Dehradun and said he would take special measures to ease traffic bottlenecks in the city and would launch drives time to time to remove encroachment and unauthorised parking on the roadsides. 

Dehradun, November 7
Activists of the Citizens for Green Doon today staged a protest against the felling of a big mango tree and other small trees on the Tilak Road campus of the Dehradun Divisional Forest Officer’s office here today.

The felling of trees flies in the face of green conservation efforts of the Forest Department.

Led by Dr Nitin Pandey, Chief Coordinator of the Citizens for Green Doon, the protesters questioned the logic behind the felling of trees at the DFO office as part of a beautification drive.

They asserted that while the Forest Department was coming up with a full-fledged office on Rajpur Road, there was no justification in felling the trees in the Dehradun division office, Tilak Road.

Pandey said such cutting of trees did not convey the right message to the people. Meanwhile, DFO, Dehradun, Sushant Patnaik said the felled mango tree had passed its fruit-bearing age. He added he had been instrumental in saving a large number of trees during his career as Forest Officer.

However, Pandey said if the felling of the trees was required for the beautification of the DFO’s office, all trees of the city could be felled on similar excuses. He added a bad example had been set by forest officers, who were duty-bound to protect trees, for others to emulate.

He said many forest officials had opposed the felling of the trees and were upset at the incident.

Hema Phulera, Himanshu Arora, Sonia Pandey, Laksha Mehta, Prasanna Kapoor, Devendra Shah, Priya Maheshwari, Shruti Kaushik, Bimal Raturi and Sanjay Bhatt were among those who participated in the protest. 

Mussoorie, November 7
As many as 9 officers and 37 subordinate officers joined the mainstream of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in a colourful passing-out parade ceremony after undergoing a 25-week training held at the ITBP grounds here today.

The new officers included 9 from the 6th AC/GD (lDCE) basic course and 37 from the 4th SI/GD(LDCE) basic course.

Chief guest on the occasion BK Maurya (IPS), Inspector General, Directorate General, ITBP, was presented the guard of honour. The officers who joined the ITBP today were from 14 states of the country, out of which 14 were from Uttarakhand.

Harbhajan Singh, IG, Director, Academy, in his welcome address enumerated the role and achievements of the academy in the field of training.

In his address to the newly inducted officers, chief guest BK Maurya congratulated the officers for successfully completing the tough course and expressed confidence that under their alert surveillance, the borders of the nation would be safe. He further said that the ITBP was playing a significant role for defending the national security of the country. The assigned tasks given by the Government of India to the force are being performed meticulously in different terrains with utmost devotion and loyalty by the force. He asked the newly-inducted officers to serve the country in accordance with the rich traditions of the force. The chief guest also highlighted the specialties of the academy in the field of training and its operational achievements. He, in his motivational speech, boosted the morale of the passing-out officers in their career.

The overall best trainee award in 6th AC/GD (LDCE) basic course was won by AC/GD Nitesh Sharma, while the best outdoor trainee award was won by AC/GD Lalit Mohan Singh.

The overall best trainee award in 4th SI/GD (LDCE) basic course went to SI/GD Rohtash Singh, while the best indoor trainee award went to SI/GD Sandeep Kumar.

The best outdoor trainee award went to SI/GD Amit Chand. The passing-out parade concluded with a thrilling karate demonstration and enchanting band display. 

Dehradun, November 7
A biometric registration for National Population Register (NPR) took off in Uttarakhand with Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna registering his name at his residence on Wednesday.

Speaking on the occasion Bahuguna said that NPR project would be effectively executed in the state for which camps would be organised both in remote hill and plain areas. He said that awareness programmes would also be organised to make people aware of the project. The state government would render all possible assistance in the execution of this project. He said that NPR was a multipurpose project and it's success would help in effective implementation of developments works. Director, Census, Snehlata Aggarwal, apprised the Chief Minister about the NPR project in detail. 

Dehradun, November 7
Governor Aziz Qureshi today enrolled himself in the National Population Register under the biometric enrolment plan that will be formally launched in Uttarakhand on November 20.

Information about the district-wise implementation of this plan in the state will be provided to people through the mass media.

The Governor said a biometric card for each citizen would be extremely helpful. He congratulated the Prime Minister and the government for the plan.

Director (Census), Uttarakhand, Snehlata Aggarwal, Shailendra Sharma from the Cantonment Board and HC Kalra were present on the occasion.

Dehradun, November 7
Tuesday evening at Virasat was a blend of Jaunsari dance, famous Kalbelia dance and a concert by Wadali Brothers.

The first performance of the evening was from Jaunsar Bawar and the group performing was the Bawari Lok Kala Sangam. They enacted "Mahasu Devta Ki Doli". It was a treat to watch. Lord Mahasu is the chief deity of this area and is worshipped in Mahasu Devta Temple by the people of Hanol and nearby villages.

The second performance was Kalbelia, one of the most sensuous dance forms of Rajasthan. The dance is performed to celebrate any joyful moment in the Rajasthan community and is an integral part of their culture.

In the last performance of the day, Wadali Brothers, Puran Chand Wadaliji and Pyare Lal Wadaliji, held the audience spellbound.

Wadali Brothers are Sufi singers and musicians from Guru ki Wadali in Amritsar. In their rendezvous of the 11th evening of Virasat, they started their performance with "Daata ke gulamo ko", followed by "Mera Piya Ghar Aaye" and "Tu maane ya na mane", which was enjoyed by the young audience.