Dehradun, November 16
The traffic on Adat Bazaar Road, which witnessed long jams for all these years, has become regulated and has given relief to hundreds of commuters who drive on this stretch, thanks to the road block put up on the road towards Kanwali Road. This arrangement has certainly put a few traders of Adat Bazaar to inconvenience. They came to meet Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kewal Khurana to urge him to do away with the arrangement as, they felt, it was serving no purpose.

Khurana, not convinced by their assertion, assured them that he himself would inspect the road on Monday and take a final decision on the matter.

President of Adat Bazaar Association Rajender Goyal said rickshaw-pullers had to cover long stretches to unload or load sacks of grain from their shops. At this Khurana responded, saying that if the rickshaw-pullers had to cover a longer distance, which gave relief to the residents of the whole city, then the traders must take it in their stride. He said people in cities like Delhi did not have cuts on roads for 6 km, for which people did not complain. Traders should also think likewise in the interest of their own city. He proposed to arrange for the payment of increased fare to the rickshaw-pullers for the added distance.

Adat Bazaar Road, a crucial stretch in the city, is close to the railway station and leads to busy lanes on Kanwali Road on the one side and Saharanpur Road on other side, which further meanders towards ISBT. This stretch proved a major bottleneck in the smooth flow of traffic. Due to this, the state government is working on a plan to shift the traders of this area to another location in the city. Today when traders complained of the problem they were facing in loading and unloading grain stocks, Khurana said: “Loading and unloading of grain stock will not be allowed during day time. The traders can fix any time around 11 at night to 6 in the morning for the activity.

The big vehicles parked on the road for loading purpose remain stationed for longer periods and cause traffic jam.”

President of Doon Traders' Association Anil Goyal said the traders were tricked by the traffic police, which convinced them for cooperation for the long route for two-three days during Divali festival. He suggested other routes such as Haridwar Bypass, back gate of the railway station, Tyagi Road and Mata Mandir Marg to divert the traffic and lessen the pressure of traffic on this road. He also tried to persuade Khurana that the traffic situation had not improved at all despite blocking the road cut. The SSP assured them that he himself would inspect the site on Monday during peak hours in the morning and decide accordingly.

Dehradun, November 16
Various programmes were organised on the 15th death anniversary of Swami Rama, founder of the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust (HIHT), and a great visionary near Rishikesh today.

Justice MM Ghildyal (retd), Lokayukta, Uttarakhand, was the chief guest on 
the occasion.

He presented scholarships worth Rs 90 lakh to academically brilliant but poor students from various districts of the state. The poor paramedical and medical nursing students of Himalayan Institute Hospital were also given scholarships. Employees of the hospital who did meritorious services were also honoured.

The Swami Ram Humanity Award was given to Sindhu Tai Sapkal from Maharashtra, who has been nurturing 1,000 orphaned children at her Sanmati Bal Ashram. She was presented with a cheque for Rs 5 lakh, a medal and a citation in recognition of her humanitarian work.

Mussoorie, November 16
With more people flocking to the Kashmir valley, local businessmen and the state Tourism Department have been forced to upgrade their facilities in order to attract more tourists to Mussoorie this winter.

In the early 90s due to eruption of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, the tourist flow from Kashmir was diverted to Uttarakhand and other Himalayan states in a big way, leading to mushrooming of hotels and guesthouses. These hotels and guesthouses enjoyed monopoly for 20 years in hosting tourists without any hindrance.

The reports of a large number of tourists visiting the Kashmir valley and a decline in the tourist flow to the state have alerted the local businessmen and the Tourism Department. They are now planning to innovate according to the needs of the people, mostly honeymooning couples.

Boat owners at the Company Garden lake have come up with a novel idea of providing the ‘shikara’ facility on the lines of Dal Lake in Srinagar to the tourists so that they do not change their plan and move to Kashmir.

Virendar Rana, a boat owner at the Company Garden lake in Mussoorie, says sensing a decline in the number of tourists they felt it was time to upgrade their facilities. “The idea of introducing ‘shikara’ came when I witnessed a sharp decrease in the inflow of tourists and felt the need of providing the tourists with the facilities that were available in Kashmir,” he adds.

“Workers were especially brought from Srinagar to carve out a shikara similar to those plying in Dal Lake in two months. The interiors of the boat have also been done up on the same lines so that the tourists here do not miss the facilities available in Kashmir,” Rana says.

The hoteliers too have revisited their packages and are offering huge discounts, considering the decrease in the flow of tourists to Mussoorie.

The spokesperson for the Mussoorie Hotel Association, Sandeep Sahni, says the businessmen and the Tourist Department should be aware of the problems they are likely to confront if the tourists head for Kashmir. The Tourism Department should consider introducing boating facilities at Tehri Lake and upgrade tourist places around Mussoorie. The District Tourism Officer, Yogendar Gangwar, does not believe that tourism in the district is declining. He, however, says the tourist flow is not expected to grow.

He adds the Tourism Department has several projects of upgrading old tourist destinations in and around Mussoorie using innovative ideas so that tourists keep coming here.

Anil Godiyal, an hotelier, says the town has witnessed a lean season from quite a while. Last year, they were flooded with booking requests but this time round rooms were lying vacant as tourists preferred Kashmir where they got more facilities and natural beauty in comparison to Uttarakhand.

“It is high time that the Uttarakhand government take interest in addressing the chronic problems of drinking water, parking and traffic congestion permanently so that the state, especially Mussoorie, could compete with Kashmir,” adds Godiyal.

Ganesh, a local resident, says Mussoorie has all necessary ingredients to fight Kashmir on the tourism front. Though it is near to the plains of north India, the need is to remove bottlenecks like toll barriers at several places which act as irritants to tourists.

The residents say if the department concerned and the local businessmen alike do not come up with more innovative ideas to promote tourism in the town, it is set to lose in a big way.

Dehradun, November 16
St Joseph's Academy beat Carman School, Dalanwala, by 9 wickets in a match during the Senior Council School Cricket Tournament here today. With this win, St Joseph's Academy has entered the final.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Carman School scored a total of 65 runs in the allotted overs, losing all its wickets in the process. None of Carman School batsmen could reach a double digit individual score. As of St Joseph's Academy’s bowlers, Sumit took 3 wickets while Madhav and Anubhav took 2 wickets each. Batting second, St Joseph;s Academy easily reached the target score losing just 1 wicket in the process, thereby ensuing itself 9-wicket win.

For St Joseph's Academy, Anshuman scored unbeaten 31 runs.