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Migratory birds begin to arrive from cold regions of Europe, Central Asia
Invite agency for construction of five star hotel: Amrita Rawat
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Water level fall in Sharda hits power production
Hariprasad Chaurasia holds audience spellbound
Governor Qureshi greets Maikhuri
Minimally invasive heart surgery performed
Young
parliamentarians make better politicians, says Akash Goyal
Workshop to popularise maths among students
Face of the week
Woman with kidney transplant delivers child
School students
showcase talent at annual day
Bird watchers arrive at Corbett park
Saints announce indefinite agitation from Dec 10
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Migratory birds begin to arrive from cold regions of Europe, Central Asia
Haridwar, December 8 A sharp decline in their numbers is a matter of concern owing to various climatic and anthropogenic factors. With the onset of winters, several migratory avian species are being spotted in Rajaji National Park and Ganga ghats.Five species of migratory birds have already arrived in the past few days.They can be easily viewed, particularly at Neel Dhara river bed adjacent to NH-58 Bhimgora barrage and the forest range of Dhudhia in the world-famous Rajaji National Park. Migratory species at these areas are seen basking in the sun and river water. Ornithologists and wild life scientists have identified them as ruddy
shelduck, black-headed gull, black stork, black- necked stork and painted stork. Of these ruddy shelduck and black- necked stork are rarely visible, but in the coming days their visibility is sure to increase due to a change in climatic conditions. Notably, bird migration is the traditional seasonal journey undertaken by several species, primarily for feeding-breeding requirements, which include covering thousands of
kilometres. In India, particularly in Uttarakhand, these migratory avians come from regions of Europe and Central Asia, where there are stark winters, with the whole region covered with snow. These species retreat to their original places once the summer season sets in around mid- March-April. These birds can be seen gliding over the Ganges river, particularly in early mornings and late evenings at the time of sunset. Already bird lovers, wildlife scientists, photographers and tourists in large numbers are flocking towards these particular bird sites. Irregular monsoons in previous years followed by massive rains witnessed this season, and now early snowfall in the higher altitude areas of upper Garhwal hills are having a significant impact on the movement of the migratory birds. They are found retreating in lower reaches of Uttarakhand a bit earlier, which is at least a few weeks earlier in comparison to the past few years. While migratory birds are heralding a bit earlier in this part, their presence on their favourite locations may get affected. It is being feared that due to the massive rain posing semi-flood like condition that ravaged
Haridwar, several protected habitats have also been washed away completely, which used to be the ideal habitats for these avians during their winter stay in this district. A drastic change in the arrival and departure timings of avian winter migratory species has been observed since the past few years. Normally, the arrival time of these birds used to be recorded by late October and early November, with the departure time nearing towards March. But during the last five years, erratic changes have been observed in their arrival and departure timings. While in the previous decade these migratory birds used to arrive during December, staying till May-mid/June, but now in a couple of years, the arrival time of these birds has been found in various studies to be nearing October, while leaving time is as early as April. Several studies by wildlife biologists have also revealed impact of constructional activities in Rajaji Park forest area and adjacent Ganga embankments, where these migratory guests used to stay routinely.Renovation of
Haridwar-Chilla- Rishikesh motor route and increase in traffic on New
Delhi-Haridwar-Dehradun national highway is severely impacting their movement. According to noted wildlife scientist Ritesh Joshi, a proper census of migratory species is the need of the hour, aided by satellite technology as it will be quite helpful in knowing the accurate tracks, resting places and exact data of their arrival-departure. “Community participation is vital as then only we can generate environmental awareness among people, which will tremendously help in bird’s conservation. Anthropogenic activities should be totally banned along the Ganga areas, which are the habitat of these migratory birds," said Joshi, who has been carrying out detailed analysis on the movements of these birds during their stay in Haridwar habitats. |
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Invite agency for construction of five star hotel: Amrita Rawat
Dehradun, December 8 Rawat expressed her displeasure at the delay in restarting the ropeway at Auli for the past two and half years which has brought huge revenue loss to the state government. Uma Kant Panwar, secretary, Tourism, said the ropeway would start within three months on public-private partnership. He said the project report for the Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway
would be prepared and presented soon. The tenders for ropeway for Duligah-Purnagiri, Rambara-Kedarnath and Neelkanth-Rishikesh are already invited. It was also decided that all those tourism rest houses run by Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) running in losses would be given on public-private partnership. The minister directed that all infrastructural development and schemes should be completed
within the stipulated time period. She said the work on eco-tourism facilities at Kaudiyala were in progress and Garampani at Tapovan would be developed as a hot water spa by the GMVN. |
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Water level fall in Sharda hits power production
Pithoragarh, December 8 According to sources in the Tanakpur power house of the NHPC, the electricity generation at the 100 MW capacity plant has reduced to 42 MW at present. This fall in production has been attributed to the shortage of water in the Sharda river on which the plant is dependent. “The Sharda river, which witnessed the maximum of 4 lakh cubic metre per second of water on September 18 this year has at present only 5,000 cubic metre per second of water. This fall in the water level in the river has reduced power generation to 42 MW,” said the sources. The electricity generation has also fallen from 39 MW during the monsoon to 11 MW these days at another hydropower station at the Lohia head, near Banbasa, in Champawat district. This plant is also dependent on the waters of the Sharda river. “We are getting only 4,900 cubic metre of water per second in the Sharda river these days, which is sufficient only to run one turbine,” said RP Yadav, SDO, Lohia head powerhouse. Besides the electricity generation, the irrigation capability has also been affected due to the fall in the water level in the Sharda. The Sharda canal, which has a capacity of 11,500 cubic metre per second of water flow, has less than half of the water level at present. This is bound to affect the areas in Uttar Pradesh which are dependent on the canal for irrigation purpose. Not only the Sharda, but also the Gaula river, which flows near Haldwani, is witnessing scanty water these days. This is affecting the areas across the river near Haldwani town which are dependent on it for irrigation purpose. “Due to the fall in the water level in the Gaula river to 207 cubic metre per second, the villagers are getting water for irrigation on the 8th day,” said a villager near the Gaula river area. According to sources in the Irrigation Department, out of 207 cubic metre per second of water available in the Gaula river at present, the department has only 30 cusecs for the drinking purpose. The remaining 177 cubic metre per second of water is not sufficient to irrigate 15,000 hectares dependent on it. |
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Hariprasad Chaurasia holds audience spellbound
Dehradun, December 8 Choosing raga Yaman, he played a brief alap that was very meditative and set the tone for the evening. The evening raga was followed by raga Hamsdhvani and raga Pahari. Panditji was accompanied on the tabla by Ustad Rashid Mustafa, who complemented him admirably. One of the greatest contributions of Panditji has been his ability to transform a humble Indian bansauri to an exalted status. "This instrument made of reed was a favourite of Lord Krishan, and when ever I play I feel the divine presence of Krishna," said Panditji. Still agile at the age of 74, Panditji continues to play at concerts both in India and abroad and also finds time to groom young talent. During his journey to Dehradun, he was stunned by the poor condition of roads. |
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Governor Qureshi greets Maikhuri
Dehradun, December 8 Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi congratulated Maikhuri on his election as
the Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly. |
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Minimally invasive heart surgery performed
Dehradun, December 8 “Traditionally, the procedure involved slitting of sternal bone that left a 6 inch long scar in the
centre. The advantage of the minimal invasive cardiac surgery or the right anterolateral thoracotomy approach is the reduced size of incision (3 inches) and less scarring. Small scars remain hidden in the folds of the skin. The
technique is also safe and allows fast recovery,” said Dr Sanjeev Garg, cardiac surgeon, while speaking with mediapersons here today. He added a hole in the heart was a congenital defect and was normally dealt with before the child reaches the age of 10 years. “But this patient avoided early surgery and the hole was repaired in adulthood,” said Dr
Garg. In the coming days, the hospital intends to set up a full-fledged paediatric cardiology department. “Though our paediatric cardiology team is already functioning, a full-fledged paediatric cardiology department will enable us to conduct operations on little children suffering with the
ASD,” said Dr Yogender, a cardiologist.
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Young
parliamentarians make better politicians, says Akash Goyal
Haridwar, December 8 Addressing a media conference, Akash Goyal pointed out that young politicians were filled with energy, vision, development-
oriented ideas and were proving much better than old politicians. Referring to the recent Union Cabinet reshuffle, Goyal said that the highlight of the reshuffle was the elevation of young union state ministers to full-fledged Cabinet ministers, which indicates their capability to lead and govern. "We in the National Congress Brigade welcome younger people who want to do something for the country and society. Discipline, enthusiasm, vigour and vision-oriented thinking is what is needed to serve
the country via politics," said Goyal. At the conference Akhil Sharma's name was announced as Uttarakhand Youth Wing chief, who was also present on the occasion. Sharma infused confidence that the Brigade will meet it's target of at least 5000 new young members in the ongoing drive, which will also be carried out at higher educational institute level. Notably, the National Rahul Gandhi Youth Brigade, a wing of the Congress Party, has been recently renamed as National Congress Brigade, which is conducting a statewide membership drive.Today, it was Haridwar district where more than a 1000 new members were inducted into
this youth-oriented Congress brigade. |
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Workshop to popularise maths among students
Dehradun, December 8 Addressing the gathering, Specs secretary Brij Mohan Sharma said the aim of the such a workshop was to popularise mathematics among students and to familiarise them with the techniques to learn mathematics in a joyful manner. He pointed out that most of students saw mathematics as an enemy. “Our objective is to make mathematics as a dear friend of children,” he said. He said that it was because of the contribution of Srinivasa Ramanujan in mathematics that the Union Government had decided to celebrate Ramanujan’s birthday on December 22 as National Mathematics Day and year 2012 as Year of Mathematics. Swapnil Srivastva, Assistant Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Allahabad University, said that practising mathematics needed only a pen and a copy. He said that one must learn two words, how and why, first. He told some stories of mathematicians like French mathematician Galois, who started learning mathematics at the age of 14 and became the world's renowned mathematician in the age of 19. Phool Chand Nari Shilp Girls Inter College Principal Kusum Rani Nathani said students had been greatly benefited by the meaningful workshop. In the workshop, 50 students of Government Inter College, Khurbura, 100 students of Sanjay Public School, Karbari, and 150 students of Phool Chand Nari Shilp Girls Inter College attended the workshop, which was supported by Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology and National Academy of Sciences. |
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Face of the week
Dehradun, December 8 Raksha Panwar, a city girl, has a promising career which was shaped by her father Deepak Panwar, himself a football player. In the past six years, Raksha Panwar has represented the country in the under-13, under-14, under-16 and under-19 football girls' teams. She also had the privilege to lead the under-16 Indian girls' football team in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC ) tournament held in Sri Lanka in 2008. Later, she represented the country in the under-16 tournament played in Jordan. It was the passion and determination of daughter-father duo of Deepak Panwar and Raksha Panwar for football that brought success for the daughter who, despite braving heavy odds, has excelled in the game, which is considered a male bastion. With no coaching facilities for girls in Dehradun, which has a number of football clubs, Deepak Panwar took upon himself the responsibility to train her young daughter. “It is three hours daily rigorous practice that I do with my father in the Gorkha Military College ground,” said Raksha Panwar. Deepak Panwar himself wanted to represent the country in football but could not make it. However, he played for local football clubs. But his dream was fulfilled by his daughter Raksha Panwar, who did not budge from the hard training to learn the basic skills of football with physical fitness. “It was the inclination of Raksha Panwar towards football and her keenness to learn that encouraged me to train her. She gets trained with the boys and has not faltered,” he said proudly. His efforts finally paid off when Raksha was selected for u-13 girls' team for Uttarakhand in 2007. She performed brilliantly and scored four goals in the tournament. Based on this, she was selected for the Indian camp held at Bhopal that very year. The next year in 2008, she was named captain of the under-14 National team. Deepak now has the sole aim that his daughter becomes a senior national-level footballer. But the road ahead is tough for her. “Yes, I need to put in a lot more efforts to become a part of the senior women's football team member since the competition will be tough. I will try my best to represent the senior team,” she added. |
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Woman with kidney transplant delivers child
Dehradun, December 8 Usually kidney transplant patients are advised not to conceive within
two years of the surgery because pregnancy and subsequent delivery pose risks. “As the patient was keen to carry the baby full term despite the kidney transplant, adequate precautions were taken and regular consultations with specialists were also held,” said Dr Sujata Sanjay, who performed the caesarean operation. She said the baby was delivered through the C-section and both the mother and the baby girl
were doing fine.
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School students
showcase talent at annual day
Mussoorie,
December 8 KG students enthralled the audience with the
song ‘Brazil-Brazil’ by Spice Girls. Senior students presented
Garhwali songs, which were much appreciated. A Hindi skit, “Chamdi
jayey par damdi na jaye,” was presented by senior students, which left
the audience in raptures. Student Renu Thapa read out the annual report
and highlighted the achievements of the school in the current year. The
overall trophy was won by Nehru House. The chief guest on the occasion, Rekha Chaudhry, commended the efforts of the students and the staff and presented citation and awards to the students excelling in the field of academics and sports. Principal of the school Bro Anthony, school staff and parents of the wards were present on the occasion.
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Bird watchers arrive at Corbett park
Ramnagar, December 8 Dharna staged
Employees of the Peyjal Nigam continued with their dharna for the fourth day on Saturday before the office of the District Magistrate. They are demanding the status of government department for the nigam. “The agitation will stop only when the nigam gets the status of a government department and sets parity in salary and other perks of the employees with those
of government departments,” said JC Pandey, an agitating employee.
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Saints announce indefinite agitation from Dec 10
Haridwar, December 8 Matra Sadan founder Swami Shivanand announced the indefinite agitation in support of three demands. However, this time it is not Swami Shivanand who will be staging the agitation but his disciple Swami Poornanand. The three-point demand of the saints is to stop quarrying on the Ganga riverbed, no new road construction along the Ganga in the Kumbh land area and to accord the sole right of pruning and logging of trees for construction activities in Haridwar to the Forest Department. The Matra Sadan has also written a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna regarding the cutting of trees for the construction of road from Kankhal to downstream the Ganga that passes through the saints-dominated area. Swami Poornanand said he was carrying forward the tradition initiated by Swami Shivanand and the late Swami Nigmanand, who launched a whopping three-month long indefinite hunger strike for the cause of the Ganga. Swami Shivanand also alleged a nexus between quarrying mafia and some administrative officials in the region in view of the multi-crore profit accruing from illegal quarrying. —TNS |
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With the closure of Char Dham shrines in Garhwal hills, the arrival in the number of piglirms and tourists has sharply declined, but the yearly migratory avian guests have begun to arrive in
Haridwar.
State Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat has directed the officials of the department to invite a renowned agency to construct the much-awaited five star hotel in Dehradun within one month.
Haridwar, December 8
