Pithoragarh, December 14
Hoteliers and tourists are rejoicing the first snowfall of the season in Nainital as the tourist town witnessed three inches of snowfall in the past 24 hours.

“It is the first snowfall in the first week in December in the town as in the past 10 years, the town used to get snowfall around Christmas,” said Kamal Shah Jagati, local journalist from Nainital.

According to the hoteliers in Nainital, the tourists, who got information via news channels and newspapers, are rushing to Nainital to enjoy the first snowfall in mid-November after many years.

“The town, which has witnessed 4 degree Celsius minimum temperature last night, has been in the grip of cold,” said a weather department source from Nainital.

The temperature of Champawat town has dipped to 0.5 degree Celsius on Friday as the snowfall and moderate rain drenched the adjoining hills in Champawat and Lohaghat towns. In Munsiyari town of Pithoragarh district, Thal to Munsiyari road was closed by the PWD as nearly two feet of snowfall was witnessed at the Kalamuni hill portion of the road to Munsiyari town. “Munsiyari town was under the cover of one-foot snow this morning, but the tourists entry was not witnessed by the town due to closed road at Kalamuni," said Vinod Pandey, a hotelier in Munsiyari town. Almora town experienced severe cold wave conditions for the last 24 hours as Jageshwar, Panuanaula, Jharkarsaim and Katarmal heights received light to medium snowfall in the last 24 hours.

“The snow fell early this year which seems good symptom for the rabi crop as some farmers have not even sown their crops due to lack of moisture. This rain and snowfall will make them sow the crop,” said Pan Singh, a farmer in Salt sub- division of Almora.

Dehradun, December 14
Army personnel, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawans, trained mountaineers from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), Uttarkashi, and police personnel from various departments will be deployed all along the Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra route to assist the travellers and help in case of mishap. The yatra is starting from August 24 and will conclude on September 16.

This was decided at a meeting held here today to review the preparations for the yatra undertaken after every 14 years in the high Himalayan meadows.

Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain presided over the review meeting. Senior officials from other departments were also present at the meeting.

It was also decided that the District Magistrate, Chamoli, would be the Chief Executive Officer for the successful organisation of Raj Jat Yatra while a PCS officers of the ADM level will be nominated as nodal officers and Additional Executive Officers. Two probation IAS officers will assist them. To redress matters pertaining to the Forest Department, District Forest Officer, Badrinath, has been nominated as the nodal officer.

The monitoring committees had also been formed under SDMs at tehsil levels. Nodal officers for 25 padavs (halts) were also nominated for the 280 km-long yatra that would take place from August 24 to September 16.

Arrangements of ration, kerosene, milk and other necessary items will also de made in advance.

It was decided that NGOs and the Forest Department would look after the waste management. All the routes through which 234 ‘dolis’ (palanquins) will pass are being repaired. Food for 2,000 volunteers will be prepared under the Ajivika Pariyojna. The Almora District Magistrate has been nominated as the nodal officer to monitor ‘dolis’ passing through the Kumaon division.

The meeting was attended by principal secretary, Industry, Rakesh Sharma, and other senior officials.

Meanwhile, The announcement made by former Director General of Police Raghav Pant on establishing police units for snow-bound higher reaches in the state for the safety and promotion of adventure tourism purpose may be now a thing of the past, but the state police is certainly working on those lines for Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra for next year.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) , Dehradun Range, Sanjay Gunjiyal said, "Teams of police personnel, that are well-trained in mountaineering and rescue operations at high-altitude, will be formed for the Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra. These teams will make their presence felt on the yatra route spanning 300 km throughout the yatra period. Even before the yatra, which will take more than one month to complete, the teams will go on the recce of the entire area and identify the places to install their tents and gather other related information."

Gunjiyal said earlier the teams used to comprise 30-35 police personnel from Chamoli and Bagheshwar districts that were rushed to take position on the yatra route just before the yatra began. They were ill-equipped and ill-trained to meet any eventuality on the site. Hence their role remained insignificant. But since the yatra was being held for the first time after the state was formed, so it would be managed and supervised better, he said.

Mussoorie, December 14
The overnight clouds finally obliged the hill ranges of Mussoorie and Dhanaulti with snow and a spell of rain forcing the tourists to rush to these areas and witness the snow-covered peaks themselves today.

The higher reaches such as Naag Tibba, Gangotri and Yamnotri received heavy snowfall while Dhanaulti and Lal Tibba experienced moderate snow.

The tourists from Delhi and Gaziabad rushed to Lal Tibba and Dhanaulti in their vehicles enjoy snow. The mad rush to Dhanaulti also posed risk to commuters due to slippery road and one accident took place in which two were injured.

The local residents also came out of their houses wearing woollens to play in snow at Lal Tibba by hurling snowballs at each others.

In some areas in Garhwal, the snowfall accompanied by high-velocity icy winds snapped power transmission lines at some places and disrupted the services temporarily.

Electricity Department officials had to come out in the bitter cold to fix the faulty lines amid the snow showers, making it difficult for them to work.

However, many residents of Mussoorie were sad by the fact that snow did not fall in the town, especially at Mall Road.

RK Sharma, a senior citizen, said the main town that used to witness more than 12 feet of snow in the past, was bereft of snow this season.

He blamed the rampant construction and global warming for the decreasing snowfall in the town.

However, the villagers around the town are not complaining as they believe this snow and rain will be beneficial for their crops.

Dehradun, December 14
St Joseph’s Academy organised a cultural programme to celebrate Christmas in the school auditorium here today.

Father Bernard, Parish priest of St Francis Assisi Church, graced the occasion with his presence as the chief guest.

The event showcased colossal participation by students of various institutions, including CJM, Moravian Institute, Nirmala High School, Hilton’s School, St Agne’s Convent, St Mary’s School, Carman School, St Xavier’s School, Patrician College of Education as well as host St Joseph’s Academy.

As an opening act, the audience was treated to the renditions of well-known Christmas carols such as ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Come All Ye Faithful’ sung by a combined choir. This was followed by melodious musical performances like ‘This is Christmas’ by Moravian Institute, ‘Christmas Time’ and ‘Do You Know’ by Ann Mary School, ‘Bhor Ki Kiran’ by Carman School, ‘Holy and Ivy’ by Hilton’s School and ‘Hark the Herald’ by the senior choir of SJA. The junior Josephites presented an entrancing medley ‘O, Holy Night’. Several dances, all of them vibrant and captivating, were also incorporated in the programme.

The performances by students of SJM, St Xavier’s School, St Agne’s Convent and the Patrician College of Education were graceful. The combined choir sung famous carols like ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘Joy to the World’. Enlightening plays by St Mary’s School and St Joseph’s Academy entertained the audience. Fr Bernard shared an inspiring message with the audience. He laid emphasis to taking the joy of Christmas back home. “Christmas is an occasion to share, care and reconcile with each other,” he said.

The Principal, Bro AJ George, gave the vote of thanks and added that the children were exuberant.

In conclusion, the choir presented the familiar notes of ‘Feliz Navidad’. The audience milled out into the cold, crisp, frosty night with the joy of Christmas shining in their eyes.

Dehradun, December 14
Students of The Indian Cambridge School were given a real delight of Christmas at a function held to celebrate the festival here today.

The atmosphere was jubilant and presented the message of absolute joy synonymous with Christmas. The junior choir got the ball rolling with renditions of Christmas songs such as ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer’ and ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’. Everyone was delighted to see the little ones take part in games such as musical chairs, passing the parcel, blind man’s bluff etc. It was a delight to see kids celebrate the Christmas in their own ways.

Next came what all waited for- Santa Claus. He entered the hall on the tunes of Jingle Bells. The hall resounded with the singing of Jingle Bells. The kids were the most excited lot. Santa then distributed presents to every students along with his the junior teachers.

For many of the little ones, this was a first time experience. The function came to a close with the junior choir wishing everyone a Merry Christmas as depicted in the song they sang. What was most satisfying and indeed obvious was the message of joy, peace and love spread among the children.

The event was the brainchild of J Temple, O Imbert and Jolly Yusuf. 

Dehradun, December 14
The central zone defeated the north zone in the final of the All-India Inter-Zonal Ordnance Factories Cricket Tournament played at the OFD ground here today.

In the rain-marred match, the central zone won the toss but asked their opponents to bat first. The north zone team scored 91 at the loss of five wickets in 10 overs.

Anand Mishra was the top scorer with 48 runs while Shiv Ram took two wickets for the central zone team. In reply, the central zone team scored 92 runs at the loss of five wickets in 9.1 overs to win the final match.

Rahil scored 36 runs and Shiv Ram made 22 runs.

SD Dimri, a former chairman of Ordnance Factory, who was the chief guest on the occasion. gave away the prizes to the winners and participants.

In matches yesterday, North Zone defeated West Zone by 7 wickets. West Zone had won the tournament last year. North Zone won the toss and chose to field. West Zone scored 145 runs for seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

N Suryavanshi scored 46 unbeaten runs while Deepak Jagdale scored 26 runs and Anil Rawat scored 24 runs, respectively. Vipin took 2 wickets for 17 runs and Shiv Sagar took 2 wickets for 30 runs.

In reply, North Zone scored 146 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in 18.1 overs to win the match by 7 wickets.

Mussoorie, December 14
A couple sustained serious injuries when the car they were travelling in fell into a deep gorge near Masrana village here today.

The condition of one of them is stated to be critical and the injured has been referred to Dehradun.

According to the police, Irshant Jhala and his wife Vinu, residents of Gaziabad, were on their way to Dhanaulti to enjoy snowfall when the accident took place.

Hearing their screams, local villagers rushed to the spot and rescued the couple with the help of the police.

The locals demanded that police patrolling should be increased on the Mussoorie-Dhanaulti road in view of a sudden rush of tourists in Dhanaulti due to fresh snowfall here.

Dehradun, December 14
Thieves decamped with Rs 15,000 and jewellery from a residence-cum-grocery shop in the Bullawala area of Doiwala last night.

Ramswarup, who runs the shop in a room of his house, said he was reconstructing a part of the shop these days.

He said his wife had gone Delhi to attend a wedding party. At 2 am, she called him up to tell him to cover the under-construction roof of the shop with tarpaulin to protect it from rain.

However, when he went to open his shop, he found the lock broken and iron mesh torn apart.

When he raised the alarm, the alleged thieves, who were hiding in a shady corner, came in front of him and threatened him to keep quiet.

The victim said he did not how much jewellery they took away. Further investigations are on.