|
|
|
|
|
Matra Sadan head refutes charge against ashram saints
Akhada parishad seeks removal of Kumbh mela officer
|
|
|
Celebrities choose Mussoorie for New Year celebrations
Two arrested with four kg charas
Canteens flout food safety norms
Students tell shopkeepers to shun polybags
Kunwar Divye shines in shooting c'ship
Real Host beat Shams XI
Gypsy Young register win
|
|
Matra Sadan head refutes charge against ashram saints
Haridwar, December 27 To this, Shivanand expressed shock, saying that this was false. They never forced Swami Nigmanand on any point and they had proof of Nigmanand voluntarily going on fast for social causes. Swami Shivanand cited various self-written documents of Swami Nigmananad, where he had made it clear that he had left his parents as he had become a saint and had taken to hunger strike for saving Ganga river and environment without any outside pressure. The saint also alleged a dangerous liaison existing between quarrying mafia and administrative officers, owing to which illegal quarrying was going on in Haridwar district. Shivanand alleged involvement of senior administrative officers with the quarrying mafia, regarding which, he said, he had sufficient proof, which he would later furnish in court and before the media. Documentary proof of Matra Sadan giving consent to Jolly Grant Hospital to allow force-feeding to Swami Nigmanand was also shown. This was done to negate the allegations levelled by Prakash Jha of Matra Sadan of not allowing the administration to allow force- feeding of the late saint, who staged a 108-day hunger strike. Swami Nigmanand had died last year at Jolly Grant Hospital, Rishikesh, which drew national-international media towards the quarrying issue in Haridwar.
|
|
Akhada parishad seeks removal of Kumbh mela officer
Haridwar, December 27 The Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, governing body of all akhadas, is demanding the transfer of the mela officer following the removal of a tent of Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati from the mela land. National chief of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad Mahant Gyan Das has urged the Uttar Pradesh government to remove the mela officer, as his conduct has not gone down well with the saints, who are assembling at Allahabad for the fair. Office-bearers of the parishad said if the mela administration did not give due respect to a saint of the status of Shankarcharya during the Kumbh, how could other saints and devotees feel at ease. Akhada sources said if the Uttar Pradesh government did not take any action in this regard, Mahant Gyan Das, who is at present in Bengal, along with other akhadas would take up the issue in Allahabad. Notably, during the Mahakumbh in Haridwar in 2010 also, differences had arisen between the then mela officer, Anand Vardhan, and the akhada parishad, leading to a major controversy. Mahant Gyan Das had then openly opposed the decision of the mela administration to dismantle a structure at the Lord Hanuman temple and Shri Ram Charan Paduka’s belonging to three Ani akhadas at the Bairagi camp.
|
|
Experts stress use of data in planning
Dehradun, December 27 While underlining the use of data in planning, Additional Secretary Vijay Kumar Dhondiyal said in government offices loose data was available. “But it is being sparingly used for the purpose of planning due to shortage of manpower. There were few people who could interpret the data and place it for general use,” said Dhondiyal, Additional Secretary, Irrigation. He was speaking at a workshop on Data Dissemination Census 2011, organised by the Directorate of Census Operations, Uttarakhand. Dhondiyal also emphasised on the need to draft policies on the basis of available data,
On the other hand, YS Pangtey, Director of Department of Economics and Statistics, commented on the decrease in population in Almora and Pauri
as indicated in the Provisional Population data released by the Directorate of Census. “I think, we need to check and study the causes behind the decrease in population in these districts,” he said. While Joint Director Pankaj Naithani also stressed on the need for creating a separate cadre for statistics in consonance with the recommendations of the National Statistics Commission. Deputy Director of Census Operations Dashrath Singh said the final Census report was being compiled and would take two
to three months before its release.
|
|
Celebrities choose Mussoorie for New Year celebrations
Mussoorie, December 27 Ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and MP from Mumbai Priya Dutt are already in Mussoorie along with their families. Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi, popularly known as Circuit in 'Munna Bhai MBBS,' and director Kabir Khan of 'Kabul Express' and 'Ek Tha Tiger' fame, reached Mussoorie along with their families today. Arshad Warsi's love
for the cool climate of Mussoorie is well known as this is his third visit in the past three years,
whereas the director Kabir Khan is the new entrant in the growing list of Mussoorie lovers. Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar, who looked rejuvenated during his stay
in Mussoorie, found time to visit Char Dukan around 9 pm yesterday. The shopkeepers who were winding up
their shops were requested to remain open and they obliged the Master Blaster and took delight
in serving him the fast food items on the occasion. Sachin stayed at the
shop till 11 pm with his family, and after having a sumptuous meal, retired to his friend's house, where he is putting up for the New Year celebrations. The other celebrities
who have made the town as their second home are Vishal Bhardwaj, Sunil
Gavaskar, Tom Alter, Naseerudin Shah and Victor Bannerjee as all these personalities
have their property in Mussoorie.
|
|
|
Two arrested with four kg charas
Dehradun, December 27 The STF team took the help of the Vikasnagar police in this operation. A case under the NDPS Act, Section 60, was registered against the accused. Both accused are close relatives and were involved in drug trafficking for a long time. They also lived nearby as Solang is not far away from Tyuni. They would supply cannabis to another gang leader Anil Chauhan, who had been apprehended by the STF in the past. Now they told the police that they had come to give drug consignment to other members of the Chauhan gang. STF team member inspector DS Rawat said the accused did not do any other work than collecting the drugs and selling them to suppliers. They used to get good margin of profit in the dealings. They would also provide drug to the cigrette shops to mix with the tobacco of the cigarettes. The SSP, STF, Abdai Santhiyal said he was hoping to make further breakthrough on the information of the arrested accused.
|
|
Canteens flout food safety norms
Dehradun, December 27 In Dehradun alone, only 17 food licences have been issued to schools and catering firms so far while around 1,000 canteens continue to run without food
licences. “Under the Food Safety Act even food at marriages and parties cannot be served without a valid
licence. There is a provision for punishment under Section 63 of the Act,” said Anoj
Thapliyal, designate officer, Food Safety Authority. He said violations entailed a fine of Rs 5 lakh and six months’ punishment.
|
|
Laksar XI beat Haridwar Challengers
Haridwar. December 27 The competition is witnessing 12 school teams from across the city which is being played in league format. Despite the chilling-foggy climatic conditions, the enthusiasm among the youngsters was quite laudable. From the start itself, Laksar XI players resorted to solid defence and man to man marking strategy, which eventually paid off, as Haridwar Challengers forward failed to score a single goal. While, Avnish and Vineet Kumar converted beautiful set pieces, created by central midfield players making the victory margin by two goals. From losing side Ashu Thapa, the goalkeeper, was the standout performer saving as many as six goals. Jitendra, Shubham, Devansh, Krishna Thakur also displayed some skillful football, drawing cheers from the audience. Coordinator for the event Shamsher Bahadur ‘Bum’ said that all participating teams were playing in team shirts with officials and rules on a par with international football matches.
|
|
Rajinder Pal Cricket Academy win keenly contested match
Dehradun, December 27 The Rajinder Pal Cricket Academy after winning the toss and electing to bat first posted a total of 211 runs for the loss of six wickets in 30 overs. Neeraj was the top scorer with 44 runs while Pushkar and Sandeep contributed with 32 and 25 runs. Deepak and Akash took two wickets each. In reply, the PCA team scored 208 for nine wickets in their allotted 30 overs to lose the match by only
three runs. Monty was the top scorer with 60 runs while opener Himanshu scored 48 runs. Sandeep took four wickets for 31 runs for the Rajinder Pal Academy team.
|
|
Students tell shopkeepers to shun polybags
Haridwar, December 27 Students are urging the trader fraternity and consumers about the alternative use of jute, paper, cloth bags which were not as hazardous as plastic bags. In cold chilling conditions, the students met priests, traders and devotees, apprising them about their drive. They are also carrying with them huge jute bags in which they are collecting the polythene being used or kept for the use
by traders. At the shrine of the Mata Chandi Devi temple and Mata Mansa Devi temple yesterday, students' initiative was quite appreciated. Shivam Kumar, a student, said forcing people didn’t seem to be having much impact, so they decided to resort to Gandhi giri route. Ankit Aggarwal, Rahul Kumar, Sanjeev Kumar, Abhishek Dangwal, Dharm Shah, Rohit Kashyap and Rajat Sharma, other students said that for the next five days they would be visiting other shrines in the city too to ensure less use of polythene is done in the pilgrim city.
|
|
Kunwar Divye shines in shooting c'ship
Dehradun, December 27 Kunwar Divye Pratap Singh represented Uttarakhand in the junior section and has, with this success, secured a place in the international shooting championship. A class XI student in Dehradun, Kunwar Divye Pratap Singh practiced for about two months before competing in the national championship. He will receive a certificate from the Centre for his performance in addition to getting the chance to represent the nation in the international championship. It is noteworthy that
state Forest Development Corporation chairman Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion is also an avid sportsperson.
|
|
Real Host beat Shams XI
Dehradun, December 27 They scored 171 runs for 5 wickets in 20 overs. Opener Pawn scored 31 runs while Chand remained unbeaten on 51 runs. Deepak also scored 45 runs. Rajat took 3 wickets for 16 runs. In reply, chasing a total of 171 runs, Shams XI scored 164 runs for 8 wickets in their allotted 20 overs to lose the match by 7 runs.
— TNS
|
|
Gypsy Young register win
Dehradun, December 27 For Gypsy Young, Mohit scored the first goal in the 15th minute whereas Mahendra scored the second goal in the 48th of the match. Doon Star will take on Gorkha Boys in tomorrow’s match.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Matra Sadan founder Swami Shivanand today refuted an allegation levelled against ashram saints by parents of the late Swami Nigmanand, a disciple of Swami
Shivanand.
With just a few days to go for the Kumbh mela in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, a controversy surrounding the mela officer has arisen.
This may affect the smooth conduct of the Kumbh fair, as the mela officer plays a pivotal role in its management.
