Polluted Sushwa in Rajaji park proves fatal for animals
Wildlife deaths on the rise
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
The recent death of two elephants and a tiger inside Rajaji National Park due to internal disorder has amply indicated to the growing pollution levels in the Sushwa river, the sole key source of water for the park's wildlife.

While the two elephants died due to water-linked ailments, the postmortem report in the case of the tiger that died in the Gohri range of the park on February 7 evidently hinted that the tiger ate a prey whose meat was foul, which was a pointer to the fact that there was presence of something toxic inside the herbivore.

Lifeline of Rajaji National Park, Sushwa goes along the park covering a distance of approximately 40 km and providing much needed water to the park's wildlife.

Once a clean river, Sushwa today is one of most polluted rivers in the region, a concern raised by conservationists time and again.

Rajaji National Park's Deputy Director HK Singh admits that growing pollution levels at Sushwa was a matter of urgent concern for them. "Cases of wildlife death due to intake of polluted water are certainly on the rise and the recent deaths of two elephants and a tiger are also some way linked to intake of polluted substance," HK Singh pointed out.

Significantly, Bindal and the Rispana carry the entire waste of Dehradun city to Sushwa river.

The two rivers, Bindal and Rispana, meet Sushwa near Ramgarh. Subsequently, before entering Kansro, Sushwa flows along agricultural fields gathering residual pesticides and fertilisers.

A survey conducted a few years ago had revealed the presence of a large amount of pollutants in Sushwa.

A senior official of the Wildlife Trust of India, AK Singh, who was part of the survey team, said pollutants coming through Bindal and Rispana rivers were polluting the Sushwa. This was bound to have an adverse impact on the wildlife in the park.

The absence of a sewage treatment plant and a garbage disposal system in Dehradun is said to be the major reason behind effluents, solid waste and raw sewage flowing into the Sushwa.

Cases of elephants eating plastic waste have also been reported as it has been found in their dung.

Plastic waste is also suspected to be causing stomach problems in elephants.

While Sushwa flows all along the park, the settlement on the other side of the river disposes of all it's waste into the river.

"Sushwa water today is stinking but the park's wildlife is forced to drink the polluted water, which is affecting their general health and could have disastrous consequences in the future," HK Singh observed.

CM, family members take holy dip at Prayag
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, along with his family members, took a holy dip in Prayag today and prayed for the well being of the country and Uttarakhand.

Bahuguna addressing an audience at the Ganga Action Parivar auditorium asked the people to maintain the incessant flow and purity of the Ganga and the Yamuna till Ganga Sagar. He said along with the purity of the Ganga and the Yamuna, purity of mind and heart of people too was necessary. He maintained that inner purity effected outer environment.

Bahuguna was accompanied by his wife Sudha Bahuguna, brother Shekhar Bahuguna, his wife Vinita, son Saket, his wife Gauri and former Union Minister Dr Suresh Pachouri. Earlier, Chief Minister Bahuguna reached Bamrouli Airport and headed to the Ganga Action Parivar Camp at Arail where he was accorded a warm welcome by Chidanand Swami and rishikumars of Parmarth Gurukul.

Swami Chidanand presented five saplings to Bahuguna and urged him to increase the forest cover in Uttarakhand which already has 65 per cent.

Swami assured him of all possible assistance from the Ganga Action Parivar. He also appealed to the Chief Minister for the preservation of the Ganga and the Yamuna.

Leopardess trapped in house at Haldwani
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, February 13
The presence of a leopardess in a human settlement was reported from the Kumaon region today. The leopardess was trapped by Forest Department officials in a densely populated locality of Badripura in Haldwani town after it entered the toilet of a house and squatted there before some neighbour noticed it and locked it in the toilet. In another incident the carcass of a leopard was found in the Lamachaura forest, near Kaladhungi.

A Forest Department team trapped the leopardess in Haldwani and later took it to the centre for wild animals at Ranibagh. “The leopardess will be kept in isolation for some days at the rescue centre at Ranibagh and thereafter will be released in the forest,” said RC Kandpal, a forest officer from the Terai forest division.

Forest officials have lodged a case against unknown persons under the Wildlife Protection Act as, according to them, the leopard found dead in the Kaladhungi forest was reportedly killed near a human settlement and later its body was thrown in the forest.

Wildlife experts have expressed concern at the increasing incidents of death of leopards. According them, most of the leopards are dying due to hunger. “The hungry leopardess had entered the human settlement in search of food,” said Srikant Chandola, former chief wildlife conservator and wildlife expert.

Chandola said, “If we want to save our town from stray leopards, we will have to save nearby forests which are shrinking speedily under pressure of development. “The biodiversity level in these forests has reduced alarmingly, causing a shortage of food for carnivores. This has compelled the animals to enter human settlements in search for food,” he added.

He said the leopards had to travel at least 20 km per day to get food for their growing cubs.

Rape victim gets village support
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
Villagers of Chanderbani Choila, especially people of Gorkhali community, have set an example before the rest of the country by standing rock solid behind a teenager rape victim of their village. In our society where people look at a rape victim and her family with disdain and leave them alone to deal with the misery and stigma, here is a true story of Utopian kind.

The villagers came to make a plea to District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam to change the additional government counsel in the rape case, progressing at the district sessions court, which was accepted by the DM.

They doubted the intention of counsel who, they felt, had colluded with the opponents and was preventing them to testify in the case in order to weaken the case.

Beyond this brief interaction with the DM, lies a saga of solidarity of these villagers with the victim of their own village, who was raped and an attempt was made to kill her by a resident of their own village, Surender Bisht, on May 19 last year. The villagers constituted a committee, Propkar, and elected its office-bearers, who have been collecting funds to support the girl’s family, as she lost her father long ago and her mother also had to leave job as a worker in a factory to pursue her legal case and take care of her children at a susceptible age at home. This committee also bears the expenses of the case lodged by them against the accused. The Principal of the school, Scholar Bean, SK Rana, has exempted the fee for the girl, who is studying in class VIII now.

Surinder Kumar Rai, member of the committee, said they infused courage in the girl and made her recount the incident before the judge with confidence. Gram pradhan Meenu Kshetri said she also sensitised the villagers about the incident. Advocate KP Singh and president of Gorkha Democratic Front, Surya Vikram Shahi also contributed.

The girl, 13, on the fateful day was returning home from school in the afternoon. After crossing a couple of nullahs, she was coming from a jungle and lagged behind her younger brother. Accused Surender Bisht, 45, who was grazing his cattle, pounced on her and dragged her to bushes. He thrashed her, raped her brutally with bite marks and strangulated her. Thinking her dead, he left her. The girl after regaining consciousness in the evening reached her home. She could not tell much about the culprit as she did not know him. After she saw him on the fourth day while standing in a public place, she shouted and got him arrested by the police. She might carry the scars throughout her life but the cooperation of villagers has certainly helped her overcome her trauma.

President of the committee Hemant Gurung said their committee was ready to support any rape victim, be it of any community.

Empowerment plan for Muslim women
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
A two-day capacity development programme for Muslim minority women under a pilot project being launched by Wakf Board, Haryana, for women's empowerment was organised by Pragati, a voluntary group, here today.

It was a joint initiative of Wakf Board, Haryana, and Pragati organisation to bring the Muslim women out of the four walls of their homes on a tour to Dehradun for capacity building.

The trainers of Pragati briefed the women on Right to Information. Under financial literacy, Self Help Group (SHG) members were explained as to how various forms were to be filled on opening bank account, for depositing or withdrawing money and other such forms to be used in bank transactions.

Musharrat from Ledakhaddar said: " It was for the first time that we have come out of our homes. It is an exhilarating experience. For us the SHG is economically a great help for us and we are learning stitching and other income generation activities.”

During the training of this group of women, the social and economical benefits of SHGs, convergence with other departments, maintenance of accounts and records and the need of coordination of SHGs with the village panchayat for the process of rural development were discussed.

Momina from Kotla said: “We had started our group with a saving of Rs 20 but it gave such a boost to the women that now we save Rs 50 per month. This is a very helpful activity.”

During the training various social issues were also discussed with the group through a game of snakes and ladders, and understanding and leadership qualities in women participants in the context of rural development were also stressed.

The aim of this programme is to make groups of these minority rural women and club their activities with income generation activities so that their social and economic development is ensured. Along with this, efforts would be made to make their clusters a registered federation and create awareness to save them from the harassment at administrative level.

Doon resident honoured for cremating abandoned bodies
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
Anita Devi, a resident of Lakhi Bagh, has been cremating abandoned bodies for the last 15 years. A frail-looking Anita has a heart of steel. The Mahila Samakhya, a government organisation, today honoured her and 20 other women in recognition of their ability to take up male-dominated professions to earn a livelihood, at a seminar on the subject ‘Violence against Women-Perspective and Analysis’.

Anita’s father, who hails from Nepal, had settled in Dehradun some 30 years ago. He took up the job of performing the last rites, especially of abandoned bodies. Soon Anita too joined him. “My family is very poor and whatever we earn is through the last rites performed at the Lakhi Bagh crematorium. Earlier, I was assisting my father but after marriage I began to assist my husband, who too is engaged in this work,” said Anita.

Moved by her plight, the Shivaji Seva Samiti, a local organisation, started paying her a monthly honorarium of Rs 900 along with accommodation.

She said more than anything else “I derive immense satisfaction from lighting the pyre of a person, who has no one to call his own. Somebody has to do this job.”

Similarly, Bhuvneshvari Devi, a resident of Pauri, has been ploughing her fields at Sra village in Pauri district to earn a livelihood. Facing hardships, Bhuvneshvari took to male-dominated agriculture in order to feed her family. Soon she began to enjoy her work. Today, her family’s fields are no longer barren and provide food to them. They also inspire other women to work in fields.

On the other hand, Ratni Devi, a resident of Jaunpur in Tehri district, has taken up the tough task of making iron implements that are expertly beaten and then melted into tools.

Birmi Devi from Uttarkashi is envied by one and all for her pruning skills that help her earn a livelihood. Pushpa Chauhan from Ganeshpur village in Uttarkashi is engaged in the profession of videography and photography and is giving competition to the lone photographer in her village. The Mahila Samakhya honoured all these women.

A discussion on the condition of women was also held. Dr Shalini Mathur from Lucknow exhorted the women to fight inequality and discrimination and find their place under the sun.

Women from Tehri, Pauri, Uttarkashi, Udham Singh Nagar and Champawat participated in the programme. 

Mahila samiti seeks end to violence against women
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
President of the Akhil Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila Samiti Indu Naudiyal yesterday protested before the District Magistrate’s office along with a delegation of her party members, and submitted a memorandum regarding curbing violence against women.

She said the cases of violence against women were on the rise, including rape cases. She said the the Union Government must implement the recommendations of the Verma Committee and also stressed on the need to strengthen the State Women's Commission. She demanded hostels for working women in all the districts of the state. She urged the authorities to activate gender sensitisation committees at all the working places.

She said the state government must give the benefit of pension to all the senior citizens, disabled and widows.

Basic life support training for auto-rickshaw drivers
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
Max Super Speciality Hospital today started a free basic life support (BLS) training for city auto drivers.

The knowledge of providing basic life support is critical for any individual in order to save a life in danger. Thirty auto drivers underwent the training programme consisting of basic life saving techniques like airways, breathing and circulation among others. This process will continue for the remaining auto drivers during the entire month.

The training is being organised in collaboration with the Auto Drivers' Union to help ensure the safety of all Dehradun residents and to educate the auto drivers on various ways to provide timely life-saving support to the people in emergency.

Basic life support is a primary medical aid offered to help revive, resuscitate or sustain a person who is experiencing cardiac arrest or respiratory failure of some sort. It involves providing immediate CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) to the patient and then calling for medical help.

The hospital team comprising Dr Nitesh Laguri, Dr Shantanu Belwal, critical care, and Dr Bhupesh Uniyal, critical care trained the auto drivers on a series of simple life-saving techniques that could be performed with minimal or no medical equipment along with demonstration on mannequin.

The training programme was also attended by union leaders, including Pankaj Arora, president, Dan Pal Singh, Firoz Khan, vice-president, and Kaval Jeet Singh, treasurer. Gaurav Rekhi, general manager (operations), Max Super Speciality Hospital, Dehradun, said a lot of medical emergencies with life-threatening consequences could be easily prevented by applying simple manoeuvres and skills.

"We have taken upon ourselves the onus of educating people about basic life support skills. Auto drivers should be well versed with BLS training so that they can provide lifesaving aid to a patient in need. After having successfully administered this training to the members of the union, we would also like to take it forward to the public at large. With this initiative, we wish to coach people to ensure that medical emergencies were tackled by trained people as these situations may arise anywhere, in your apartment block, outdoor places and even while travelling in auto, train or plane,” said Rekhi.

Dr Nitesh, head, emergency services, Max Super Speciality Hospital, said an emergency like a cardiac arrest or respiration failure could occur to a person anytime and anywhere. “Considering the severity of providing BLS to a patient in need, we thought of imparting this training to the auto drivers of the city who were often the first support in such cases. We hope to impart these skills to the maximum number of drivers who can then be well prepared to act and react in such emergency situations”, he said.

Meanwhile, primary skills taught at the BLS training included basic mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR (chest compressions to circulate blood). The training imparted at the hospital consisted of demonstrating and practising resuscitation exercises on a dummy in order to explain the procedure better.

No medical equipment are needed for providing BLS.

Cong flays parties for thrashing Kashmiri students
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
The Congress today categorically held that while it was against any anti-national protest, Kashmiris, as citizen of the country too, have the right to undertake a peaceful agitation.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana said while Congress was strongly against any anti-national protest, it simultaneously respected the rights of Kashmir students to undertake a peaceful agitation on any issue pertaining to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congress statement comes at a time when yesterday 16 Kashmiri student were rounded up from the Clock Tower while they were staging a demonstration. Dhasmana denied that the protesting Kashmiri students raised anti-India slogans. He also criticised the Shiv Sena, the Bajrang Dal and the VHP for thrashing Kashmiri students and sought action against them.

Dhasmana also disclosed that Uttarakhand Congress president Yashpal Arya and Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna would be meeting Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi to discuss the party's future course of strategy in Uttarakhand.

On other hand, Dhasmana also disclosed that the ONGC management in Dehradun had assured him to increase the honorarium of its contractual employees by 35 per cent.

“We met ONGC Deputy General Manager, Admin, Desh Deepak Mishra urging him to increase the honorarium of its contractual employees. There has been no hike for these contractual employees since 2001 while inflation has increased phenomenally,” Dhasmana pointed out, adding that the ONGC DGM on his part assured to increase the honorarium by 35 per cent. He disclosed a total of 750 contractual employees of the ONGC will be benefited from the development.

Detained J&K boys released
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 13
The 16 Kashmiri boys, who were detained from Clock Tower yesterday for raising slogans against the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir, were released last night only.

Two Kashmiri students who were not even part of the agitation were also thrashed by shopkeepers in Indira Market last evening. The police, however, did not take any action against the shopkeepers in this regard.

Need to channelise energy of youth, says expert
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, February 13
It is important to channelise the talent of the Indian youth in order to make the country a developed nation. This was stated by L Tilothama Devi, vice-chairperson, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, the Government of India, while talking to The Tribune at the state guest house in Damkoti yesterday.

Tilothama, who is on a visit to inspect various programmes run for youths in the state, expressed confidence that through programmes initiated by the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, youths would indulge in positive activities.

She cited the impact of various village-level programmes on social malpractices. He also cited anti-drug projects and skill-based training programmes run by the organisation throughout the country.

“Youths are flexible and their energy should be channelised. We work in a planned manner, as we know that youth needs attention, employment and skill to fulfil their dreams,” added Tilothama, who hails from Manipur.

Citing open social environment given to girls in North East, Tilothama said girls there were more indulged in studies, sports and cultural activities, while in Northern India, social constraints became a hindrance in bringing girls to participate in such activities.

She said it was important to generate awareness among people, particularly in rural segments. Social mindset needed a change or incidents like Delhi gangrape would keep happening, she stated.

Tilothama also pointed that she was planning special programmes for girls in the hill districts of Uttarakhand so that they also get skill-based training and indulge in various activities run by the sangathan.

Proposed stadium at Haldwani to draw tourists
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, February 13
The proposed stadium at Haldwani will hold international sports competitions and attract tourists and generate revenue for its maintenance, said JP Rao, director of marketing of the construction company Shapoorji Pallonji group after visiting the site of the stadium with Cabinet Minister Dr Indira Haridyesh.

“By giving this Rs 150 crore stadium a unique shape and architecture, we are hopeful that small cottages and resorts could also be developed near it to attract tourists,” said Rao.

The group has so far constructed six international stadiums in the country while six are under construction. “This is one of the best natural sites, we will have privilege to work at,” said the group marketing director. According to the plan, the remaining land belonging to the Forest Department will also be taken for the use of the stadium in which parking and transport facilities will be developed.