People worshipping Holika at Khankhal, Haridwar, on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Foreigners celebrate Holi at Nanhi Dunya School in Dehradun on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

BSP silently preparing for civic poll, say party leaders
Dehradun, March 26
The BJP and Congress might fight on the dates for the local civic poll in the state but leaders of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are keeping mum while looking confident. They are not interacting with the media at all but silently gearing up for the poll.

Rafting operators get advanced first-aid training in Rishikesh
Dehradun, March 26
For river rafting operators and adventure sport providers of Rishikesh, it was an important lesson in emergency preparedness on how to save lives when confronted by accidents and medical situations on outdoor sports.

Man killed by rampaging tusker
Dehradun, march 26
A man was killed by a rampaging tusker at Pualkhera village in Champawat district of Kumaon leading to protest by the local residents. According to officials, a 45-year-old Prakashan Pandey was trampled to death by an elephant when he was returning home.

Khalsa Cricket Academy win Dehradun, March 26 The Khalsa Cricket Academy defeated the Devbhoomi Cricket Academy, Haldwani, by six wickets in a match in the 5th All-India Uttarakhand Cricket Cup-2013 played at Rangers College ground here today. A man in action in a match in the 5th All-India Uttarakhand Cricket Cup-2013 played at Rangers College ground in Dehradun on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Young Sports Academy win by 60 runs
Dehradun, March 26
The Young Sports Academy defeated the United Scholars by 60 runs in a match in the 61st Dehradun District Cricket League played at the Survey Stadium here today. The United scholars team won the toss and elected to field.

Pilgrims begin arriving in Doon for Jhanda Mela
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 26
Guru Ram Rai Darbar has begun buzzing with pilgrims who have begun arriving from the neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh in anticipation of the Jhanda Mela that will start on March 31 (panchmi) with the flag hoisting ceremony outside the darbar to commemorate the arrival of Guru Ram Rai in Dehradun.

This year the staff bearing the flag which is made of the Sal tree will remain the same and Narinder Singh, resident of Mohali, has been selected for offering Darshani Gilaf, a ceremonial cover, as a symbol of wish fulfilment.

A great deal of prestige is accorded to Darshai Gilaf that forms the outer most cover of the staff and bookings are made in advance. “Narinder Singh had registered himself for the darshani cover 25 years ago and his turn has come in 2013. We have already undertaken advance bookings for it till 2096,” said BP Saklani, Jhanda Mela in charge.

Along with the Darshani Gilaf, 20 velvet covers are also coveted by the devotees for which bookings are also made in advance. Among those who will offer velvet covers include Sardar Mahinder Singh of Dehradun.

The devotees stitch the covers for covering the staff on the premises of Guru Ram Rai Darbar. “The stitching of covers will begin on March 29 with the arrival of sangats and sewaks from Uttarakhand and the neighbouring states. These new covers stitched here will replace the old covers on March 31,” said Saklani.

“We are expecting a huge rush of pilgrims this year as the mela is being held almost on the last day of the month of March when most of the children are through with their exams,” said Vishnu Kumar Nautiyal, PRO, Guru Ram Rai Darbar.

Interestingly in keeping with the tradition, the sangat from Punjab also travels on foot tracing the route of Guru Ram Rai, the eldest son of the seventh Guru Har Rai so as to reach Uttarakhand by March 25. After Guru Ram Rai was expelled from Punjab, he sought refuge in Dehradun and established the Udasin sect.

“We started our journey from Behlolpur village in Punjab on March 19, covering a distance of 180 km and passed through Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and finally reaching Dehradun on March 25,” said Gurudev.

Elaborate arrangements have been made to accommodate the pilgrims who will stay at dharamshalas and schools run by the Guru Ram Rai Management.

Beside the mela, Kotwali will also start functioning from March 28.

Old woman found murdered, relative’s hand suspected
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 26
Munni Devi, 65, was found murdered at Balmiki Basti in the Dalanwala area of the city last evening. The police is suspecting the hand of Munni’s relative Umesh Kumar, who works as a labourer, in the crime.

Circle Officer Mamata Bohra said, “It was Umesh who first spotted Munni lying dead and informed her family members, who were not at home at that time, and relatives. Since then he has been giving different versions of the incident scene, forcing us to suspect him. Some jewellery and cash kept in a locked box in the room are also missing.”

The incident happened last evening when Munni’s son Chetan Singh, who drives an auto-rickshaw, was not at home. Umesh told the police that when he went to see Munni in the evening she was lying in the bed. He called her a couple of times but when she did not respond he tried to shake her. She, however, did not wake up. When he realized that she was dead he informed her son and other relatives living in the town. Munni, a divorcee, was staying with his only son for the past several years. Her daughter-in-law had committed suicide last year allegedly due to domestic tension. She had blamed Munni for instigating fights between her and her husband. She left a two-and-half-year-old daughter. Munni’s granddaughter was at home but she could not tell anything about the incident.

Chetan said when he and other relatives reached home they thought that Munni died a natural death though some blood had oozed out of her mouth. But when they lifted her body they spotted a lot of blood under her head. They then realised that she was killed by banging her head repeatedly against the wooden bed.

Umesh was jailed for creating nuisance in an inebriated condition on February 2 this year and was released on March 15.

He hails from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh and started staying in the city after he got work as a labourer in an under-construction building on the Sahastardhara road. Chetan too suspects Umesh’s hand behind his mother’s death.

Emergency services for Holi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 26
In view of the Holi festival tomorrow, the GVK EMRI 108 Emergency Ambulance Services will be pressing into service extra ambulances at Dehradun, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital, which have been termed as sensitive areas.

''As the road related accidents see a 132 per cent hike during the festival of Holi, and going by the record of last four years, we will be pressing into service additional ambulances at Dehradun, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital. Besides, the location of the ambulances to be deployed in Dehradun, too, have been changed,'' said Manish Tinku, state head (Uttarakhand).

He further elaborated that according to the trend observed in the last four years, the total number of Holi-related cases (including accidents and violence due to drunk driving) have always been high in Dehradun, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar. ''In Dehradun, the ambulances will be deployed at Clock Tower, Ballupur Chowk, Jakhan, Sahastdhara crossing and ISBT. We are expecting between 1000-1100 calls during Holi, and all eyes will be on these sensitive districts,'' said Tinku.

To educate the masses towards playing safe Holi, 108 would send SMS messages to it's clients to play Holi with herbal colours and avoid drunk driving. Last year the service had received a total of 538 calls.

BSP silently preparing for civic poll, say party leaders
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 26
The BJP and Congress might fight on the dates for the local civic poll in the state but leaders of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are keeping mum while looking confident. They are not interacting with the media at all but silently gearing up for the poll.

BSP leaders are claiming full preparations for the election. State leadership has called a meeting of the state committee in Haridwar on March 31 to decide on the

list of the candidates for the election, which will be sent to central the leadership to decide on the final names.

State president Meghraj Jaraware could not be approached. However, former state president Suraj Mal said in the state committee meeting, a panel of three names against the seat would be sent to Mayawati,

who would seal the name of the final candidate. He said many new faces had joined the party. It had become important to scrutinise the background of the candidates as it was possible that many would have joined just to get the ticket.

On the matter of preparations, he said:''The party supremo Mayawati had directed us three months ahead of the poll to start the preparations. We are prepared up to the level of booths; rather it is only BSP which has the party network to the booth level, otherwise in the Congress and BJP, the party activists begin constituting panels for the election from the block level.''

He said the party candidates would fight all the seats on the party symbol. ''The election is a matter of prestige for the party after party's disappointing performance in state Assembly elections where our candidates lost by a few hundred votes. The main cause of indiscipline in

the party has been reined in with changes in position here and there.''

According to him, the civic poll is a test for any party to check its grasp at the grass-root level.

Since the Lok Sabha elections follow next year, he said the results of these polls would also reflect on the possible outcome in the Lok Sabha elections.

Rafting operators get advanced first-aid training in Rishikesh
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 26
For river rafting operators and adventure sport providers of Rishikesh, it was an important lesson in emergency preparedness on how to save lives when confronted by accidents and medical situations on outdoor sports.

An initiative of the Indian Association of Professional Rafting Outfitters (IAPRO), a two-day camp on advanced first-aid training was held at Rishikesh, a hub for adventure and mountain sports like rafting, hiking, trekking, among others yesterday.

The IAPRO was formed in 1990. The aims and objectives of the IAPRO are to represent the views of rafting outfitters to the government and the authorities concerned and to deal with and devise effective ways and means for solving the problems that may be faced by various rafting outfitters in India.

The programme brought together the people who form the backbone of Rishikesh tourist industry - guides, staff members and owners of tourist services and package providers.

Conducted by the IAPRO in association with the GMVN and VIVO Healthcare, a leading name in the field of emergency services, the programme highlighted the importance of first-aid response in medical emergency situations like rafting or trekking accidents, altitude sickness and other dangers associated with adventure sports.

“This is a first of its kind programme for our river/trekking guides and members, but henceforth we plan to conduct such training sessions more regularly. Our sessions focused on rafting, trekking, camping and mountaineering,” said Kiran Bhatt Todaria, president of the IAPRO.

Located on the foothills of the Himalayas, Rishikesh is a popular spot for adventure sports and a lot of hiking and backpacking enthusiasts from India and as well as abroad visit it. Recently, bungee jumping has also been introduced in Rishikesh.

“It is very important to have people who are trained in handling medical emergencies in adventure sport hubs like Rishikesh. Such a programme will not only create a team of first responders but will also give them confidence to deal with medical emergencies in remote locations,” said Vikas Tripathi of VIVO Healthcare.

VIVO Healthcare is India’s premier organisation in emergency medical services. The company operates in all affiliated segments of organised emergency response system such as emergency response training, ambulance services, first-aid medical equipment and paramedic education. The company has been founded with an aim to fulfilling the deadly gap in the country’s healthcare system by addressing the need of a more efficient emergency response and trained paramedics.

Man killed by rampaging tusker
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, march 26
A man was killed by a rampaging tusker at Pualkhera village in Champawat district of Kumaon leading to protest by the local residents. According to officials, a 45-year-old Prakashan Pandey was trampled to death by an elephant when he was returning home.

The irate residents blocked the Tanakpur-Purnagiri road for five hours alleging that the Forest Department was doing nothing to stop the movement of elephants in the residential areas.

Traffic was restored along the road after intervention by the police and the district administration.

Khalsa Cricket Academy win
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 26
The Khalsa Cricket Academy defeated the Devbhoomi Cricket Academy, Haldwani, by six wickets in a match in the 5th All-India Uttarakhand Cricket Cup-2013 played at Rangers College ground here today.

Batting first after winning the toss, the Devbhoomi Cricket Academy, Haldwani, scored 132 all out in 29 overs. Kailash was the top scorer with 51 runs to his credit. Shushant took five wickets for 39 runs while Ravinder took three wickets for only three runs.

In reply, the Khalsa Cricket Academy scored 132 for four wickets in 22.3 overs to win the match by six wickets.

Opener Karanveer scored 32 runs while Sushant and Manu kaumra remained unbeaten on 20 and 24 runs, respectively.

Young Sports Academy win by 60 runs
Tribune News service

Dehradun, March 26
The Young Sports Academy defeated the United Scholars by 60 runs in a match in the 61st Dehradun District Cricket League played at the Survey Stadium here today. The United scholars team won the toss and elected to field.

Batting first the Young Sports Academy team scored 220 runs for the loss of nine wickets. Himanshu remained unbeaten on 64 runs while Gaurav contributed 45 runs. Bhupender took three wickets for 36 runs while Shubham and Ankit took two wickets each for the Young Sports Academy.

In reply the United Scholars team was all out for 161 runs. Shubham scored 74 runs. Deepak Pandav took five wickets for 17 runs while Neeraj Chhetri took three wickets for 44 runs for the Young Sports Academy.