Dehradun, August 18
The police is all set to intensify its drive against errant car drivers who do not wear seat belts in Dehradun. A similar drive last month lasted only a short period as police personnel were put on the Kanwar yatra duty. But now the police is all geared up to check people driving four-wheelers without wearing seat belts.

It is to be noted that the Dehradun police is focusing on enforcing the front seat belt rule only as wearing rear seat belts is still not compulsory in the city.

“Our emphasis at the moment is on ensuring that people use the front seat belts as they are directly related to their safety. The seat belts in cars and helmets in case of two-wheelers are our top priority,” SP, City, Jagdish Chandra told The Tribune.

Spot checking and observing car drivers during normal patrol duty will be part of the overall drive to enforce the seat belt rule. It will be a round the clock drive and will be intensified during peak traffic hours.

“In the last one month, we have issued the maximum number of challans for not wearing seat belts. However, the number of such violations is coming down as people have now started to comply with the rule,” said the SP. The police has issued 5,299 challans for the seat belt rule violations in the 
last one month.

Haridwar, August 18
Following the directives of the Haridwar SSP, the traffic police today launched a vehicle checking drive and collected Rs 69,700 as a fine from 683 violators. The amount has been deposited in the state exchequer.

Traffic inspector Devendra Dabral said documents like registration certificate (RC) and driving licence were also being checked. Commuters driving two-wheelers without wearing helmets were being penalised.

He said there were two national highways on the periphery of the city, which was also situated on the border of Uttar Pradesh from two sides, Bijnore and Saharanpur. The drive would also help checking several crimes, he added.

Last year, during a similar drive initiated by the then SSP Arun Mohan Joshi, several criminals were arrested.

Meanwhile, the SSP has asked all SHOs to carry out a tenant verification drive in their respective areas.

Haridwar, August 18
The city will be having a Sanskrit school soon, which will provide education in Sanskrit language to meritorious and poor students free of cost. This was announced by saint Maha Mandaleshwar Prakhar Ji Maharaj at Nirdhan Niketan Ashram here today.

Saints attend a Sanskrit convention at Nirdhan Niketan Ashram in Haridwar on Sunday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

While inaugurating a Sanskrit convention at the ashram,he said he along with some saints decided to open a school to promote Sanskrit and help poor students to pursue education in the language.

"We have earmarked a land in Haridwar where the Sanskrit school will be build.Initially,the school will be having a capacity of 500 students,"said Maha Mandaleshwar.

Lauding the initiative of Uttarkahand Sanskrit University Vice Chancellor Professor Mahavir Aggarwal said Haridwar and for that matter Uttarakhand has been the home of Sanskrit, with most number of Sanskrit schools and colleges being in the state only.

City Mayor Manoj Garg assured the saint community that the civic body would take decisions keeping in mind the fact that Haridwar is a world famous city.

Sanskrit scholars Hari Ballabh Shastri,Dr Sajjan Tripathi,Shiv Charan Naudiyal,coucncillor Kanhaiya Khewadiya ,Shakti Tyagi,Kuldep Gautam,

Ghanshyam and Jitendra were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, Sanskrit students studying at various Sanskrit educational institutions,have written to Uttarakhand Chief Minister about the problems they are facing.

Chief of Dev Vani Paropkar Mission Ishwar Suyal said in majority of Sanskrit schools and colleges there is paucity of teachers, for which the state government should fill the gap by inducting Sanskrit teachers on contract.

He also cited lack of computers, library, and auditorium in Sanskrit institutions, scholarship, bus pass facility and concession in higher educational courses.

Rohit Lakheda,former student union chief Uttarakhand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya ,said despite Uttarakhand government making Sanskrit as official language of the state, on ground reality Sanskrit educational institutions are facing biased attitude from the state government itself.

Dehradun, August 18
The Tapkeshwar Temple Committee took out the Shiv Shobha Yatra here today.A large number of people participated in the yatra which passed through most of the main city areas.

Ten beautifully illuminated tableaux, were the main attraction of the yatra. The yatra started from Shivaji dharamshala at Saharanpur Chowk at 11 am and culminated at Tapkeshwar Temple. A bhandara was also organised. The traffic condition in the city went haywire.

Traffic police personnel had to struggle a lot to streamline the traffic.

Dehradun, August 18
The Dehradun police is still clueless in the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) wire theft case that took place in the early morning of August 17 in which thieves had cut 80 metres of optical fiber wire and took it away thus affecting the BSNL services in a big way.

Meanwhile, over 6,000 landline telephones of the BSNL went out of order due to the cable theft on Lakshman Chowk in Dehradun on Saturday. Race Course, Lucky Bagh, Khurbara, Saharanpur Road and Paltan Bazaar were the most affected areas, as landline phones services paralysed since Saturday morning. Though work has been going on to restore the services.

According to CO City, Harish Sati, burglars had stolen the wire between Shiwalik dharamshala and Lakshman Chowk taking advantage of darkness. “We are working round the clock to catch the thieves and I am very confident that very soon the culprits will be arrested,” said Harish. BSNL officials have registered a complaint regarding theft with the police. 

Mussoorie, August 18
Kathak performance by Pt Rajendra Gangani held the audience spellbound at Oak Grove School here today. The event was organised by SPIC MACAY ( The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth). Bishwesh Chaubey, Chief Engineer (track), Northern Railways, New Delhi, inaugurated the programme by lighting the traditional lamp.

Pt Rajendra Gangani graduated from Kathak Kendra, Delhi, in 1983-84 and ever since he has made significant contributions to this field. Although he sticks to the pure tradition of his gharana, he is an indefatigable experimenter having choreographed several group compositions and dance drama.

Pt Rajendra Gangani stands out for his style. He depicts the devotional aspects that characterises Jaipur Gharana. His dance forms depict love between Radha and Krishna and different 'lillas' of Lord Vishnu.

He says, "Dance is like offering wholesome food on a platter. It's just like serving burgers and pizzas to kids, which they automatically start loving. In the same way, art is like an aroma. It needs to be sensed by children when they have developed a palate for the same."

Dehradun, August 18
The scenes of Supreme Court's courtroom were recreated when the semifinal and final rounds were conducted in the ongoing National Moot Court Competition at the Uttarachal University's Law College Dehradun here today with WBNUJS Kolkata clinching the final title.

In the semifinal round, WBNUJS Kolkata was against University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS) Punjab, whereas Chanakya National Law University Patna fought against Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi. The semifinal round was judged by legal experts having members like Dr Pooja Jha, advocate in the Supreme Court, Chandrashekhar Tiwari, member, Bar Council of Uttarkahand, Promod Tiwari and Anjum Parvez.

The final of the competition was between WBNUJS Kolkata and Chanakya National Law University Patna, which was judged by Justice Rajendra Tondon, member, State Human Rights Commission with other members like Dr Rajesh Bahuguna, Principal Law College Dehradun and R Prakash, advocate in the Supreme Court of India.

Number of issues were presented before the moot court by the participants like service conditions of employees associated with projects in Public Private Partnership (PPP). Participants also gave references of the Supreme Court judgments to support their points.

Addressing the participants and other luminaries of legal field, Principal of Law College, Dr Rajesh Bahuguna said college is proud to organise a national level competition, which was attended by famous law school of the country.

On the other hand, Justice Rajendra Tondon said, "Moot courts are a learning experience for all legal students who get the first hand experience of court room proceedings before joining any court."

Dehradun, August 18
The Department of Anesthesiology, Sri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical Education and Science conducted a hands on workshop for junior doctors and faculty members, here today. The theme of the workshop was: “Keeping the heart alive”.

The workshop initially taught Basic Life Support procedures, which were later practiced by the attending doctors on the mannequins available. Dr Shikha Sachan held interactive sessions on the subject and encouraged the doctors to be proactive in the session. Dr SP Singh (cardiologist) explained the underlying mechanisms and rationales of emergency cardiac actions and treatment protocols in the casualty. Dr Mrityunjay from the Department of Paediatrics explained how resuscitating a child was different from an adult.

Dr Vinay Rai, Dr GS Jheetay and Dr Nidhi Anand explained the advanced cardiac life support protocols and encouraged the doctors to give feedback on the lessons learnt in the workshop.Dr Vinay Rai emphasised that young doctors should constantly practice their skills in the mannequins available for all life saving emergencies in the Department of Anaesthesia.

The post-lunch session was taken over by Dr Harpreet Singh and Dr Romesh Gaur, Dept of Orthopaedics, who taught the skills to young doctors in Advanced Trauma Life Support Management. The sessions were enthusiastically assisted by Dr Madhuri Sharma, Dr Namrata Paul, Dr Madhu Bhardwaj, Dr Yogesh Narwat and Dr Sharoz. 

Dehradun, August 18
Seeking appointment, Basic Teachers' Course (correspondence) trained persons today continued their indefinite dharna at Old Raipur bus stand in Dehradun.

One of the protesters, Dayal Singh Rawat alleged that the state government was not serious towards their genuine demand of appointment. He said they had even met Uttarakhand Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani on several occasions but their sole demand of appointment was still to be fulfilled. Rakesh Badoni, Asha Petwal Sangeeta Tomar, Yashwant Singh, and HN Bhatt were among those, who participated in today's dharna.

Dehradun, August 18
Indian Media Centre (IMC), Uttarakhand Chapter today launched its website. KG Suresh chief guest and IMC general secretary lauded IMC for its recent interactive programmes with scientists and environmentalists on the issue of Kedarnath disaster.

He said it was important for IMC Uttarakhand to deliberate and raise issues that affect the state and the country. Suresh disclosed that a total of 16 IMC branches were working across the country and Uttarakhand was the youngest.

He said he keeps high hopes from Uttarakhand that was one amongst highest literates in the country and has no dearth of professionals.

IMC Uttarakhand Chapter president Anup Nautiyal said Indian Media Centre Uttarakhand Chapter comprised group of intelligentsia including educationists, academicians and journalists of Uttarakhand. He said the centre was a forum to come together and deliberate on issues that help Uttarakhand and nation . IMC Uttarakhand Chapter secretary Rajnish Jayal said a need for a forum that addresses the concerns of the state was being felt from sometime and IMC was proving to be an appropriate platform in this regard.