Haridwar, August 19
Devotees thronged Shivalyas of Lord Shiva temple in large numbers today on the concluding Monday of the pious month of Shravan of the Hindu calendar.

From wee hours of the morning, pilgrims and devotees were seen thronging Ganga ghats to take a holy dip in Ganga and then offer Ganga jal, milk and bilva leaves and other auspicious things at Shivalyas of Lord Shiva-based temples.

Tens of thousands of devotees thronged the ancient temples of Shri Daksheshwar Maha Dev Temple at Kankhal and Bilkeshwar Temple situated on the foothills of Bilb mountain terrain.

With Kankhal is the home of deity Parvati and Daksh Temple is where King Daksh, father of deity Parvati, performed yagna and failed to invite Lord Shiva.

Deity Parvati burnt herself in fire at Yagna Kund, after seeing her husband being spurned by her father king Daksh.This infuriated Lord Shiva ,who send his ''ganas'' Virbhadra and Bhadrakali to the ritual place.

They beheaded Lord Daksha ,who was later given the head of a goat on insistence by Lord Brahma and other gods by Lord Shiva.

Similarly, other Lord Shiva temples like Til Bhandeshwar, Neeleshwar, Daridra Bhanjan, Dukh Bhanjan, Jatleshwar Mahadev,Sector-1, Shiva Temple,Tibdi bypass Satya Narayan Temple, Jwalapur and Bhoopatwala based temples witnessed huge outpour of devotees, comprising women in large numbers.

Dehradun, August 19
The real face of the "friendly" police of Uttarakhand was exposed by policemen posted at the Dugadda police post near Kotdwar when they allegedly thrashed a taxi driver for not stopping his vehicle on being signalled by them.

They also lodged an FIR against him for alleging misbehaving with policemen. However, after a public outcry, senior police officials intervened in the matter and lodged a counter complaint against the erring policemen. The victim is an ex-serviceman.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim, Bhagwan Singh, was coming from Kartia village in Rikhani development block, Pauri Garhwal, when policemen signalled for him to stop at the Duggada checkpost. However, Bhagwan Singh did not stop his jeep. Policemen followed him on their motorcycle and overtook and stopped the jeep. They allegedly dragged Bhagwan Singh from the driver's seat and started thrashing him with belts.

Meanwhile, three more policemen reached the spot and started kicking him. They brought him to the Kotdwara police station and lodged an FIR against him.

Circle Officer of Kotdwara Arona Bhartee said the FIR lodged by policemen stated that the driver tried to crush police officials under the jeep and when caught, he allegedly tore their uniform. However, eyewitnesses said the driver did not notice the signal and was later allegedly beaten up with belts by policemen.

When office-bearers of a taxi union and local residents came to know about the incident, they reached the police station and demanded action against the guilty policemen.

"We tried to stop policemen from beating him up and requested them to take legal action against the driver instead. But policemen did not listen to us," said septuagenarian Alam Singh, who was travelling in the taxi. "When the passengers told the policemen that they will complain against them, one of the policeman tore his shirt and said that the driver has fought with him," said Manju Devi, who was also in the jeep at the time of the incident.

SP Vimal Gunjial has ordered an inquiry into the incident and asked the officials concerned to lodge an FIR against the guilty policemen.

Dehradun, August 19
Nomination forms for the coming students’ union election in MKP College were today made available to candidates willing to contest for various posts.

Election fever has already gripped the college campus with candidates canvassing to garner support. Most of the candidates are focusing on problems prevailing in the college like leaking roofs and unclean playground and toilets. 

Haridwar, August 19
Indian designs and fashion hold a unique place in the international fashion world due to the rich Indian heritage, culture and local customs which are reflected in the design patterns.

This was stated by the Director of NIH, Dr Rajdev Singh, during a Traditional Fashion Show, held at the institute auditorium. The Traditional Fashion Show aims to bring to fore the talent of designers, who mostly hail from semi-urban and rural backgrounds. It also provide them a platform to share their inputs with fellow designers and potential buyers too. Rajdev Singh said the budding designers would benefit from this show.

Fashion show expert Mala Chauhan emphasised on the need of having more such shows in the state, particularly in the hills, so that the peculiar hill customs, designs, wearability and concepts also come to the world's notice.

Mala urged budding fashion designers and models to be creative and to innovate with local dresses and designs.

Fashionista Geeta Chauhan said these days mostly fashion shows were based on the western culture, designs and concepts, but this Traditional Fashion Show had given people associated with the field a chance to get know of traditional designs and attires.

Dehradun, August 19
The gifted actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Taimur of 'Taalash' and Faizal Khan of 'Gangs of Wasseypur,' has had his fair share of struggle in making his mark in Bollywood, but the actor is now one of the critically-acclaimed performers in the contemporary Bollywood cinema.

The actor is in Dehradun on a holiday these days after taking a break from movies for the next couple of months.

He interacted with the media here today. ''I am taking a break after four years of working round the clock in the movies and now need to spend sometime with family,'' said Nawazuddin.

While speaking about his upcoming movies, the national award winning actor said: " My next film 'Lunchbox' is set to be released in September and it has already been showcased at Cannes Film Festival in France and won critic's week viewer's choice award there."

'Lunchbox' is set in Mumbai and is basically based on the city's famous Dabbawalas, he further said.

Recalling his old days, Nawazuddin said: ''Whenever I approached directors' and producers' offices for movie roles during my struggling period, I used to be told that I lack the ingredients to become an actor. But the actor has come up the hard way and he doesn't miss a chance to highlight the role of small budget movies in his 
short career.''

''The young and new directors in the industry provide opportunities to actors like me in their small budget films, which are also proving to be commercial success,'' according to Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

On the question of changing the definition of Bollywood hero with his films, the versatile actor said now common looking man like him was also being appreciated in Bollywood.

It is to be noted that in showbiz business, style, height and good looks play an important role, but Nawazuddin has successfully broken this long-standing myth with his simple personality and has made a mark for himself with his acting skills.

The simplicity of a man can be judged by the fact that his 40-second role in Amir Khan's starring film 'Sarfarosh' is still closest to his heart.

Nawazuddin is also helping his younger brother to direct a film next year and he said:" I will surely contact actors based in Uttarakhand and some part of the film will also be shot in Uttarakhand."

After being asked whether he had a dream to become a director like most of the actors have, he said directing a film was the most difficult job and ''I don't aspire to take that job in future.''

Dehradun is Nawazuddin's hometown.

Dehradun, August 19
Wynberg Allen lifted the Brother Keogh Memorial IS Football Tournament- 2013 title by defeating the St Joseph's ‘A’ team here today.

Both teams scored one goal each in the allotted time and the game was decided through the penalty shootout. Wynberg Allen won the penalty shootout 3-1. Principal, St Joseph's Academy, Brother AJ George presented the trophy and Rs 5,000 cash award to the winning team.

Earlier, Wynberg Allen had entered the final by defeating Nirmala High School.

As many as15 teams from Dehradun and Mussoorie schools participated in the tournament.

Dehradun, August 19
With the students' union elections at DAV (PG) College nearing, a delegation of students, led by union leader Swati Negi, submitted a memorandum of demands to the Principal here today.

The delegation demanded that the ongoing admission process in the college should not be disrupted due to the poll. They urged the Principal to make special arrangements to prevent anti-social elements from influencing the college elections, as they generally get active during this period.

They demanded the setting up of a counselling counter in the college and a 50 per cent concession for girls in the college parking fees.

Dehradun, August 19
Tibetan Homes School, Mussoorie, defeated Indian Public School in the inaugural match of the 12th Om Prakash Memorial Football Tournament that kicked off at Carman School here today.

Tibetan Homes School convincingly defeated Indian Public School 4-0. Phuntsok of Tibetan Homes opened the score by scoring a goal in the 6th minute and Kunga made it 2-0 in the 17th minute. In the second half, Tensing of Tibetan Homes scored two goals and took its team through to the next level.

Haridwar, August 19
The management of Shravan Nath Math Jawaharlal Nehru College is planning to strictly enforce a dress code for students on the campus.

Though a dress code was announced two years ago, it was not made compulsory. The authorities now want to enforce it strictly. A decision in this regard may be taken as soon as the admission procedure is completed. College principal Dr Avneet Kumar Ghildiyal said, “A dress code gives a distinct identity to college students, helps in creating a good environment for education and enforces discipline. It also makes it impossible for outsiders to enter the college campus.” Professor of economics Sunil Kumar Batra said student unions should also be consulted on the issue before deciding on uniforms for boys and girls. He added suggestions from students would make them aware of the move of the college management. Student leader Varun Baliyan said many students come from poor families and the dress code decision would mean they would have to spend money on buying uniforms. Vaishali Khandelwal, a girl student, said it was a welcome step to have a dress code in the college as it would restrict the entry of outsiders in the college. Meanwhile, Dean, admissions, SK Maheshwari said 300 students had taken admission in BA, B Sc and B Com streams till this afternoon. — TNS

Dehradun, August 19
Uttarakhand News Cameramen's Association held a photo exhibition on the occasion of World Photography Day at Heritage School auditorium here today. The photo exhibition depicted the photographs of the natural disaster that struck the state on June 15 and 16, 2013.

Uttarakhand Congress vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana inaugurated the one-day exhibition. A large number of students and visitors watched the photographs of the disaster. A total of 25 news photographers put up their photographs in the exhibition.

A documentary shot by Mukesh Rajput and Avinish Premi on disaster was shown on the occasion. More than 500 children watched the documentary,according to Rajesh Bharatwal, president of the Uttarakhand News Cameramen's Association.

A free health check up camp was also held by Fortis Hospital on the occasion. A total of 150 persons got themselves checked for various heart ailments by Dr Yogender Singh, a famous cardiologist.

Jitender Joshi, Chancellor of Uttarnchal University, and Awadhesh Chaudhary, Director of Heritage School, were also present.

Dehradun, August 19
Around eight Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) with the total contribution of Rs 25 crore will take part in the implementation of the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Uttarakhand under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

These PSUs, including National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Power Grid, Rural Electric Corporation, Tehri Development Corporation (THDC), National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC), Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd ( NEEPCO), Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam will undertake work based on the guidelines issued by the state government for Corporate Houses and NGOs keen to take up reconstruction, rehabilitation activities and adoption of villages.

The guidelines specify that the rehabilitation of specially displaced groups like widows and orphans may be taken into account while constructing programmes. While augmentation of funds will be carried by roping in other (PSUs) like BHEL and ONGC.