Dehradun, October 25
The Supreme Court has stayed the Nainital High Court order dated October 8 allowing land acquisition on Chakrata Road for four weeks.

The SC has sought a clarification from the state government on the matter before going ahead with the acquisition process.

Acting president of the Doon Udyog Vyapar Mandal Umesh Aggarwal said, “The SC order comes as a big relief for the traders of Chakrata Road. Now, the onus is on the state government to prove its point with regard to the acquisition of property on Chakrata Road before the apex body.”

He said a delegation comprising president of the Prantiya Udyog Vypar Mandal Vipin Nagliya, president of the Chakrata Road Shopkeepers' Association Shashikant Goyal and other leaders also met Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna this morning and urged him not to acquire their shops and rather implement a government order dated December 2, 2011.

Vipin Nagliya said, “The Chief Minister has expressed helplessness saying only the Supreme Court could change the decision of the HC. The CM said two independent agencies had impressed upon the HC in delivering the verdict in the favour of dismantling the shops and creating a new structure to accommodate all deserving shopkeepers. The CM, however, assured us of trying to get relaxation for eight more weeks to resolve the issue. But now the decision of the apex court has served our purpose.”

He said: “The Supreme Court has not stopped the HC from holding any hearing on the matter. However, the acquisition process has been stayed till the final judgment of the apex body is pronounced. Traders have also got an opportunity to put their stance before the Supreme Court.”

Vice-chairman of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) RM Sundaram said, “Neither the MDDA nor the state government could do anything in the HC’s decision to acquire land on Chakrata Road. After the decision of the HC, we had no other option but to abide by it. However, with the SC putting a four-week stay on the acquisition process, the MDDA has stalled all proceedings.”

Pithoragarh, October 25
The fate of the Jauljibi fair remains uncertain this year as the entire mela ground is full of big boulders that had flowed with the Kali river waters during heavy rains in the region on June 16 and 17. The government has failed to clear the ground of debris so far.

The Jauljibi fair is a traditional event in Pithoragarh district and is being organised in November every year for the last one century. It facilitates tribal Shauka and Bhotia people from the high Himalayan regions to sell woollen clothes, medicinal herbs and other material brought by them.

Local traders say they take part in the fair to sell their goods to villagers or the tribal people from the high Himalayan valleys of Darma, Byans and Johar. While the Kali river has washed away most part of the mela ground, the remaining portion is full of sand, big boulders and mud.

“We had appealed to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna during his recent visit to the region to speed up the work of clearing the mela place of boulders and mud so that the Jauljibi fair could be organised according to the tradition. However, the work is still to be started even though only 20 days are left for the mela to begin,” said Daulat Singh Pal, a local trader.

According to residents of Jauljibi town, heavy rains on June 16 and 17 washed away a bridge over the Kali river, an SSB border post and some school buildings. “The river flowed on the traditional mela ground for over a month after the natural disaster and brought heavy boulders with it,” said Pal.

Though the district administration has promised to clear the ground of boulders and mud by November, the pace of work puts a question mark on the fair itself. “Clients and traders from Nepal will also not participate in the fair this year as the administration despite tall promises is yet to erect a new bridge on the Kali that connects Jauljibi town to Nepal,” said Shakuntala Datal, a local Congress leader.

The Jauljibi fair, which sees participation by people and traders from Tibet, Nepal and India, is officially organised for a week from November 14 every year. But it continues for a month till tribal traders and craftsmen manage to sell their woollen products. “Even cultural programmes and exhibitions, which are usually organised by the administration for a week, are unlikely this time due to lack of proper space,” Datal said. 

Dehradun October 25
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said that people of Uttarakhand were of nationalist and secularist nature and would not accept rouge ideologies like naxalism and terrorism. The Chief Minister was addressing an internal security workshop at police officers colony here today.

While addressing the police officials, the Chief Minister said that the problems like terrorism and naxalism could be defeated with better coordination among security agencies, prompt sharing of information, special vigil at the border areas and by strengthening our intelligence agencies.

People involved in naxalism and terrorism had no faith in democratic values and the people of Uttarakhand would not accept the ideology. Security agencies of the country were competent enough to deal with such anti-national elements, said Bahuguna.

He also announced additional Rs 2 crore for the state police modernisation along with 30 per cent special allowance for the non-gazetted personnel working in CB-CID and state intelligence agencies.

DGP BS Sidhu threw light on the reasons behind spread of naxalism in the country and also suggested measures to tackle the menace. IG (Intelligence) Deepak Jyoti Ghildiyal gave presentation on the history of naxalism in the country. 

Dehradun, October 25
The "Astitva" band was the main attraction of the day two of "Youthopia-2013", DIT University's annual cultural and technical fest, here today.

The band mesmerised the audience with their magical performance. With a classic blend of rock, jazz and hindustani music, the band compelled the audience to sing and tap their feet along with the grooving beats of the drums.

Earlier, the students unleashed their creativity as they took part in musical and literary events, including street art, abhivyakti, English debate and business plan competition. Among the technical events, web-designing and photo mania competitions saw maximum participation. The students showcased their talent by creating innovative web pages that were visually appealing and technologically sophisticated.

The phase two of the day focused on dramatics where students tickled the audience with their acting skills mixed with a pinch of humour, which was followed by a satire on "Uttarakhand-Kedarnath tragedy", which was highly appreciated by the audience.

Adding onto the flavour, the famous theatrical group of Uttarakhand, "Tamasha", presented a comic satire based on the Olympic Committee selection process. 

Dehradun, October 25
A delegation of 17 students and two staff members from St Francis College, UK, arrived at Unison World School for student's exchange programme for 14 days, here today.

The delegation was accorded a warm welcome by the students and the staff of the school. Veena Singh, principal, Julie Dowling, vice-principal and Sanjeev Agarwal, administrator, welcomed them in a traditional Indian manner.

The visit was a part of the ongoing student-staff exchange programme, which Unison World School had been having with St Francis College, UK, since last year.

In September this year, 15 students and two staff members of Unison World School visited St Francis College, UK, for three weeks which had been a very enriching experience for them.

"The student exchange programmes have multi-faceted benefits for students as they get an exposure to diverse learning opportunities and new learning environment," said Veena Singh. 

Dehradun, Oct 25
The 13th annual games and sports meet of Forest Research Institute (FRI) Deemed University concluded here today. The Sal House won the overall championship trophy.

Dr PP Bhojvaid, Director and Vice-Chancellor, FRI University, gave prizes to the winners. He presented the overall championship trophy to the Sal House. Dr Bhojvaid also took the salute of the parade bringing the four-day event to a conclusion.

The Sal House won the 4x100 mts men’s relay. The Pine House stood first in women’s 4x100 mts relay.

The Sal House was also the winner in the men’s tug-of-war. It beat the Sandal House in the finals.

Similarly, in cricket, the Sal House defeated the Pine House in the final match.

Dehradun, October 25
The 7th All-India Defence Accounts Department Badminton Tournament concluded at the City Sports Complex, Dehradun, here today.

In the non-sports quota category of men's singles, Sanjay Singh Pundir from CFA (Factories), Dehradun, defeated T Rama Murthy from CDA, Secunderabad, by 21-18, 21-7. In women's singles match, Chitra from CDA (R&D), Bangaluru, defeated Neera Pasricha of PCDA, New Delhi, by 21-14, 21-19.

In men's doubles match, Hari Kumar Melath and Tomy G from PCDA, Bengaluru, defeated SS Pundir and VS Negi from CFA (Factories), Dehradun, by 21-15, 21-17.

In the same category of women's doubles, Madhu Gyanchandani and N Kumutha from PCDA (WC), Chandigarh, defeated Rewathi Vinayak and Shweta Naidu from PCDA (O), Pune, by 21-17, 9-21, 21-15.

On the other hand, in the sports quota category of men's singles, Midhilesh Sunder V from CDA, Chennai, defeated Suraj PH from the same office by 16-21, 21-10, 21-19. In the same category of women's singles, WP Chanu from CDA, Guwahati, defeated Sashmita Borah from the same office by 21-13, 21-16.

Whereas, in men's doubles, Midhilesh Sunder V and Suraj PH from CDA, Chennai, defeated Amit Tyagi and Shailendra Pawah from PCDA, New Delhi, by 21-8, 21-4. In women's doubles, Sashmita Borah and WP Chanu from CDA, Guwahati, defeated Indu Saraswat and Kavita Suryavanshi from PCDA (O), Pune, by 21-8, 21-7 and won the title.

Dehradun October 25
Titanium Football Club has reached the finals of 2nd all India Narendra Singh Kharola Memorial Football Tournament, The Doon Cup -2013, after defeating Union Bank Mumbai in the closely fought semifinal match played here today.

Patrick Masckhrenas of Union Bank of India netted from the penalty spot in the ninth minute of the match and gave his team lead. After that both team struggled to score despite a number of attacks on each other's defence. When the match was about to get over with the Union Bank in lead, Shahji earned an equaliser for Titanium FC. He scored the goal at 90th minute, extending the match into tie-breaker.

During the tie-breaker, Titanium Football Club won the match by 6-5 score, snatching win from the jaws of defeat.

Titanium will meet FCI Delhi in the finals of the tournament to be played on Sunday.