Forest guard's kin given relief cheque
Dehradun, November 10
Honorary Wildlife Warden of Jim Corbett National Park Brijendra Singh handed over a relief cheque for Rs 1 lakh to the family members of deceased daily wage forest guard Rakesh, who was killed while on duty by a tiger at Kalagarh recently.

Brijendra Singh, wildlife warden of the Jim Corbett National Park, hands over a cheque to the widow of the deceased forest guard. A Tribune photograph

Adhoiwala, Sunderwala win football matches
Dehradun, November 10
The super league stage of the Drona College 70th Nemidas Memorial District Football League was kicked off at Pavilion Ground here today.



A match in progress during the Drona College 70th Nemidas Memorial District Football League at Pavillion Ground in Dehradun on Sunday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Former national boxer, others felicitated
Dehradun, November 10
The Uttarakhand Boxing Association (UBA) felicitated the sportspersons who had made the state proud in different sports events by their performances in the national and the international-level competitions.

Cong, BJP not clear about state capital: Maikhuri
Dehradun, November 10
CPI (ML) described the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Assembly building at Bharareesain in Gairsain by the state Congress Government as a political stunt.

Asian School win Patidas cricket tourney
Dehradun, November 10
Asian School won the Patidas Singh Memorial GTM Twenty20 Cricket Challenger Trophy defeating SD Butt Cricket Academy in the final match played at the Doon Global School here today.


The Asian School team with the Patidas Singh Memorial GTM Twenty20 Cricket Challenger Trophy at Doon Global School in Dehradun on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Haridwar, November 10
Unicef will be working for bringing the education sector back on track in the natural disaster-affected Uttarakhand. India head of the Unicef water, sanitation and hygiene department Suzaine Kottes said this at Swargashram, Pauri Garhwal, today.

Suzaine met spiritual guru Swami Chiddanand Muni at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram, where both discussed and dwelled on the ways to provide education-related facilities in the flood-hit districts of the state. The Unicef official arrived at the Parmarth Niketan with a delegation and was given a traditional welcome by young Sanskrit scholars.

During their interaction, both Suzaine and Swami Chiddanand agreed on rebuilding schools and providing electricity to them via solar energy.

She said she would prepare a draft in this regard, which would be forwarded to Unicef.

Swami Chiddanand also launched the ‘Tablet to Toilet’ programme, which mandates building toilets in schools, colleges, educational and social institutions and public places for a cleaner Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, spiritual guru Maa Anand Mai also arrived at the ashram with a three-member delegation. She expressed her willingness to encourage the youth of Uttarakhand to make herbal medicines, which would be purchased by Kerala-based herbal firms and parlours. Maa Anand Mai is already providing relief and rehabilitation aid to the disaster-affected districts of the state.

Mussoorie, November 10
A large number of statehood agitators have not been identified even after 13 years of the formation of the state.

The statehood agitators like Jaiprakash Uttarakhandi say the people are still deprived of basic facilities. “The issue of the permanent capital at Gairsain is still languishing and there is no headway visible in the near future,” he adds. Strikes by government employees have affected normal life and the functioning of departments in the state, indicating that people are unhappy.

Many statehood agitators are living a miserable life, he says. Beena Gunsola, Municipal councillor, says the issues of women have also not been resolved in the last 13 years. Harimohan Goel, another agitator, says that they have been fighting for the basic facilities like ‘Jal, jungle and zameen’ (land, forest and water) but still no solution is visible. This shows that the politicians have forgotten the sacrifices of the people who fought for the formation of a separate state of Uttarakhand, he adds.

Haridwar, November 10
The Rajaji National Park is all set to open for visitors from November 15.

However, the park administration has expressed concern that the mid-June disaster might affect the number of visitors to the park, which was closed two days before the disaster.

Park officials said though they were getting advance bookings and receiving enquiries from tourists, including foreigners, the number of visitors to the park this year might get affected due to the natural disaster.

The administration is trying its best to ensure that all entry points to the park and wildlife tracks were re-carpeted in time. Night patrolling in the area has also intensified to check the movement of wildlife and wood smugglers during the tourist and winter seasons.

Chilla ranger DP Uniyal said the administration was geared up to ensure unhindered and a memorable journey of the park for the visitors.

Forest officials said to attract tourists, special watch towers had been constructed. Special waterholes for animals had been made near roads. The wildlife safari track had also been cleaned to make the gypsy ride for the visitors comfortable.

The Rajaji National Park is spread across three districts of the state, namely Pauri Garhwal, Haridwar and Dehradun. It was established in 1983.

It is an amalgamation of three sanctuaries situated in the Shivalik region, namely Rajaji, Motichur and Chilla. These three were merged and made a protected area and renamed the Rajaji National Park.

Haridwar, November 10
Flying squads arrested seven students for allegedly using unfair means in a Staff Selection Commission (SSC) recruiment examination held here today. Sandeep, Praveen and Rakesh Kumar of Haryana, Tanuj Pawar, Vishal Khatri and Nitin of Delhi and Mohit of Uttar Pradesh were arrested from three different centres.

Sector Magistrate Naresh Chaudhari said during inspection, cellphones and bluetooth devices were recovered from their possession.

They were allegedly copying with the help of solutions sent through mobile phone messages.

Circle officer JR Joshi police said interrogation of the accused was still under way.

A case has been registered in this regard.

Mussoorie, November 10
The emotional musical 'Pandava Lila' presentation from one of the episodes from epic Mahabharata titled 'Chakravyuh' by participants from the Centre for Folk Performing Art and Culture stole the show on the concluding day of the Mountain writers' festival today.The artistes dressed in a traditional attire depicted the scene from Mahbharata in the Garhwali dialect in an opera form amid the beating of drums and traditional jagar chants, which was much appreciated by the audience. The people were seen in tears during the scene of the death of Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna.

More than 100 artistes performed for one hour and played the scene of Abhimanyu being lured into a 'chakravyuh' by the Kauravas during the Mahbharata.

Stephen Alter, director of the festival, said the performance was mesmerising and the display of the colours of Garhwal through the traditional attire would remain in the memories of the audience for long.

Dr Purohit, director of the show, said 'Pandav Lila' of this style was unique to the region and his objective was to promote the culture of the region through such performances during the Writers' festival.

The artistes said for them it was a completely different feeling to perform in front of an international audience.

Stephen Alter thanked Surinder Pundir and other participants for their efforts in making the festival a success. He said through the festival they would continue to promote the literature and art forms of Uttarakhand in future as well.

Dehradun, November 10
Notwithstanding numerous special drives by the traffic police and the Regional Transport Office (RTO), fancy number plates and name plates in the front and the rear of vehicles remain a bizarre craze among people of Dehradun.

Putting fancy number plates, which are almost unclear, or an extra plate in the front or the rear of motorcycles and cars has become a fashion in the state capital. “We issue challans to motorists who flout norms by installing fancy and faulty number plates on their vehicles,” Jagdish Chandra, SP (City), told The Tribune.

The problem is worse among the college students’ union leaders and political workers. In a bid to show their clout, political workers install extra plates on their bikes and cars with their designation along with the party symbol mentioned on it, which is prohibited under the Motor Vehicles Act.

“We will carry a drive against such vehicles that move around with fancy registration and do not adhere to the law,” said, the SP.

Such plates make it difficult for the police to identify vehicles and in case of violations of norms or accidents.

An owner of a shop that deals in making stickers for registration number plates told The Tribune, “Youngsters are crazier about fancy number plates. Even scooter and bike owners ask for glossy stickers.”

“People from all political outfits come to me for special plates denoting their designations and the party they belong to,” he added.

The police and RTO carried drives against such errant drivers and issued challans but to no avail.

Mussoorie, November 10
The Sixth Mussoorie Writers' Mountain Festival in which an array of mountaineers, authors, poets and musicians entertained audience over the past four days, concluded today with the second Mussoorie Half Marathon event and a mesmerising performance by folk artistes from Garhwal.

The marathon, which is known to be one of the most grueling half marathon in India, saw runners make their way to Everest House from Mall Road and back to Woodstock School.

In the men’s category, head of PE Steve Luukkonen completed the run in one hour 39 minutes. Deepak Kumar came second, followed by Surinder Chand of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. In the women's event, Kaaren Matthias, a doctor with the Emmanual Health Association, completed the marathon in two hours one minute and came first.

She was followed by Woodstock PE teachers Shannon Schultz and Christina Hazlett in the second and third places, respectively. In the team relay event, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police took the first place, followed by the Grade 8 team from Woodstock, while the Grade 11 team came third.

On Saturday, Daniele Nardi, speaking on ‘On the summit in Alpine style’, said the Alpine style referred to the mountaineers carrying everything from gear to food to medicines to other essentials on their own. Without any commercial help, this style was helpful in climbing at a better speed, he said.

The Alpine style climbing was tough and risky, as there are no rapid means of communication or commute in the Himalayas. Polish mountaineer Kryzystof Wileicki, the first man to climb Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse in winters, narrated stories of his experiences in the Himalayas and said in comparison to summers, climbing in winters was much difficult as the conditions were harsh.

Jeph and Kaaren Mathias talked about how they became the first team to navigate the entire length of the Mekong river from its source in the Tibetan Plateau through China's Yunnan province, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Apart from the climbers, renowned documentary-maker Ron Whitaker screened his documentary ‘Leopard-21st Century Cat’ and said the man-animal conflict was a complex problems in which the leopard, especially, was at receiving end.

He further said it was difficult to identify a man-eater. He also said leopard was an intelligent animal and trying to trap it or release it in the forest was not the answer. Tara Douglas and Prof DR Purohit also shed light on the tribal art and culture of Arunanchal Pradesh and the folk theatre tradition of Garhwal, respectively.

Dehradun, November 10
Parvatanchal Parivar, a social welfare organisation, today honoured eight personalities of Uttarakhand with the Parvat Shri award for their contributions in various sphere of life.

Padam Bhushan Kunwar Singh Negi, writer Laksham Singh Batrohi, state agitationist and former MLA Ranjeet Singh Verma, environmentalists Kalyan Singh Rawat and Shanti Thakur, cricketer Ekta Bisht, social worker Kunj Bihari Negi and senior journalist Jay Singh Rawat were honoured on the occasion.

Dr US Rawat, Vice-Chancellor of Devbhoomi University, called upon the people to collectively work for the betterment of the state.

He said Uttarakhand faced enormous challenges particularly in the aftermath the mid-June disaster. He added that the intelligentsia in the state needs to come forward to ensure comprehensive rehabilitation and relief works.

Suren Rawat conducted the proceedings of the event.

Dehradun, November 10
Honorary Wildlife Warden of Jim Corbett National Park Brijendra Singh handed over a relief cheque for Rs 1 lakh to the family members of deceased daily wage forest guard Rakesh, who was killed while on duty by a tiger at Kalagarh recently.

Brijendra visited the Kalagarh residence of Rakesh and gave the relief cheque to Rakesh's family members on behalf of the Wildlife Trust of India, Kalagarh.

Rakesh on October 18 had gone to check fire lines in the Kalagarh forest area when he was attacked by a prowling tiger during evening hours. As Rakesh was in the interior of the forest, he could not be taken to the nearest medical centre immediately.

Brijendra also assured the aggrieved family members of all assistance.

Dehradun, November 10
The super league stage of the Drona College 70th Nemidas Memorial District Football League was kicked off at Pavilion Ground here today.

In the first match of the day, Adhoiwala Football Club trounced Akranta Football Club by 2-0 score. Shashank opened the goal tally by netting the goal in the 37th minute. Devender scored the second goal of the match in the 74th minute.

Sunderwala Football Club defeated Cantt Blues Football Club by 4-2 score in the second match of the day. For Sunderwala, Sachin opened the tally by scoring the first goal in the 3rd minute and Balbir’s goal in the 5th minute had put his team two goals ahead. Prateek also chipped in with a goal in the 25th minute and Surya scored the last goal for Sunderwala in 59th minute.

On the other hand, for Cantt Blues, Anil and Saurabh scored goals in the 28th and 45th minute.

Dehradun, November 10
The Uttarakhand Boxing Association (UBA) felicitated the sportspersons who had made the state proud in different sports events by their performances in the national and the international-level competitions.

Padam Bahadur Mal, former national boxing champion, had represented India in the international boxing championship in 1960. He was honored by the state boxing association today. The Chief Minister also honored him on Saturday on the occasion of the state foundation day.

Ace Shooter Jaspal Rana and boxer Hari Singh Thapa were also felicitated by the association.

Sanjay Gunjyal, chairman of the association was also present on the 
occasion.

Dehradun, November 10
CPI (ML) described the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new Assembly building at Bharareesain in Gairsain by the state Congress Government as a political stunt.

Indresh Maikhuri, Garhwal secretary, CPI (ML), said both the Congress and the BJP were not clear about the permanent state capital. He said the parties had been hesitating to announce Gairsain as the state capital and had been trying to misguide the people.

Dehradun, November 10
Asian School won the Patidas Singh Memorial GTM Twenty20 Cricket Challenger Trophy defeating SD Butt Cricket Academy in the final match played at the Doon Global School here today.

Batting first, Asian School played brilliantly and scored 219 runs. Abhishek remained the highest scorer with an individual score of 54 runs while Vaibhav Bhatt missed his half-century by mere one run.

In reply, the SD Butt Cricket Academy could not match the bowling of Asian School and was bowled out for 63 run. Badri scored the maximum 17 runs for his team. They lost the match by a massive margin of 156 runs.