Doctor in Pauri, patients suffer in Doon Hospital 
Neena Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
The functioning of the dialysis unit at the Doon Hospital has come to a standstill after the senior physician and in charge of the unit was sent to Pauri district on rotation.

Dr Harish Basera, MD (medicine), in charge of the dialysis unit at the Doon Hospital, has been discharging duty at Pauri since December 29 last year. There has been an acute shortage of physicians at Pauri.

To tackle the shortage of physicians, the Department of Medical, Health and Family Welfare decided to depute physicians from the Doon Hospital for 15 days to Pauri on a rotation basis. Dr RS Aswal, principal medical superintendent at the hospital, said, “Due to transfers in the middle of 2013, the Doon Hospital had around five physicians, which was more than the required number. Hence, it was decided to rotate these physicians to meet the acute shortage of physicians at Pauri.”

The move may have served the cause of Pauri patients, but it has affected the services at the dialysis unit at the Doon Hospital.

Dr Harish Basera, said, “Before leaving for Pauri, I informed my regular patients about my non-availability at the unit. Most of these patients come from far-off places and it is difficult for them to travel regularly for dialysis.”

The problem at Pauri became acute after physician Dr Mukesh Sundriyal, posted earlier at the District Hospital, was transferred to the Doon Hospital without a replacement.

As several high profile politicians, including former Chief Ministers, hail from Pauri, a lot of hue and cry was raised and a short-term plan of sending doctors from the district hospitals to Pauri was formulated during the tenure of former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.

However, the plan increased the problems of the patients using the services at the dialysis unit at the Doon Hospital regularly.

Rita Singh, who had come with her relative from Haridwar to the Doon Hospital, said, “The dialysis unit at the Doon Hospital was set up in 2005. The government established another OPD dialysis unit at the Coronation Hospital on the public-private partnership mode in 2010. Clearly, the move to set up a dialysis unit at the Coronation Hospital was aimed at making the fully functional unit at the Doon Hospital redundant. Such a short-sighted decision of sending these physicians on temporary duty to Pauri will ultimately lead to the closure of the Doon Hospital dialysis unit.”

Hookah joints back in business
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
The Dehradun police had cracked down upon hookah joints a month ago, but these raids proved to be futile. The errant hookah parlours are back in business once again and functioning uninterrupted.

Most of the hookah bars in Dehradun are allowing minors to inhale hookah in contravention of the rules, while as per the general guidelines, smoking is banned for youths below 18 years of age.

Notably, in the past few years, hookah lounges have come up all over the city and they have become favourite for local youths to hang out there. Dingy and dark lightings are the hallmark of these joints, which are attracting the young crowd in a large number.

The police raided hookah joints at Bindal Bridge and on Rajpur Road last month and gave them a strict warning to stop offering hookahs on their premises.

Similar raids were conducted on numerous occasions in the past as well but all efforts of the police to force them to close down them failed.

Minors could be found sitting and enjoying smoking in the hookah bars and it seems the administration and the police have turned a blind eye towards them.

As per the rules, identity cards (ID) cards of customers should be checked before allowing them entry to such joints, but in practice these are hardly implemented.

“We frequently visit hookah bars in groups and nobody enquires about our age before giving the hookahs. We even organise birthday parties of our friends at hookah bars,” Shubham, a class XI student, told The Tribune. "I visit a hookah bar in Rajendra Nagar and on Rajpur Road and I am not aware that they are functioning illegally,” said Sujeet, another student.

On the other hand, parents are questing the intention of the police to force the closure of hookah bars, which are affecting the health and studies of their children.

“Such places are a nursery for drugs and most of the children, who go to hookah bars, end up smoking cigarettes and taking drugs. It is the responsibility of the administration and the police to ensure that such places do not come up in the city,” Gajendra Verma, a parent, said.

Kewal Khuranna, SSP, said, “We have taken action against two hookah joints before the New Year eve and we are going to take strict action against the restaurants and their owners if they continue offering hookah to under-age youths.”

What the rules say…

As per the rules, identity cards (ID) cards of customers should be checked before allowing them entry to such joints, but in practice these are hardly implemented.

  CM takes round of city at night, distributes blankets to homeless

Dehradun, January 2
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna undertook a round of Dehradun city late last night. He interacted with homeless people fighting the cold and distributed blankets among them at Raen Basera, Astley Hall and Parade Ground.

He gave immediate directions to the District Magistrate, Dehradun, BVRC Purushottam, to set up shelter homes for the homeless without delay and also put up tents for those who stay in the open at night.

Bahuguna also directed all District Magistrates to establish shelters for the homeless and ensure that no one stayed out in the open at night.

He told the officials concerned to tour the city and help those spending night in the open.

He also asked the NGOs to come forward to help the homeless. — TNS

Nishank first to give up use of red lights atop cars 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
Call it the after-effect of the stupendous performance of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi Assembly elections or the Supreme Court ruling that former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has stopped the use of red lights atop his cars.

He is the first politician to remove red lights from the two cars that he has been using by virtue of his being a former Chief Minister of the state. He has done so even without waiting for an advisory from the state government.

Though various courts have issued similar directives in the past too, politicians have willfully ignored these. The Aam Aadmi Party by forming the government in New Delhi and forsaking trappings of power like red lights and security has set a chain reaction in Uttarakhand.

“I have taken the decision on my own. I am sure that other party leaders too will follow suit. I have done it out of my own volition,” said Nishank.

Besides Nishank, two other former Chief Ministers have been provided with cars with red lights atop by the government. During his tenure as Chief Minister, BC Khanduri had considerably scaled down his security in order to cut state expenses. The decision had gone down well with the masses as there had been a rampant misuse of red light by small time leaders whom former Chief Minister ND Tiwari had accorded ministerial-rank positions.

When asked if he would give up the use of the red light atop cars, Khanduri said he would wait for the directives of the state government.

However, former Chief Ministers BS Koshiyari, who is also a Rajya Sabha member, and ND Tiwari were not available for comments on the issue.

The Supreme Court on December 10 had ruled that only dignitaries holding constitutional posts could red lights atop their vehicles while on duty. It also urged the Central and state governments to refrain from enlarging the scope of the term ‘high dignitaries’ beyond what has been prescribed in the notifications issued by the Centre in 2002 and 2005. The Uttarakhand government had said recently that it would soon come out with its own list of dignitaries in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling. 

Over 250 join AAP in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 2
Post-Delhi Assembly election results, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is getting a good response in Haridwar district too.

District convener of the party JP Baduni claimed that following the success of the party in the Delhi Assembly elections they were getting a massive response and the enthusiasm of the people could be gauged from the fact that more than 250 new members joined at Gobind Ballabh Pant Park here today.

He said, “People from cross sections of society are joining the AAP, influenced by its pro-common man image, anti-corruption crusade and the working style of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.” “Just a year ago only a few took us seriously, but now there is a wave in favour of the AAP. We are a party with a difference and honest people with the determination to work for society will be welcomed into our party. This is just the start and we will be playing a major role from Uttarakhand during the coming Lok Sabha elections,” Baduni said, while addressing party activists at Gobind Ballabh Pant Park.

Political commentator PS Chauhan opined Uttarakhand was formed in 2000 and both BJP and Congress parties failed to live up to the expectations of the locals. They failed in providing basic amenities to the people that created unrest among the locals.

He said the AAP had provided a ray of hope for the people of the state too. Earlier they only had Congress and BJP as major options, while regional outfits such as the UKD failed to become a state level option.

He said, “At least in Haridwar, the AAP will affect the outcome of 2014 Lok Sabha elections, owing to the huge response it was getting during its new member induction drive,” said Chauhan.

  Snow leopards from Tibetan plateau may have been sighted in state recently 
Experts say entry of leopards into U’khand is natural due to a viable habitat
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
Snow leopards sighted in Uttarakhand recently may have entered this part of the country from the Tibetan plateau. This elusive wild cat has always been a subject of curiosity for both conservationists and the Uttarakhand wildlife authorities.

Though there has much debate about the presence of snow leopards in their stipulated habitat in Uttarakhand, they have been sighted only recently.

They were first sighted at the Nandadevi Biosphere Reserve in 2011 and 2012 and then at 2013 end when two snow leopards were photographed by a camera trap in the Gangotri National Park.

The recent sightings of snow leopards in the Uttarkashi region have been a pleasant surprise for the wildlife conservationists, who do not rule out that the wild cats may have ventured into Uttarakhand from the Tibetan plateau.

Dr S Satyakumar, a senior scientist from the Wildlife Institute of India, who has been following snow leopard studies in Uttarakhand closely for decades, believes that these wild cats sighted at the Gangotri National Park and the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve may have crossed over to the state from the Tibetan plateau.

He said India had only a few snow deserts and there was a better population of snow leopards in the Tibetan plateau. He added as the snow leopard habitat in the Tibetan plateau was well connected to India, these animals entering Uttarakhand was natural.

Interestingly, snow leopards have eluded conservationists for long and claims of their presence in Uttarakhand have so far been without proof till the recent camera filming.

Even in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh these snow leopards were claimed to have been sighted in the Kugti Wildlife Sanctuary in January, 2013, but without any photographic evidence. This indicates that as India has a viable snow leopard habitat, these wild cats may have entered India from the Tibetan plateau recently.

Significantly, Tibetan Buddhists consider snow leopards as well as their habitat sacred and monks often patrol wild landscapes surrounding monasteries and implement decrees against killing the wildlife. This has enormously helped in the conservation of the snow leopards.

Listed under the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and classified as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN Red List, snow leopards have been a neglected species in Uttarakhand. On the other hand, Buddhist monks in the Tibetan plateau have played a significant role in the protection of these rare animals.

In India, five states - Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, and Sikkim - are known to host snow leopards. Besides India, neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and China, also have a viable snow leopard habitat.

Tibetan Buddhists behind conservation of these wild cats

* Tibetan Buddhists consider snow leopards as well as their habitat sacred and monks often patrol wild landscapes surrounding monasteries and implement decrees against killing the wildlife. This has enormously helped in the conservation of the snow leopards. Listed under the Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and classified as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN Red List, snow leopards have been a neglected species in Uttarakhand. On the other hand, Buddhist monks in the Tibetan plateau have played a significant role in the protection of these animals.

AAP demands inquiry into allotment of three tenders 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
Demanding a thorough inquiry into the alleged scam involving the allotment of three tenders for the beautification of the Lansdown chowk in the city, workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) here today staged a protest demonstration and submitted a memorandum to District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam.

On a call given by party convener Sunita Singh Mahanagar, party workers in large numbers gathered at the Lansdown chowk and staged a protest demonstration.

Addressing the protesters, Sunita Singh said work on the widening and beautification of 16 roundabouts was being carried out in various parts of the city. For the beautification and widening of the Lansdowne chowk , the PWD had hired a private player, RG Builders, and given Rs 3 crore to them.

However, with the MDDA floating a tender for Rs 72 lakh for the same project, it clearly proved that the department had embezzled funds.

"In yet another project assigned to RG Builders, Rs 34 lakh was spent on the widening and beautification of the Tibet market. However, the builders had demolished 22 shops in the area following which the PWD took over and completed the task,” said the protesters.

“There is no planning being done by the departments and the public money is being wasted. Recently, the MDDA undertook the reconstruction of a roundabout that it had repaired just a few weeks ago.

The allotment of three tenders for the same project clearly indicates rampant corruption in the department. The District Magistrate should immediately order an inquiry into the matter,” said the protesters.

Those who were part of the protest demonstration included Rajesh Bahuguna, Aarif Hussain, Kamal Devradi, Aaryan Baunthiyal and Manjit Kaintura.

Probe into Lokayukta staff appointment demanded
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
BJP leader Ravinder Jugran has written a letter to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna demanding a probe into the appointment of employees and officers at the state Lokayukta office since its inception.

In the letter, Jugran alleged rules were not followed while appointing gazetted officers at the Lokayukta.

“It is ironical that the office that was set up to check corruption itself followed corrupt practices and violated constitutional norms under Sections 14 and 16. No proper procedure was followed while making appointments," alleged Jugran.

He alleged 32 employees were granted employment through backdoor.

“The government should initiate a probe immediately and punish the guilty,” he said.

Jugran said both the BJP and the Congress had been fighting for the implementation of their Lokayukta but no attention was being paid to the "wrongdoings" taking place at the existing state Lokayukta. 

Nurses continue strike on day 4 
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
The two-shift boycott call given by the government nurses continued on the fourth day, with the doctors, pharmacists and contractual staff, trying to live up to the requirement of the patients.

While the Principal Secretary (Health) Om Prakash clearly stated that the main demand of up-gradation of grade pay was difficult to implement as it first had to be examined by the Department of Finance, while proposal regarding other demands were being examined.

With the president of the association still out of station and the vice-president of the association taken ill, it was left up to the Director General (Health) to pursue the matter.

At the Doon Hospital surgeries that required minimum post-operative care continued to be conducted, but at the Female Hospital the number of surgeries had come down considerably, as post-operative care was vital for caesarean and other such surgeries.

In the absence of nurses, we are admitting only a few patients, Dr Chandra Pant Chief Medical Superintendent at the Female Hospital, said. Meanwhile, another inmate from Nari Niketan who was admitted to the Doon Hospital for treatment passed away yesterday.

The Principal Superintendent of Doon Hospital Dr RS Aswal said the inmate could not recover from the infection that she incurred due to body sores.

Sanitation workers meet Bahuguna
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
Chief patron of the Safai Karamchari Union of the Dehradun Nagar Nigam Suryakant Dhasmana, along with patron Arun Valmiki and general secretary Meenu Sagar, met Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna here today and presented to him a memorandum of problems being faced by the sanitation staff in the city.

The Chief Minister assured the safai karamcharis that he would soon solve their problems. He ordered the Principal Secretary, Urban Development, to take immediate action in this regard.

The memorandum included the demands for increasing the number of posts of sanitary worker, regularisation of the services of contractual labourers and increase in daily wages.

BJP gives memo to DM

Highlighting the plight of residents of Kargi Muslim Basti, the BJP today submitted a memorandum to District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam seeking his immediate intervention and provision of basic facilities.

In the memorandum, president of the BJP Alpsankhyak Morcha said there were thousands of families residing in the Kargi Muslim locality.

Despite a number of requests by the area residents, no provision had been made for the basic facilities, including water pipeline, electricity, streetlights and drainage system.

Namik villagers to take up road, power issues with CM 
The village road was damaged in May last year
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, January 2
Residents of Namik village, which is located at over 6,000 ft high altitude in Munsiyari subdivision, will meet Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in Dehradun on January 5 to take up their problems.

The village has been without road connectivity and power since May last year.

"We will meet Bahuguna and Governor Aziz Qureshi to make them aware of our problems. If they failed to fulfil our genuine demands, we will boycott the parliamentary elections," said Tulsi Devi, a former gram pradhan of the village.

Tulsi Devi said the damaged road connecting the village to the district had not been repaired since May. There was no power in the area since then.

She said a village girl had died after coming in contact with a high-tension power line in May last year. Since then generation at a 50 KW electricity project being run by the UREDA in the village had stopped. Tulsi Devi alleged neither the authorities concerned had restored power supply to the area nor compensated next of kin of the victim so far.

Bhagat Ram, another former gram pradhan of the village, said, "Our village is 35 km from the mainland.There is only one road and that too was damaged in May last year."

He said villagers of the area were on the verge of starvation as they had lost their crops in the May deluge.

Bhagat Ram said they had taken up their problems with the district administration on several occasions, but it failed to pay heed to their concerns.

He said the village was under a thick cover of snow at present. The administration had also withdrawn their kerosene quota, forcing villagers to face many hardships.

He said students were the worst hit as there was no teacher in the local school.

Administrative officials said they had discussed the problems of the villagers with the higher authorities, which were yet to release funds for the repair work.

PK Gangwar, a senior project manager, UREDA, said they were awaiting the release of the funds. As soon as they received it, power supply to the village would be restored.

VC underlines need to promote Sanskrit language
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 2
Although Sanskrit is regarded as the mother of all languages and has been accorded the status of the second official language in Uttarakhand, still much more is required to be done to bring back the old glory of the ancient language.

This was stated by Vice-Chancellor of the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan AP Sachidanand during the inaugural session of the two-day All-India Sanskrit Shastriya Competition at Shri Bhagwan Das Adarsh Sanskrit Maha Vidyalya here today.

Emphasising the need of promoting Sanskrit language, Prof Mahavir Aggarwal said the competition aimed at honing Sanskrit skills of students and developing in them the habit of reading Sanskrit literature and books.

Meanwhile, a book on the Kedarnath flash floods written by Dr Niranjan Mishra in Sanskrit language was released on the occasion .

Among others present were Shri Dhar Mishra from Jaipur, Arvind Narayan Tiwari, Dr Shiv Shankar Mishra,Dr Prakash Pant, Shailesh Tiwari, Manju Nath, Pinki, Pankaj Upreti, Amit Dohbal and Dr Devi Prasad.

New tourist circuits to be developed 
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, January 2
The Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) has decided to develop new tourist circuits in the region this year an estimated cost of Rs 29 crore provided by the Central government under its various schemes for tourist development in the country.

DK Sharma, regional manager at the nigam, said, “These circuits are being developed at Jauljibi in Pithoragarh district, at Kausani in Bageshwar district, and at Ramnagar and Sitabani also in Nainital district."

He added, “We have planned a river rafting centre at Jauljibi, an eco-tourism centre at Kausani in Someshwar, eco-tourism on the Ramganga river at Koshi, and a day safari centre at Sitabani in Nainital district.”

Sharma said the infrastructure building for these projects would begin this year. Proposals for these projects had been finalised. “We have planned a special river rafting centre at Bhikiasein in Almora district so that tourists can enjoy rafting on the Ramganga,” he said.

Package tour facilities would be provided to tourists after a kayaking centre at Bhimtal and a paragliding centre at Naukuchiyatal becomes functional.

New track routes would also be developed at various destinations in the region.

Konika, Avinash shine at Yuva Mahotsav
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
With an aim to providing a platform to the youth for showcasing their talent, the District Youth Welfare Department along with Prantiya Rakshak Dal Department (PRD) organised a one-day Yuva Mahotsav at the Town Hall, here today.

A number of activities and competitions were part of the event that highlighted the rising substance abuse problem and child-marriage prevalent in society.

A play titled ‘Nasha Mukti Aivam Bal Vivah’, was staged by the artistes from the Chakrata block.

Anokhi Disha, a play by artistes from Vikas Nagar, highlighted the issue of corruption along with sending a message of patriotism among the audience. The participants from Sahaspur block staged a play based on the theme of healthy living and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

In the folk dance competition, Doiwala bagged the first spot with 48 points followed by Chakrata (47) and Raipur (45).

In the folk song competition, Doiwala bagged the first spot with 49 points while Raipur and Vikas Nagar stood second and third respectively.

Konika was chosen as the best classical singer while Avinash Dhobal bagged the first spot in the tabla competition.

Addressing the gathering, chief guest for the function MLA Rajkumar said such kind of cultural festivals should be organised to promote the talent of youngsters.

Those who were a part of the function included Shakti Singh, NN Pandey, PC Pandey, UC Kapdi and Dinesh Singh Chauhan along with several others.

Winter Line Carnival a success, thanks to DM and his team
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, January 2
The Winter Line Carnival organised in Mussoorie by the Dehradun district administration was a grand success mainly due to the untiring efforts of District Magistrate BVRC Purushotam and other officials.

Tourists have been keeping away from visiting tourist places in the state, including Mussoorie, following the natural disaster in June last year, thus affecting the local economy that is dependent on tourism.

The local business community contacted the District Magistrate a few months ago and appealed to him to devise a strategy to attract tourists to the town and promote Mussoorie as a safe tourist destination.

The District Magistrate, taking the onus on himself, volunteered for the job and along with Sandeep Sahni, a member of the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, thought of hosting Winter Line Carnival. The carnival was based on the natural phenomenon that is visible over the horizon of the Doon valley after the sunset in the winter.

He planned a four-day festival filled with fun and frolic and performances by renowned artistes like Sivamani, Lucky Ali and Shibani Kashyap after consultations with various stakeholders. Initially, it was decided that the local Municipal Council headed by president Manmohan Singh Mall would execute and fund the project but after considering the alleged financial irregularities committed by the council during the autumn festival last year, the district administration took the charge to execute the Winter Line Carnival.

The District Magistrate solicited support from various departments, including the Municipal Council, and managed to arrange Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh for the carnival.

One of the unsung heroes of the carnival, Vice-Chairman of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), Meenakshi Sundaram, played an important role and contributed Rs 5 lakh to the show. Executive Engineer, MDDA, SS Sharma, said the assistance did not stop there as the MDDA repainted railings and installed street furniture, including benches, on the Mall Road. Besides, the department also installed new streetlights even though the work fell in the purview of the Municipal Council, said Sharma.

“The MDDA officials in association with the local business community also looked after the staying arrangements of various artistes,” said Sharma.

The SDM, Mussoorie, Sonika, was another official who worked tirelessly to make the carnival a success. She was the one who ran from one end of the town to the other to ensure that all activities for the carnival went off as planned. Besides, senior officials from Dehradun arrived in hoards for the carnival.

Additional District Magistrate, Dehradun, Harak Singh Rawat also spent sleepless nights in managing the carnival activities and coordinating with the District Magistrate and other officials.

The Circle Officer, Mussoorie, Jaya Baloni, was the official who successfully managed enthusiastic crowds, which sometimes became restless, especially during performances by renowned artistes Shivamani, Lucky Ali, and Shibani Kashyap. She also manned the relentless inflow of traffic and audience during the carnival.

Jodie Underhill, the founder of Waste Warriors, volunteered to collect of garbage from the venue for the carnival and for four days she was seen picking litters from the Mall Road. She picked even the small piece of plastic even at midnight while the carnival was on here. Sunil Arora, owner of Cambridge Book Depot, was instrumental in organising the event ‘High tea with Ruskin Bond’ during the carnival.

Asked about the carnival, all officials said, “It was an uphill task but they took up the challenge with the objective of promoting the town as a safe tourist destination and succeeded in their mission to a great extent.”

However, many residents commending the efforts of the officials said there were minor shortcomings that irked the tourists and residents alike. The administration should ensure that the mistakes of this year were not repeated during the carnival next year. 

Handicrafts exhibition on Rishikul ground a big draw
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, January 2
Traditional handicrafts and items are drawing visitors in a large number to the ongoing ‘Gandhi Shilp Bazaar’ on the Rishikul ground in Haridwar.

Handicraft artisans from across the country are taking part in the exhibition being organised by the Central Government under the aegis of Bharatiya Gramothan Samajik Vikas Sansthan, Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Artisans from Assam, Rajasthan, Banaras, Himachal Pradesh, Kolkata, and hill districts of Uttarakhand have displayed their handicrafts at the exhibition.

Ahsaan Malik from Benaras, who specializes in traditional carpets and mats, said they were getting a good response and the people were buying in bulk the items made in Benaras by expert artisans.

Assam-based Ujjwal and Manish, who have special bamboo-based artifacts on display, said the people were now turning to natural and artistic items.

Shikha Rawat, a visitor, though lamented that many stalls were still not occupied and there should be more publicity of such exhibitions.

Vikas Tiwari, a member of the exhibition organising committee, said more than 12 vacant stalls would be occupied by tomorrow. The exhibition would conclude on January 7. 

Street play on dowry menace
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
Empower People, an NGO, in assistance with the Sambhav Manch, organised a street play on the menace of dowry at Gandhi Park here today.

NGO and manch artistes tried to highlight the suffering of a newly-wed woman at the hands of her greedy in-laws. The play gave a message to the public to stand unitedly against the menace. Uttarakhand state coordinator of Empower People Priya Ratudi conducted the street play proceedings.

Dr Veena Krishanan, Abhishek Maindola, Israr Ahmed and Praveen Chand were prominent among the artistes.

 Kanpur team book semi-final berth in cricket tourney
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
The Kanpur cricket team entered the semifinal of the Bankelal Shah Memorial Under-15 Cricket Tournament after defeating Lakhimpur Khiri here today.

After winning the toss, Lakhimpur Khiri elected to bat first and made 90 runs in the allotted 20 overs.

B Yadav scored the maximum runs (27) for Lakhimpur while Anmol contributed 15 runs.

From Kanpur, Arun took 4 wickets. The Kanpur team did not find much difficulty in chasing the target and won the match. Amish Paul was the highest scorer for Kanpur with 38 runs .

Earlier, in a group match, Kanpur defeated Delhi by 4 runs. Kanpur elected to bat first after winning the toss and made 135 runs.

Akit Sonkar made the highest runs (49) in the inning.

In reply, Delhi displayed a good performance and made 131 runs.

Anup was the highest scorer for the Delhi team with 28 run

Tapovan Club beat Cant Blue in football tournament

Tapovan Football Club entered the final of the Veer Khadak Bahadur Memorial Football Tournament, here today, after defeating Cant Blue in a tie-breaker 8-7.

During the 90-minute duration of the game, both teams scored three goals each.

Garhwal Sporting drub Doon Star 4-2
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
The Garhwal Sporting Football Club entered the final of the Swami Vivekananda Memorial District-Level Football Tournament by defeating Doon Star in a nail-biting semi-final match played at the Pavilion ground here today.

Both teams known for their good football technique attacked each other’s goal posts constantly.

Despite getting close to scoring a goal, both teams ended up without a goal. They then played a tie-breaker where the Garhwal Sporting Football Club won 4-2.

The second semi-final match will be played between Vijay Cant and JA Boys tomorrow.

12 killed, 3 hurt as vehicle falls into gorge 
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, January 2
Twelve persons were killed and three seriously injured when an overloaded Mahindra Max vehicle they were travelling in plunged into a 500-metre gorge at Nada village near Lakhamandal in Dehradun district today.

Reports said the overloaded commercial vehicle, bearing registration number UKO7TR 5315, was carrying 17 passengers to Nada village from Lakhamandal when it plunged into the gorge around noon. A Mahindra Max vehicle has a nine-plus seating capacity.

According to the local police, the vehicle was on its way to Nada village when the driver lost control over it due to the damaged road and it plunged into the deep gorge. Two passengers acting swiftly jumped off the vehicle while 11 others died on the spot. Another passenger died on his way to the government hospital at Naugaon, taking the death toll to 12. The three critically injured have been referred to a higher medical centre at Dehradun. The driver of the vehicle, Sadhu Ram, who escaped unhurt, is absconding.

The deceased have been identified as Khajan Panwar (38), Attar Singh Panwar (43), Hukum Singh (45), Kesar Singh (33), Balbir Singh (43), and Rajendar Panwar (45), all residents of Duttruta village; Pritam Panwar (38), Rajendar Panwar (30), Vikram Singh Panwar (40), Shyam Singh Panwar (45), Ranvir Singh (30), all residents of Lawadi village; and Vikki Panwar.

The bodies have been sent to the Lakhamandal community health centre for post-mortem, which will be conducted tomorrow. 

Flouting norms

* Reports said the overloaded commercial vehicle, bearing registration number UKO7TR 5315, was carrying 17 passengers to Nada village from Lakhamandal when it plunged into the gorge around noon. A Mahindra Max vehicle has a nine-plus seating capacity. 

Youth commits suicide
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, January 2
An 18-year-old youth committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan here yesterday.

Bijendra Yadav used to work as a security guard and was living in the servant quarters of an ex-servicemen's colony at Seema Dwar.

According to his family, Bijendra came back from work in the morning and went inside his room.

Family members of Bijendra Yadav panicked after he did not come out of his room for a long time and stopped replying to any queries.

The family members informed the police, which broke the door to enter the room and found Bijendra hanging from the ceiling fan.

The police also found a suicide note from the room in which Bijendra had written he was taking the drastic step as he wanted to meet God.

His grieving family members also informed the police that Bijendra was very religious and used to talk about meeting God.

Meanwhile, the body was sent for a post-mortem.