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Ganga Dussehra
Devotees offer prayers at Surkhanda Devi temple
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Water, power shortage hit Champawat, Lohaghat
Traffic jams pile up as tourist season peaks in Mussoorie
Countdown begins for Mansarovar yatra
Patrol unit to regulate traffic in Haridwar
Action against polling agents who give training programme a miss
Power cuts irk Doon residents
POLITICAL DIARY
Congress not to announce candidates for panchayat polls
No nominations filed for 676 panchayat posts
ganga river
Laloor water pumping project to be functional from July
Death of man, daughter: Two suspects arrested from Doon
Litchi production dips in state
Jewel thief arrested
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Over 25 lakh take a dip in Ganga
Tribune News Service
Haridwar, June 8 Pilgrims had begun to arrive to the city from different states since yesterday. NH-72 and NH-58 witnessed traffic snarls throughout the day. The mela (festival) area was bifurcated into 12 zones and 35 sectors for effective management. As per mela control room figures, by the evening 25 lakh plus devotees had arrived in the city taking holy Ganga dip. From the wee hours, tens and thousands had taken the holy Ganga dip at the sanctum sanctorum of the Braham Kund,Har-Ki-Pauri, adjacent to the Malviya, VIP,Gau, Kushawrati,Birla,Alaknanda,Swami Vivekanand,Prem Nagar, Luv Kush,Gobind,Pull Jatwada and other ghats. As per Pundit Pawan Shastri the holy Ganga flew on the earth on this auspicious day of ‘Jyesth Shukla Paksha Dashami’ of Ganga Dussehra from the matted locks of Lord Shiva on meditation done by king Bhagirath to provide salvation to 60,000 sons of king Sagar. Shastri added that today the Palvang Samvatsar as per the Hindu calendar is same as it was during the advent of the Ganga on the earth. So it was more fruitful to take holy dip and perform rituals on this day. Apart from this, today was ‘Sarvarth Siddh Yog’-which means all new works or auspicious works could be done on this very day of Ganga Dussehra. City based dharamshala’s, ashrams, lodges, hotels, guest houses and state guest houses were abuzz with pilgrims and tourists. Railway station,bus station and private bus-taxi service stands also witnessed huge crowd, with state transport pitching in additional buses for various routes. Senior Superintendent of Haridwar district Dr Sadanand Date, Superintendent of City Police, Dr Surjeet Singh Pawar,Circle Officers Chandra Mohan Negi,Rajesh Bhatt monitored the whole festive proceedings. District Magistrate D Senthyl Pendiyan also inspected core mela zone of Har-Ki-Pauri, giving necessary directives to the mela personnel. For today’s fair 2 Additional Superintendent of Police, 7 Deputy Superintendent of Police, 13 Station House Officers, 55 sub-inspectors,7 women sub- inspectors, 66 head constables,356 constables,4 traffic sub-inspectors,67 constables of traffic, sleuths of intelligence unit, bomb disposal squad, cavalry squad,Jal police squad, fire fighters and 4 companies of Provincial Armed Constabulary were also pitched in for providing security during the festive. From City Control Room, near Har-Ki-Pauri via CCTV footage’s monitoring of mela proceedings was done. Importance
On June 8, Palvang Samvatsar, as per the Hindu calendar, was same as it was during the advent of the Ganga on the earth. So it was more fruitful to take a holy dip in the river and perform rituals. It was also ‘Sarvarth Siddh Yog, which means all new works or auspicious works could be done on this day. |
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Devotees offer prayers at Surkhanda Devi temple
Mussoorie, June 8 The Surkhanda Devi fair is being held organised every year on the occasion Ganga Dussehra (Jyesth
Navami Day). Devotees trekked from Kaddukhal to reach the shrine, chanting hymns in praise of Goddess Ganga. The festivities began with the offering of Ganga jal (water), followed by traditional prayers and offering of bhog (specially prepared food) to Goddess Surkhanda Devi. Locals dressed in traditional attire danced to local religious tunes. Some devotees offered silver and gold ‘chattar’ at the temple. A devotee from Delhi said he had been visiting the shrine since childhood. A communal feast (bhandara) was also organised by the temple
committee. Ramesh Lekhwar, temple priest, said in ancient India there was a king named Sagara whose 60,000 sons were looking for the lost horse from the sacrificial ‘Ashwamedha Yagya’. Their over-enthusiasm disturbed sage Kapila, who was meditating then. Kapila reduced them to ashes. Later, the sage relented and told them that only the touch of the water from the Ganga would give them salvation (moksha). After a few generations, Bhagirath, king of Kosala, entered into penance for hundreds of years to please Goddess Ganga. She agreed, but asked him to find a intermediary between them, since the force of her flow would threaten to destroy the planet. Bhagirath requested Lord Shiva and he agreed to take her on his entwined locks. Then Ganga, on this auspicious day, came down to earth from the matted locks of Lord Shiva in seven streams and washed down the ashes of Bhagirath’s ancestors. Bhagirath’s great effort was praised by all Gods and his ancestors, and is known as a Bhagirath’s prayas (effort). He further said the devotees visit all round the year but on the auspicious occasion of Ganga Dusshera, the number of devotees increases manifold in the temple. Meanwhile, the absence of sanitation and hygiene plan on way to the temple from Kaddukhal irked many devotees. They had to go through a harrowing experience of smelling the strong stench of mule excreta all along the road. |
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Water, power shortage hit Champawat, Lohaghat
According to the Jal Sansthan sources, they are not in a position to supply water through tankers as the government has not sanctioned budget for purchase or hiring of tankers till date. “Due to lack of budget, we are not in a position to use tankers. We can supply drinking water to the town only after a two-day gap. There is insufficient water by way of natural sources, from which water is supplied to the town,” said PC Kargeti, executive engineer of Jal Sansthan. The situation in localities of Lohaghat town is apparently worse than that in Champawat. Drinking water is being supplied to the localities in the town after four days. “Due to the pathetic condition of drinking water supply in the town, women are forced to bring drinking water from distant sources after travelling hours to reach and return from there,” said Renu Garkoti, ward member in the town’s civic body in Lohaghat. Residents of Pithoragarh town have been facing paucity of drinking water supply for the last one week. Due to rise in heat in this peak summer season, the availability of electricity is less than what is required in the town. The lift drinking water project which supplies water to the town has been affected. “The electricity supply has gone down in the town as there are frequent breakdowns of transformers due to excessive load,” said Rajesh Kumar, executive engineer, UPCL office. Businessmen and other residents of the town are putting up with water and electricity crunch these days. Meanwhile, the temperature in the town has soared to 35°C. They wonder when despite a temperature of 45°C, the transformers in plain and Terai areas are not getting heated, how the 35°C temperature is having such an effect here. “The department is coming up with sheer excuses. The fact of the matter is that they are not getting required electricity supply for hill towns,” said Pawan Joshi, a businessman in the town. The residents of Terai town of Tanakpur in Champawat district are witnessing recording-breaking heat and the power supply has remained inadequate for the last five days. “The residents as well as pilgrims to Purnagiri temple are suffering due to shortage of power supply and resultant water crisis,” said Rajesh Deopa, a shopkeeper in Tanakpur town. |
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MC targets Rs 63 cr revenue
Haridwar, June 8 The civic body has now set a target of Rs 61 crore expenditure for this financial year. Assessed target estimate is put at Rs 63 crore. This earning target is up by 20 per cent from the last financial year. This was stated by Mukhya Nagar Adhikari Vipra Trivedi while talking to TNS here today. Trivedi added that
certain targets remained unachieved in the last year. It was stated that the civic body will go in for assessment. Executive committee meeting of the Municipal Corporation will discuss it soon. Rs 2 crore earning from house tax has also been earmarked. The last year, revenue generated from house tax was Rs 1.10 crore. Rickshaw licence revenue stood at Rs 2 lakh in comparison to the target of Rs 8 crore. This has been attributed to introduction of battery-operated rickshaw. Keeping this in mind, Vipra said that soon, registration licence tax will be introduced. Bullock cart license earning stood at Rs 300 while it was targeted at Rs 1 lakh. Likewise, from other sources too, the civic body has got less revenue. Trivedi said that development works and catering to wages of civic body employees form the core of the civic body budget. More fund via various sources has been sought from the government. Mayor Manoj Garg added that last year, owing to the flash flood in June, the pilgrim city suffered huge loss. It depends majorly
on pilgrims and tourists, who didn’t arrive in expected numbers. He added that earlier, the civic body was Municipal Committee, but now, it had been elevated to the status of Municipal Corporation. Thus, apart from budget, central funding like JNNURM project and civic body area have increased. So, the target revenue of
Rs 61 crore is stated to be achievable. |
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Traffic jams pile up as tourist season peaks in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, June 8 The administration, the Tourist Department and a hotel association had given clear guidelines to members of the hotel industry not to indulge in overcharging prior to the tourist season. This had an effect only on a few hoteliers. Guest houses, most of which are running illegally allegedly in connivance with some Tourism Department officials, have been indulging in rampant overcharging for the rooms here. Taxi drivers increased their rates for the route from Dehradun to Mussoorie without proffering any rationale, much to the disgust of the tourists here. Some tourists also alleged that the rate fluctuated according to the rush witnessed at the taxi stand near the railway station, and the police personnel present there ignored the problem. The rush to the town resulted in frequent traffic jams as all the pre-season plans to manage traffic went haywire. Jams were witnessed at Picture Palace, Library Bazaar, leaving many tourists stuck up for several hours. Mussoorie also felt the pinch of the heat as the rising temperatures forced many tourists to head towards Kempty Falls to cool off. The shopkeepers were delighted to see the heavy rush and did brisk business the entire day. Street vendors from around the region were seen selling items, including food, in the open to the tourists. The risk of an epidemic thus looms. Scarcity of potable drinking water added to the health woes in the town. Hotels have been forced to rent water tankers, which fill water from dhobhi ghat spring that is already polluted and untreated. This has led to increase in diarrhoea cases. For the tanker owners, it was a field day due to increase in demand for water in the town. According to the medical staff at the civil hospital, more than 60 diarrhoea cases out of 100 here were being reported on a daily basis at the hospital. Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall said that in order to mitigate the problem of parking in the town, Chief Minister Harish Rawat, during his recent visit, had given directions for finding of new avenues for parking. The Circle Officer Mussoorie Jaya Baloni, speaking on the traffic jam situation, said there was sheer absence of adequate parking in the town. The police were trying to reopen the roads by diverting vehicles to different routes, he said. The Mussoorie Hotel Association secretary Ajay Bhargav said if the drinking water supply did not increase in a day or two, the hoteliers would be left with no other option but to shut down their units here. Tour travails
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Countdown begins for Mansarovar yatra
Pithoragarh, June 8 The security and rescue team members will follow every pilgrim’s batch up to Lipulekh Pass, from where the pilgrimage enters in Tibet. “Besides this security team, we have also pressed our disaster management team into service and the team members,
at present removing snow from the way to Lipulekh beyond Gunji camp,” said Kedar Singh Rawat, an ITBP official
at Didihat. According to the Managing Director of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) , the nodal agency for the the yatra since 1981, medical teams accompanying the pilgrims batches will be given Hypo bags for the pilgrims who face shortage of oxygen at the high altitude areas beyond
Gunji camp. “As the pilgrimage reach the high altitude area, the shortage of oxygen starts affecting pilgrims, we have arranged Hypo bags besides other medicines for the healthcare of the pilgrims,” said Deepak Rawat,Managing Director of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, the nodal agency for the pilgrimage. |
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Patrol unit to regulate traffic in Haridwar
Dehradun, June 8 “Training of cops from the Haridwar police will start from June 9 in the Haridwar police lines. The unit will then hit the roads immediately,” SP (crime), Nivedita Kukreti, said. In Dehradun, 54 city patrol unit personnel were given two-months training in the Dehradun police lines before the patrol unit was flagged off on April 1 by Director General of Police BS Sidhu. DGP BS Sidhu is said to have mooted the idea of a city patrol unit after he took over as the new DGP of Uttarakhand. The specialised unit was set up with the aim of enforcing traffic rules, curbing
of road accidents and road crimes. In the first phase, the police are planning to set up similar city patrol units in Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar after Haridwar. “In the first phase, we will stick to four cities. Our plan is to expand their operations to the highways in the next phase,” said the Superintendent of Police (crime). In Dehradun, the city patrol units are functioning on 10 routes. They have reportedly been able to reduce traffic violations in Dehradun city through what is stated to be zero-tolerance approach in the last two months. |
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Action against polling agents who give training programme a miss
Dehradun, June 8 He said a First Information Report would be lodged against absentees if they do not report for the training programme latest by Monday evening. The training was imparted to zonal magistrates, sector magistrates and polling agents in order to conduct free and fair three-tier panchayat polls in the state here today. As many as 40 zonal and sector magistrates, and 1.008 polling agents were trained in two sessions of training held at ONGC hall here today. A total of 86 polling agents were found absent in the training programme. Speaking on the occasion, Additional District Magistrate (Finance), Pratap Shah said that lethargic approach of polling agents would not be tolerated. He urged them to strive to complete their duties with honesty and dedication. He told them to clear up any doubts they have during the training programme. He said ballot papers would be used for the elections. He instructed officials to strictly follow Election Commission guidelines while making preparations for the panchayat elections. He said that strict action would be taken against officials who fail to perform as per the desired standards. Shah instructed officials to complete all necessary arrangements at block level for conducting elections. He told officials to submit updated list of polling agents from their respective departments. Chief education officer SP Khali imparted training and cleared doubts of participants. He instructed polling agents to scrutinise ballot papers and other election-related material before leaving the district headquarters. Master trainers Mohammad Mustafa Khan and UD Goswami were present. |
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Power cuts irk Doon residents
Dehradun, June 8 Chairing a meeting, chairperson of Kesar Jan Kalyan Samiti, NK Gusain, lamented that frequent power cuts are causing huge inconvenience to residents. He said it has become extremely difficult for residents to bear the heat as the mercury has touched 40°C in Dehradun. Gusain said the state power department is not taking any steps to overcome the problem of low voltage in different colonies. Samiti members said government supply of potable water is also affected by erratic power supply in Dehradun. Office-bearers of the samiti lamented that residents have been demanding installation of new transformers to address the problem of low voltage at Majjri Mafi under the Raipur state Assembly constituency. The department is yet to take steps to address their grievances. The samiti members have threatened to start an agitation if the state power department
does not take effective steps to address their grievances soon. Among those present were Manju Gusain, Akash Verma, MS Rawat, Inder Singh Negi, Beerandra Gusain, Manoj Thakur, MS Bhandari and Veerandra Gusain. |
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Youth, residents take part in ‘Mad-A-Thon’
Dehradun, June 8 The gathering was persuaded to accept MAD’s petition, seeking a road map for the reviving streams in Dehradun. The mini-marathon was flagged off by Mayor Vinod Chamoli at Pavilion Ground. The mini-marathon passed through Budda Chowk, Clock Tower, St Thomas College, Krishna Nagar Chowk, ONGC Chowk and culminated at Kendriya Vidyalaya, ONGC campus. Saurabh Gusain stood first and Naveen Parmar was the runners-up under the boys category, whereas Seema Bisht stood first and Arshia Sangwan was the runners-up. The senior most citizen participant, Jasveer Singh Sachdeva, and the youngest participant, Siddharth Chauhan, were also awarded. After the mini-marathon, the group arranged for a brief cultural and entertainment programme, which included band performances, dance numbers, stand-up comedy, beat boxing etc. Abhijay Negi, chairperson of the MAD, Aakash Bhatia, Samarth Khanna and Abhinav Bahuguna were also present on
the occasion. |
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Rawat uses Gairsain for ‘political gain’
SMA Kazmi Tribune News Service
Dehradun, June 8 Since the formation of Uttarakhand on November 9, 2000, both the Congress and the BJP, which ruled the state, have had used the Gairsain issue for political gains. Former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna after his son Saket Bahuguna’s defeat in the 2012 Tehri byelection had held a Cabinet meeting at Gairsain in October 2012. He also laid the foundation stone of a new Assembly building at Gairsain in January 2013. Now, after the Congress’ rout in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state, incumbent Chief Minister Harish Rawat has decided to hold an Assembly session at Gairsain from tomorrow. According to sources, the Congress is playing the Gairsain card to divert the focus from the LS election rout. Harish Rawat also seems to be trying to potray that his government would be sensitive towards the needs and aspirations of the people of the hilly region for whom the hill state was carved out of Uttar Pradesh. The situation in the hilly regions of the state did not change much in all these years since the formation of the state. Rather it has worsened following the devastation caused by the natural disaster in the hilly areas last year. The rate of migration from rural and remote areas has also increased owing to lack of basic civic amenities, health and educational facilities. The Chief Minister has stated that the holding of an Assembly session at Gairsain is in consonance with the aspirations of the statehood agitators, who wanted a permanent capital in the middle of the state. It is expected that Chief Minister Harish Rawat could declare Gairsain as the permanent capital of the state. However, to take a decision in this regard would be difficult for any Chief Minister due to the hill-plain divide in the state. Cutting across party lines, both the major political parties, the Congress and the BJP, stand divided on the lines of hill and plains on the issue. While most of the leaders of the hills want to make Gairsain as the permanent capital, leaders of both parties hailing from plains oppose the move. Even after the announcement of holding the session at Gairsain, Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat has come out openly against declaring Gairsain as the permanent state capital due to lack of infrastructural facilities. On the other hand, two of the BJP legislators from Haridwar, Swami Yatiswaranand and Sanjay Gupta, also decided to boycott the session. However, they were persuaded by party leaders to attend as the BJP does not want to send a wrong message in the public in the hills. It would be a difficult decision for Chief Minister Harish Rawat to declare Gairsain as the permanent capital of the state keeping in view the political realities and ground situation at Gairsain. However, he could hope to gain politically by announcing to hold an Assembly session at Gairsain at least once a year. Playing Gairsain card
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Congress not to announce candidates for panchayat polls
Dehradun, June 8 He, however,
said party workers would work for one single candidate in each constituency. He said under the directions of state Congress unit president Yashpal Arya, observers were sent across the state, who submitted their report to the president. Following this, it was decided not to announce official candidates of the party for the polls. |
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No nominations filed for 676 panchayat posts
Pithoragarh, June 8 He said out of the total 4,388 posts of
ward members in panchayat, only 3,712 wards had witnessed nominations, while no one turned to
file nomination papers for the remaining 676 wards. He said even in the last tenure of panchayat bodies, several posts of panchayat members remained vacant. “The headquarters of Bin has maximum
336 vacant posts, while Kanalichina block has minimum vacant posts,” said the
nodal officer. |
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CM visits his native village
Dehradun, June 8 Harish Rawat paid obeisance at the Bhumihaar Devta temple. Interacting with people, the Chief Minister said he had come to Manohari to seek the blessings of the people before the start of an Assembly session at Gairsain. After spending some time at Manohari, the Chief Minister left for
Gairsain. |
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Impact of hydel projects to be studied
Tribune News Service
She said after the committee’s report, a decision on granting consent to hydropower projects on the river would be taken. She was addressing mediapersons at the Divya Sewa Prem Mission here today. This was her first visit to the city after becoming Union minister. Notably, Bharati had carried out an indefinite agitation for the cause of the Mata Dhari Devi shrine at Srinagar in Pauri Garhwal two years ago. She was against a 330 MW hydropower project there. She said besides scientists, the Ganga National River Basin Authority would also have religious saints and environmentalists on its panel. Addressing party activists and eco activists, Bharati said as her ‘Samagra Ganga ‘drive was launched at Divya Sewa Prem Mission a few years ago, she made it a point to visit the mission ashram after becoming Union minister.
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Church celebrates 105th foundation day
Mussoorie, June 8 Father Sebastian highlighted the importance of the church among the Catholic devotees. He said it was a great occasion for the community as the church entered in its
106th year. He said the devotees should try to remove evil for the good of the community members and society at large. He said the people should follow the message of peace given by Lord Jesus Christ. The children presented several dance items and skits dedicated to the lord. The devotees joined in singing hymns in praise of the lord on the occasion. |
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Laloor water pumping project to be functional from July
Mussoorie, June 8 “The project is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 14.41 crore. Of this, Rs 8 crore have already been spent on the project by the Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam and 80 per cent of the work has been completed,” said the officials. The officials said the pumping units will start drawing water from July. Apart from 19 villages, around 20 government schools in the region would also be benefited. Sanjay Kumar, XEN, Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, said the work was being done keeping high quality level in to consideration.
— TNS Sigh of relief n Besides 19 villages falling under Laloor Patti in the Jaunpur development block of Tehri district, 20 government schools in the region will also be
benefited. |
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Death of man, daughter: Two suspects arrested from Doon
Dehradun, June 8 According to the SSP Ajay Rautela, “We have arrested a person namely Anchal, who is a nephew of Darshan Singh, and his friend Satendra
for allegedly killing Darshan Singh and his daughter Khushbu.” |
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Litchi production dips in state
Dehradun, June 8 A team of the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute, Dehradun, which included imminent scientists —- Avinash Chandra Rathore, H Lal, NK Sharma, Harsh Mehta, J Jayaprakash and OP Chaturvedi —- have found out after a long study that intercropping legumes with litchi gives higher economic returns to farmers. The intercropping improves soil moisture, canopy spread and fruit yield of litchi significantly than the sole litchi fruit yield. The study points out that litchi holds an immense potential in the foothills of the lower Himalaya to utilise, conserve and more importantly restore degraded land for securing livelihood of resource. Litchi is a slow-growing tree which transmits light through the canopy for intercrops. These intercrops provide additional returns. The cultivation of legumes like “toria’ was highly successful with litchi up to the first 10 years, when litchi tree was small. Subsequently, shade tolerant intercrops like turmeric were introduced for cultivation with litchi. Increased returns from tree crop combinations have also been reported in the past from mango with intercropping with legumes and oil seed crops.
— TNS |
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ONGC lift All-India U’khand gold cup cricket title
Dehradun, June 8 After losing the toss and being put into bat first, the ONGC team made
322 runs in 45 overs. Opener Samarth Singh played a brilliant inning of 63 runs on 57 balls while Nitesh Rana played a match-winning knock of 137 runs and helped his team in setting a mammoth target. For MCA, Mumbai, Mainish Rao, Badre Alam and Abdullah Iqbal took 2 wickets each against the ONGC team. In reply, MCA, Mumbai, had a good start with both openers, Kevin Almeda and Akhil Herwadkar, scoring 25 and 78 runs, respectively. In the middle order, Sarfaraz Khan made 61 runs. Akhil Herwadkar of MCA, Mumbai, was adjudged man of the tournament.
— TNS |
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Jewel thief arrested
Dehradun, June 8 “Acting on a tip-off, the police team arrested Shakir from Mohini Road in Dehradun and also recovered robbed valuables from him,” said SSP Ajay Rautela. He said the police team recovered four gold rings, two gold chains, eight gold earrings and Rs 2,100 cash from his possession. “His two accomplices are still absconding and the police are trying to nab them as well. The police have also found the
knife, which Shakir carried,” he added. — TNS |
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Pithoragarh, June 8
Haridwar, June
8