Matra Sadan inmate tips off admn about illegal quarrying
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 19
A disciple of Matra Sadan Swami Dayanand today provided details of illegal quarrying going on at the Bairagi camp, which falls under the core Kumbh mela zone, to the administration.

The police conducted a raid in the Bairagi camp area and found quarrying going on with impunity.

On the direction of SSP, Haridwar, Dr Sadanand Date, a police team seized six JCB machines and trucks which were used for ferrying quarrying material illegally.

Swami Shivanand cited the directives of the National Green Tribunal given on August 5, 2013, which stated strict measures to stop quarrying in the Ganga river bed.

He said despite this an official of the Irrigation Department had given his consent in writing to carry out quarrying at three different places on the Ganga river bed, which is a blatant violation of the National Green Tribunal directives.

Seer said six vehicle numbers were also indicated in the letter with consent given at Chandi Ghat, Bairagi camp and Dhobi Ghat, for quarrying and also permission to ferry this quarrying material till Khanpur.

This came to light when around a week ago, on June 13, District magistrate D Senthyl Pendiyan temporarily prohibited quarrying in Haridwar owing to the negative impact it could have on local ecology in the coming monsoons.

Taking cognisance of this complaint, the District Magistrate’s office started an enquiry regarding this episode. When the Irrigation Department’s Executive Engineer VK Pant, was contacted, he said as the matter had come into light he was looking into the matter and if any official was found involved, strict action would be taken against them.

Meanwhile, police also carried out seizures of JCB machines, trucks and trolleys at Roorkee, Sultanpur and Lakshar.

Haridwar’s rural legislator Swami Yatishwaranand and Lakshar legislator Sanjay Gupta also demanded strict action against the people involved in quarrying across the district.

Swami Yatishwaranand in his Assembly segment, alongwith party workers and local villagers are also reaching out at those venues where information about illegal quarrying comes into light and are informing the police about the illegal act.

Inmates of the Matra Sadan ashram are playing an active role in exposing illegal quarrying going on in Haridwar. Besides staging agitations and approaching courts, Matra Sadan has now started providing details of illegal quarrying being done in the district.

Founder of Matra Sadan Swami Shivanand along with his disciples has exposed the nexus between the quarrying mafia and some administrative officials, who have been shielding the mafia.

No plans to halt Char Dham Yatra, says Rudraprayag DM
Parwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
Even as the impending monsoon pose a threat to the fate of the Char Dham Yatra, especially with memories of the natural disaster in June last year still fresh, the authorities have ruled out any possibility of the yatra being suspended or halted altogether.

Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langar said no decision had been taken yet to either halt or suspend the yatra to Kedarnath.

“Unless there is a warning of heavy rain, we will not suspend the yatra. We are getting hourly updates from the weather department for the areas and routes on which the yatra is being carried out. In case any sever change of the weather pattern is reported that may endanger the lives of the pilgrims, we will temporarily stop the yatra. Earlier, the Kedarnath yatra was halted for five days in May after the valley received fresh snowfall,” he added.

Elaborating on the arrangements, Langar said they had stepped up the deployment of additional force and stocking of food at the halting points.

“We have learnt a lot from the disaster that struck the state last year. Earlier, the things were not as planned as they are now. Along the entire stretch to Kedarnath, State Disaster Relief Force personnel are deployed to ensure that pilgrims move on safely. Also, a patrolling team is sent daily to the Chorabari Taal to check the water level of water. It was the same taal that got breached last year leading to the flooding of the Kedar valley,” he added.

In a massive dip of the pilgrims coming to Kedarnath, only 24,165 have visited the shrine until Friday evening. Earlier, by this time an average of 2.75-3 lakh pilgrims used to visit the shrine.

“The yatra is much more controlled with the less number of pilgrims. In case of any eventuality, we will be able to control the situation before it gets worsened. But as of now, there is no need to press the trigger button,” he added.

Maintaining that the weather in the Kedar valley is highly unpredictable, Anand Sharma, Director, Dehradun MET Department, said for the next few days, there was no likelihood of heavy rain that might disrupt the yatra. “Light to moderate showers are expected in that sector. However heavy rainf is expected in Pithoragarh, Champawat and Bageshwar,” he added.

“In 2012, a cloudburst had taken place in the Kedar valley in September. Similarly, the flash floods last year had taken place during the beginning of the monsoon. We issue the alerts usually 72 hours in advance in case of heavy showers. In fact during the June disaster, a warning was issued 72 hours in advance. Apart from that, daily updates about the weather pattern are being sent to the teams deployed on the yatra route,” he added.

What the DM says Unless there is a warning of heavy rain, we will not suspend the yatra. We are getting hourly updates from the weather department for the areas and routes on which the yatra is being carried out. In case any sever change of the weather pattern is reported that may endanger the lives of the pilgrims, we will temporarily stop the yatra. Earlier, the Kedarnath yatra was halted for five days in May after the valley received fresh snowfall

Skeletal remains: Human rights panel seeks govt reply
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
Justice (retd) Vijendra Jain, Chairman of the Uttarakhand Human Rights Commission, has directed the state government to specify by July 14 the locations from where 41 skeletons of persons, who had lost their lives in the natural disaster last year, were found. While holding a hearing on the presence of skeletons in the Kedar valley yesterday, Justice Jain asked the government officials present to give the details of the exact locations from where the police had found the skeletons. “The commission would like to be assured about the presence of these skeletons, whether they were found from the areas nearby or from the adjoining mountains. We would also like to know if there was likelihood of the presence of more skeleton remains,” he said.

He directed Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar to present a report specifying as to how long the combing operation launched in Kedarnath would continue. Circle Officer, City, Pramod Kumar while giving details on the behalf of the Police Department said 41 skeletal remains were discovered and later cremated with full honour at the very site. “A Rudraprayag police team that was inspecting road construction in the Kedar valley discovered six skeletons on June 11, 20 on June 13, nine on June 14, two on June 15, and four skeletons on June 16. Before cremating the skeleton remains, their photographs and DNA samples were taken,” said Pramod.

Significantly, the commission had taken suo motto notice of media reports about the discovery of skeleton remains and directed the government to clear its position on the issue. Pramod also informed the commission that more than 100 personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Rudraprayag police were involved in the combing operation.

Heavy rain brings down trees in Haridwar
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 19
Heavy rain that lashed the city today as well as on Tuesday evening brought down several trees causing inconvenience to commuters. On the other hand, it also brought relief to local residents, pilgrims and tourists from the searing heat.

The authorities are, however, yet to remove the uprooted trees from several places. Heavy rain has also snapped power and water supply in the city. Jal Sansthan and Urja Nigam officials said additional manpower had been deployed to restore water and power supply in the affected colonies.

Devendra Singh, Executive Engineer, Power Corporation, said they had sought cooperation from the Municipal Corporation for removing heavy trees that had damaged power lines in some colonies.

Ajay Saini, Junior Engineer, Jal Sansthan, said in the absence of regular power supply, overhead tanks at Ranipur could not be filled. Whenever power supply was restored, water supply would too resume, he added.

Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) Vipra Trivedi said the Municipal Corporation had provided additional employees to the Power Corporation for removing the uprooted trees and clearing the roads of branches and twigs.

Meanwhile, as the weather was quite pleasant today, a large number of people thronged the Ganga ghats and the Ganga canal bridges. Tourists have also extended their stay in the city. City hotels, guesthouses, lodges and dharamshalas are filled to capacity.

Kuldeep Sharma, president, Dev Bhoomi Hotel Association, said Haridwar had been been witnessing a huge rush for the past few days. More tourists from the plain regions of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were expected to throng the city in the coming days, he added.

Shoddy construction work on safety wall irks villagers
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News service

Mussoorie, June 19
The villagers from Siror Netala in Uttarkashi district are livid at the substandard work being done by the Irrigation Department, while constructing the safety wall that was destroyed during last year’s flash floods.

The residents alleged that the contractors were constructing the sidewall on an area, which was already filled with water, therefore flouting all norms.

The executing agency instead of digging a one metre-deep trench to place the safety wall on the embankments were instead building the blocks on trenches that were inundated at only one foot, using local boulders and pasting system for the heck of it, thus risking the lives of villagers through shoddy construction.

The president of Mahila Mangal Dal, Sarla Bhatt, along with other members of the village: Shailendra Devi, Manju, Ekadashi Devi, said the concerned department was reminded on several occasions about the situation, but no action had been initiated against the erring contractors.

When contacted, the senior officials from the Irrigation Department refuted the allegations and said they were facing the problem due to a recent spell of rain, but work was going in accordance to the laid down guidelines.

Bypoll: BJP scouts for candidates for 3 seats
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
The Uttarakhand BJP has started scouting for prospective candidates for the three Assembly seats of Someshwar (SC), Doiwala and Dharchula for the upcoming byelections on July 21.

BJP leaders claim that one round of deliberations on the issue has already taken place and the second round consultations will be done once the panchayat elections are over. The party is confident that it will not take long for its campaign managers to start canvassing for its candidates.

BJP leaders in the race for the ticket for the Doiwala seat are Trivender Singh Rawat, Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli, and Subash Bartwal. For the Someshwar (SC) Assembly seat, either Rekha Arya, Sanjay Tamta or Mohan Ram Arya could be the candidate. However, for Dharchula the BJP is still looking for a candidate who could take on Chief Minister Harish Rawat in case the latter decides to fight from the segment.

Party sources say incumbent Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli too is in race for the ticket for the Doiwala seat and is receiving a good response from Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who had earlier vacated it.

The morale is high in the BJP camp after it demolished the Congress in the recent parliamentary elections. The party leaders are optimistic about retaining the Doiwala and Someshwar Assembly seats that it had held previously.

“As the election dates have been announced, we will soon prepare a list of candidates for these seats. The BJP Parliamentary Board will decide the final candidates. We are not short of candidates. The BJP has several candidates for these seats and we will soon announce the shortlisted names,” said Teerath Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand BJP president.

However, the party is yet to plan a strategy to meet the challenge posed by the Chief Minister, who is convalescing at AIIMS in Delhi, in case he decides to fight the byelection from the Dharchula seat.

“There are two train of thoughts active in the BJP. While some leaders are sympathetically disposed towards Rawat after he was injured and may not like to pit a strong candidate against him, a section in the BJP are in favour of fielding a strong candidate to unsettle the Congress, which is still reeling under the impact of a poor show in the parliamentary elections,” said a party leader.

Shiv Sena sets 5-seat target for next Assembly elections
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, June 19
Buoyed by its success in the 16th Lok Sabha elections, where Shiv Sena won most of the parliamentary seats in Maharashtra, the party’s Uttarakhand unit is now eyeing the Assembly election in the state.

The party is targeting a win from at least five Assembly seats in the state. While celebrating the 48th Foundation Day of Shiv Sena today, district president Devendra Prajapati said as per directives of the party high command, the state executive body would now start a membership drive apart from holding regular party workers meetings, conventions as well as raising local issues.

Prajapati said in the state’s political circles, the Congress government had failed to live up to the expectations of the people, while the regional party Uttarakhand Kranti Dal had now lost its mass base and authenticity.

“This is where the Shiv Sena can play and emerge as a major political force, raising issues of hill people such as: unemployment, migration, environment conservation and expose the follies of the Congress, BJP and the UKD,” said Prajapati.

Uttarakhand unit treasurer Roop Chand Diwakar said the party would try to increase its membership base and play a proactive role by raising local issues effectively.

Mahant Baba Balak Nath, Mahant Naresh Nath Yogi, Kailash Dhiman, Ved Prakash, Krishan Pal, Ashok Pal, Pampi Lal, Aswani Narula, Monu Verma and Mohit, among other party activists were present at the Lal Mandir-based district party office.

Under-construction Ballupur flyover causing traffic jams
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
The ongoing construction of a flyover at Ballupur Chowk has led to innumerable traffic jams in the area off late.

The work on the flyover for which half of the road has been blocked, is going on at a snail pace, resulting in big traffic snarls on Chakrata Road and GMS Road. Local shopkeepers and residents, who use GMS Road or Chakrata Road, are experiencing inconvenience regularly due to huge traffic jams between Ballupur Road and Balliwala Chowk.

“We know that the flyover is being constructed for our convenience but at present it has become the main source of trouble for us. We can’t park our vehicles when we go out for shopping and it generally takes 30 minutes to cover just 300 metres around Ballupur Chowk,” said Mahipal Singh, a resident of GMS Road.

Even SSP, Dehradun, Ajay Rautela, along with other senior police officers had visited the flyover construction site at Ballupur to find a solution to frequent traffic mess. He had even asked the construction engineers to shift the iron barricading installed there to make more space for vehicular movement, though this did not change the situation much. “The situation has improved after the barriers, which were encroaching upon the road, were shifted on the direction of the SSP. Now, long jams were not occurring,” Pradeep Rai, SP, Traffic, told The Tribune.

He said,’ “The traffic police are doing every bit to ensure that commuters do not face inconvenience while passing through the junctions where the flyover construction work is going on.”

UGC-NET exam on June 29
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) will be held on June 29. Six new subjects have been included in the admission test. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Doon University, Dr Mangal Singh Mandarwal stated this in a press note issued here yesterday.

It is worth mentioning that Doon University is a coordination centre for conducting the NET exam.

Mandarwal said the number of candidates for the UGC-NET exam had been decreasing over the years. The data provided in this regard clearly showed that 4,988 applicants took the examination in 42 subjects in December last year while 5,540 applicants were expected to appear in the exam in 48 subjects on June 29. The question paper would be set in both English and Hindi.

He added the candidates could download their admission cards from the official website of the UGC. Those applicants who could not download their admission cards could contact the coordination centre to obtain the same.

Mandarwal said the District Magistrate and the SSP had been asked to provide adequate security for conducing a free and fair test.

Chandresh takes charge as Doon DM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
Chandresh Kumar Yadav today took as Dehradun District Magistrate in place of BVRC Puruhosttam, who had been appointed private secretary to M. Venkaiah Naidu, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister.

A 2006 batch IAS officer, Yadav had been the District Magistrate of Pauri and Rudraprayag in the past. He had also been Managing Director of the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam.

Speaking to the media, Yadav said that his priority is the peaceful conduct of the ongoing panchayat elections and the forthcoming byelections in July.

“At the moment these two elections are on the priority list. However, it does not mean that other development related works would take a back seat. A plan would be drawn out for the systematic development of the state capital,” he added.

Stressing on the need of e-governance, Yadav said there was a dire need for the optimum use of the telecommunication systems.

MDDA seals flat under construction in Mussoorie
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, June 19
The Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA), acting on a complaint filed at the office of the SDM, Mussoorie, today sealed a flat under construction around the Sapling Estate, near Landour Bazaar.

The team headed by Mussoorie SDM Ramji Saran Sharma and MDDA Executive Engineer Shyam Mohan Sharma reached the spot around noon and began the sealing process.

Sharma told mediapersons that the MDDA had served a notice on the flat owner earlier directing him not to carry out construction illegally, but the latter did not pay heed. Hence, the under-construction flat was sealed today.

Meanwhile, the owner of the flat said he had done nothing wrong and only extended a portion of the flat. The residents of the town also rued the fact that the MDDA was not acting against the builder mafia that was carrying out illegal constructions with impunity but at the same time was harassing ordinary people.

MC removes encroachments

The Municipal Council (MC) removed encroachments from Gandhi Chowk to Picture Palace on Mall Road in Mussoorie on Thursday. The anti-encroachment drive was launched under the aegis of Ramji Sharan Sharma, SDM, Mussoorie, and Azhar Ali, Executive Officer of the MC yesterday. They removed encroachments from Gandhi Chowk with the help of the local police.

The MC officials also confiscated goods kept on public land and removed encroachments from Jhoola Ghar. They warned the shopkeepers not to place goods outside their shops. The food safety and standards officials were also to accompany the anti-encroachment team but they could not make it on time.

Sharma said the anti-encroachment drive would continue and solicited support from traders to keep Mussoorie clean.

Research programmes of ICAR, state farm varsities reviewed
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
Dr S Ayyappan, Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), today reviewed the progress of research, education and outreach programmes of sister institutes and state Agricultural Universities (SAUs) located in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir on the second day of the 21st ICAR Regional Committee meeting organised by the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute (CSWCRTI) in Dehradun.

Ayyappan stressed on better knowledge of soils and called for soil health cards, agro-forestry models, quality research and thesis works in universities and institutes, development of horticulture, agro-forestry and fodder production units in flood-affected regions.

“Goat rearing, production of apple in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh should be promoted and focus should be given to the improvement of saffron production in Jammu and Kashmir,” he added.

Ayyappan urged all participants to work on the road map drawn for different action points through mid-term reviews. He laid the foundation stone of an auditorium at the CSWCRTI.

Arvind Kaushal, secretary of the ICAR, interacted with the scientists and the staff of the CSWCRTI and apprised them about the newer developments at the ICAR. He also discussed the importance of the meeting and the potential of its outcome for the development of policies.

Dr PK Mishra, Director of CSWCRTI and member secretary of the regional committee, called for response to the agenda notes of the meeting from the participants.

The speakers also spoke on the need for protected cultivation and related technologies for disease control in vegetable crops. They also stressed on strategies to promote the availability of virus and disease free planting and seed materials to promote horticultural production, particularly kinnow, malta and apple.

Senior ICAR officials, vice-chancellors of state universities, directors of the ICAR institutes and universities, zonal coordinators and farmers from Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir also participated in the meeting.

B.Ed trained teachers continue agitation
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
The agitation by members of the B.Ed (TET) Trained Federation continued here today. The agitators have threatened to intensify their stir if the state government did not accede to their year-long pending demands.

The agitators staged a protest at the residence of state Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani in support of their demands.

They said the memorandum highlighted their demands, which include filling of vacant posts and to increase posts in the department. They said they submitted the memorandum to the officials many times, but no steps were taken by the department to fulfill their year-long demands.

Amit Kashyap, state general secretary of the B.Ed (TET) Trained Federation, said the members had been continuously protesting at the education directorate campus for the last one month.

Gajendra Joshi, Pramod, Sumit Chauhan, Surendra Rawat, Hari Thapliyal, Rajni Khandari, Vijay Nautiyal and Suresh Negi were present on the occasion.

Cong leaders celebrate Rahul Gandhi’s birthday
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
A special function was organised at Congress Bhavan here today to celebrate the 44th birthday of All- India Congress Committee Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing a gathering, vice-president of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Suryakant Dhasmana said Rahul Gandhi had taken various steps to unite party activists at different levels.

Among those present on the occasion were Sarojini Kaintura, Ajay Singh, Manish Nagpal, Neenu Sehgal, Sudha Shukla, Surendra Arya, Gautam Dogra and Deep Bohra.

Govt promise to provide jobs to disaster hit false: Lakhera

Dehradun, June 19
The UKD (Panwar) has said the state government promise to provide jobs to the disaster affected youths is fake and a publicity stunt.

Manmohan Lakhera, media in charge of the party, said evn one year after the natural disaster the government had failed to ensure supply of water, food, and electricity and make a provision of roads, and medical facility in the affected areas. “The government has done nothing to rehabilitate the disaster-hit people. It is playing with the emotions of the affected people by making a fake promise to provide jobs,” he added.

Ganesh Joshi canvasses for BJP candidates
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, June 19
Ganesh Joshi, MLA, Mussoorie, today visited Sahaspur block villages adjacent to Mussoorie in Dehradun district and sought votes in favour of the BJP candidates contesting for the posts of block and kshetra panchayat member.

Joshi visited Gajiwala, Jaitanwala and other gram sabhas and appealed to the people to vote for the BJP candidates in the elections.

He said he had initiated lots of development works in the region and would assist the candidates supported by the BJP in the Mussoorie Assembly segment during the panchayat elections to be held on June 21.

Rakesh Sharma from Gajiyawala, Deepak Pundir from Guniyal Gaon, Deep Thapa, zila panchayat member candidate Sandhya Thapa, Jyoti Kotiya, Shyam Thapa from the BJP and several others were present on the occasion.

Chopper service to remote Pithoragarh villages begin
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, June 19
The district administration on the direction of the state government today started a helicopter service to remote Dugtu, Chiyalekh and Martoli villages and even sent a medical team there.

“The medical team equipped with all essential medicines and paramedical staff will now remain in these villages for one month and thereafter another team will take its place,” said HC Semwal, District Magistrate, Pithoragarh.

Meanwhile, some opposition politicians said the government directed the district administration to start the helicopter service as Chief Minister Harish Rawat was likely to contest the Assembly byelection from Dharchula.

Besides medical assistance, the administration would also send ration quota to these remote villages if the situation required so. “As villages in the Byans valley are on the Kailash Mansarowar yatra route and are being provided medical facilities by a team of doctors deputed for service of the pilgrims, we need not send a medical team there,” said Semwal.

These villages are at a distance of over 80 km from the Dharchula sub-divisional headquarters and the villagers migrate every winter to lower valleys and return home during the summer. “The villagers face medical problems when they return home to higher valleys. As there are no hospital nearby their villages, they have to come down 80 km to Dharchula for even minor treatment,” he said.

After heated arguments, married woman suffers serious burns
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
A married woman got burnt under mysterious circumstances in her house at Khurbara in the Kotwali police station area today morning. She was admitted to the Coronation Hospital in a serious condition.

According to the police, the victim and her husband Vikki used to fight often and on Wednesday they had heated arguments over some personal issue.

At 6 am today morning, the neighbours spotted smoke coming out of the victim’s house.

After getting information, the police reached the spot and took stock of the house, where the girl was burnt. According to the police, the reason behind the incident was still unknown and the family members will be questioned.

Get together for martyrs’ widows

Dehradun, June 19
The Golden Key Family Welfare Organisation organised ‘Bravehearts Milan’ at the Doon Sainik Institute here today. The event was aimed at taking feedback regarding the benefits of welfare schemes being availed of by the widows of security personnel.

A total of 32 braveheart women were invited to the event. A free health check up camp was also organised. Kanchan Oka, chairperson of the organisation, apprised the participants of various efforts being taken to solve their pending issues. — TNS

Summer camp concludes
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
A one-month summer camp organised by the Strikers’ Sports Academy at MKP Inter College and Bannu School here concluded today.

The students took part in cricket, football, badminton, basketball, skating and western dance enthusiastically. Around 180 students of Brightlands School, St Joseph’s Academy, Sunvalley School, The Doon International School and St Thomas School participated in the camp.

Vipin, organiser of the camp, said the Strikers’ Sports Academy had tried to enhance the mental and physical level of the participants during the camp.

Laxman Singh, deputy secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs, was the chief guest on the occasion. Heera Singh, deputy director, youth affairs, and chairman of the Striker’s Sports Academy, was the guest of honour.

Kelvin, Megh enter finals of Super Series Tennis tourney
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
Kelvin Glomai of Chandigarh and Megh Patel of Gujarat entered in the finals of boys single under-14 category in the ongoing All-India Super Series Tennis Tournament after winning the semifinal matches, here today.

Kelvin defeated Sanket Tomar of Delhi in straight sets, while Megh Patel defeated Himanshu Moor of Haryana in a three-set match.

In the boys single under-16 category, Yugal Bansal of Delhi and Megh Patel of Gujarat entered the finals after winning their semifinal matches. Yugal Bansal defeated Utkarsh Bhardwaj of Uttarakhand, whereas Megh Patel won his important match against Shamay Dhawan of Delhi.

In the single girls under-14 category semifinal matches, Muskan of Delhi and Mahek Jain of Maharashtra remained victorious and entered the finals. In the under-16 category, Mahek Jain of Maharashtra and Shreya Gulia of Haryana entered in the finals.

India Green win by 1 wicket

Dehradun, June 19
The 2nd Inter-Zonal Cricket Tournament for the blind kicked off at The Doon School here today. In the first match of the day, the Indian Blue team defeated the India Green team by one wicket. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India Green scored 147 runs. In reply, India Blue achieved the target for the loss of nine wickets.

The second match between India Red and India Yellow ended in draw. Batting first, India Red made 114 runs for the loss of six wickets in 10 overs. In reply, India Yellow also managed to score 114 runs and drew the match. — TNS

Mohan, Rohit lead Pachuadoon to victory
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
Pachuadoon Football Club registered a 2-1 win over Vikasnagar Football Club in the ongoing Nemidas Memorial District Football League played at Pavilion Ground, here today.

Mohan and Rohit scored goals in the 55th and 66th minute respectively for Pachuadoon, while Sunny scored the lone goal for Vikasnagar team. The second match between Khalanga Boys and Gypsy Football Club ended in a 1-1 draw. Manish opened the score for Gypsy in the 18th minute of the match, but Sooraj of Khalanga Boys scored an equaliser in the 48th minute.

RR academy pip global academy
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 19
RR Pal Cricket Academy registered 76 runs win over Global Sports Academy in the ongoing Vasudev Singh Raghav Memorial Tournament match played at Doon Global Academy, here today.

Batting first, RR Pal Cricket Academy scored 193 runs in 20 overs with Abhishek scoring the highest 87 runs followed by Rohan, who made 51 runs. G Saini took two wickets for Global Sports Academy.

In reply, Global Sports Academy team performed badly and was bowled out after making 117 runs. Ujjwal scored the highest 21 runs, while Ketan made 19 runs. Shivam took maximum four wickets for the winning team.

Illicit liquor seized

Dehradun, June 19
The Raipur police seized a large consignment of illicit liquor near the Ordnance factory in the Raipur police station area here today. The liquor bottles were kept in bags along with coconuts.

Pradeep Chauhan, in charge of Raipur police station, said, “We got information from the security head of the ordnance factory that a suspicious truck was parked on the Raipur Road, after which the police team reached the spot and found illegal liquor kept in the truck.” Notably, the police recovered 756 bottles of English liquor from the truck, which were kept in 30 bags filled with coconuts.

The police have arrested Tinku, a resident of Sonepat in Haryana. They are now trying to find out whether the liquor was meant for distribution during the panchayat elections. — TNS