Festive season: Traffic to be streamlined
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
The Dehradun traffic police has made some changes in the city’s traffic plan ahead of Dhanteras and Diwali to streamline the heavy vehicular pressure on roads till the festive season ends. Some roads will be closed for entry of vehicles and traffic on a few roads will be diverted till October 23.

According to the new traffic plan issued by the traffic office on Monday, selected places will be barricaded for restricting the vehicles from going any further. Barriers points will include Machchhibazaar, Pipal Mandi, Dhamawala Mosque, Raja Road, Darshani Gate, Orient Chowk, CMI tri-junction, Race Course Road, Tehsil Chowk and Saharanpur Chowk.

Diversion points have been identified to manage the flow of traffic, whose volume would go up during the festival, and maintain the law and order situation in the city. The police have identified in the city six diversion points, including Eucalyptus Road, Clock Tower, Orient Chowk, Darshan Lal Chowk, Saharanpur Chowk and CMI/Race Course Chowk.

In order to avoid a gridlock and manage the movement of a large number of vehicles during the festival, the police have identified spaces for parking of vehicles. Parade Ground, Pavilion Ground, Mangla Devi Inter College Ground, tehsil premises, old roadways bus stand, Kalumal Dharamshala, Rangers College Ground, Bannu School, Janpath Market, Municipal Corporation office, old city bus stand, MDDA complex in Clock Tower and dispensary road MDDA complex will be open for parking.

Dehradun SSP Ajay Rautela has issued directions to senior officers and heads of police stations to increase patrolling in their respective areas and keep a vigil on anti-social elements to maintain the law and order situation during the festivals.

Festive management

• In order to avoid a gridlock and manage the movement of a large number of vehicles during the festival, the police have identified spaces for parking of vehicles
• Parade Ground, Pavilion Ground, Mangla Devi Inter College Ground, tehsil premises, old roadways bus stand, Kalumal Dharamshala, Rangers College Ground, Bannu School, Janpath Market, Municipal Corporation office, old city bus stand, MDDA complex in Clock Tower and dispensary road MDDA complex will be open for parking.

Emphasis on permanent nature works for Ardh Kumbh
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 20
For the Ardh Kumbh fair, scheduled to be organised two years later in Haridwar, emphasis is being laid on works that are of a permanent nature. This is being done keeping in mind the last Maha Kumbh fair, where the mela administration undertook fewer permanent nature works, evoking criticism and even allegations of misuse of Kumbh fair budget.

Talking to TNS while inspecting the proposed locations, where permanent nature works like bridge, highway broadening etc are being undertaken under Ardh Kumbh fair budget, Chief Secretary Subash Kumar said this time, emphasis is on permanent nature works.

“This is being done to ensure these permanent nature works come in handy for the next Maha Kumbh fair. Spending 70 per cent of the money on temporary or semi-temporary budget is not appropriate, when one considers the fact that every six years, there is a Kumbh fair in Haridwar,” said Kumar, who is set to retire later this month.

For the proposed 32 sectors to be made for Kumbh fair, earlier, only at four such sectors, namely Har-ki-Pauri, Rodi Belwala, Kangdapull and Pantdeep, permanent nature works were carried out, but now, four more sectors will be brought under permanent nature works.

At Ganga Canal, a double-lane bridge worth Rs 1,354 lakh is being constructed, while at suburban Jwalapur near Lal Pul Railway Bridge, a 90-metre cable foot bridge is to be constructed through the Kumbh fair budget.

Garhwal Commissioner CS Napalchiyal, DIG Sanjay Gunjiyal, District Magistrate D Senthyl Pendiyan, SSP Sweety Aggarwal, Haridwar Development Authority Secretary Nidhi Yadav, Irrigation Department Chief Engineer JP Jugran, PWD Chief Engineer Hari Om Sharma and other nodal agencies concerned given projects for the Ardh Kumbh fair have been directed by Subash Kumar to ensure emphasis is laid on permanent nature construction projects.

Teerth Maryada Raksha Samiti, a religious organisation, has welcomed Chief Secretary Subash Kumar’s decision.

President of TMRS Sanjay Chopra said temporary nature works are done majorly as there is scope for corruption and as seen during the previous Maha Kumbh fair, a major scam was revealed by a report compiled by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

IIP celebrates 72nd foundation day
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
The Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) celebrated the 72nd Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) foundation day here today. Narendra Taneja, National Convener-Energy Cell (BJP), was the chief guest on the occasion. He said around 70 crore people in India had no access to cooking gas and more than 40 crore to electricity.

“The per capita energy consumption in India is lowest in the world. If India has to provide electricity and gas to all its population, next 30 years are very crucial,” he said.

He stressed on the need for having more refineries so that more crude could be refined and electricity could be made available to people. Dr MO Garg, Director, IIP, said the CSIR believed in conceptualisation of ideas, scientific innovation and research to develop technologies. He said the CSIR had come up with water and wastewater treatment technologies including, recycle, reuse and zero discharge that were benefiting society.

He said the CSIR was making efforts to provide environment friendly technologies at a reasonable cost.

“The CSIR-IIP has been working on these lines right from its inception,” said Garg. Dr DC Chamola, Senior Hindi Officer, IIP, coordinated the function.

The employees who retired last year were honoured with shawl, citation and memento and the employees who completed 25 years of service were presented mementoes.

The winners of the 4th district level carrom tournament, held on the occasion, were given prizes by the chief guest.

LS Negi, Controller of Administration, IIP, presented the vote of thanks.

Magician Anchal cleans Ganga ghats
Tribune News Service

Haridwar October 20
Garbage,dust and litter are spread around Ganga ghats. Anchal Kumawat, the magician girl, arrives and in a few minutes the whole filth disappears. But it was not with a magic wand but with help of a broom that magician Anchal removed it.This was done to generate awareness among local people, pilgrims and tourists to make sure they clean Ganga ghats and their neighbourhood in Haridwar.

Seeing Anchal doing the cleaning job, many students and youngsters also joined her, cleaning the nearby areas. Anchal, while cleaning the area, said that magic is combination of tricks, deception ,guile and conjuring varied skills ,but wished that she could make the garbage disappear instantly, as it was a blot on the image of the pilgrim city, renowned for its spirituality, Ganga and shrines.

Her urged the youth to regularly clean their homes, educational institutes and neighborhood so that India achieves its clean India target and a good image spreads worldwide about this ancient country.

Meanwhile, on the directive of District Magistrate D Senthyl Pendiyan Red Cross volunteers also pitched in to clean the Ganga ghats of Dam Koti, Rishikul and Vishwakarma ghat. Volunteers removed the stuck garbage, clothes, plastic material and wood twigs from the iron railings, meant for safety of the devotees who take holy Ganga dip and perform rituals.

As per Red Cross secretary Dr Naresh Chaudhari, in the coming days volunteers will also carry out similar awareness drives in the slum colonies located in the city, so that masses could also be made part of the drive.

Volunteers stated that they want to give the message to pilgrims and tourists about cleanliness aspect while taking holy Ganga dip, as the river is given the status of mother in Indian culture.

During the clean Ganga drive Poonam, Vasu Dev Dixit,Yamini Joshi, Shristi, Shazia Khatun, Lata Melkani, Dharmendra Rajpur, Subash Bahuguna, Tejendra Lingwal, Rahul Verma, Bhopal Bisht, Sumit Chandel and Saurabh Yadav participated.

Cabinet meeting a stunt, says Khanduri
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
Terming the Cabinet and all-party meeting held today by the Rawat government in Kedarnath as an exercise in wasteful expenditure, Pauri Garhwal MP BC Khanduri on Monday said the government instead should concentrate on plugging leaks in the disbursement of ex-gratia to the victims of 2013 floods.

The Rawat government’s approach, the MP asserted, “is a stunt and exercise in futility which has only heightened the pain of the already suffering people of Kedarnath, many of whom have been left out of the ex-gratia package announced by the government. It should address their problems. What is there in Kedarnath which could not have been done while in Dehradun? The government is putting unnecessary burden on the exchequer,” said Khanduri while speaking with reporters today.

The MP was emphatic about his party’s decision to boycott the all-party meeting. ‘’As far as I know the MLAs did not receive any invitation. At the same time there was no need to hold such meetings in Kedarnath,” said Khanduri.

The MP also questioned the idea of organising all-weather Char Dham Yatra and said that the government should encourage winter tourism. “All measures should be taken to encourage winter tourism in the state but what I have been told by the saints, Char Dham does not take place when the portals of the temples are shut. The government should clear the confusion and should not call it a Char Dham Yatra. It should hold confabulations with the saints before deciding on the issue,” said Khanduri.

Instead, Khanduri urged the government to concentrate on building and repairing roads on the Char Dham route so that next year, the yatra could attract pilgrims to full capacity.

Mussoorie SDM reviews preparations for second Winterline Carnival
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, October 20
Singer Yo Yo Honey Singh could be enthralling tourists and the local audience during the Winterline Carnival to be organised from 25 December for six days in Mussoorie this year. The Tribune has learnt that plans are afoot to get the singer to perform on the opening day of the carnival in Mussoorie.

When contacted, member of the committee Rajat Agarwal said several names have cropped up in the meeting held at the SDM’s office today, but nothing has yet been confirmed. He said efforts were being made to bring in the best artistes for the carnival.

Discussions have been held between members of the Winterline Carnival committee members and Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall over the status of the ongoing preparation for the Winterline Carnival.

Sandeep Sahni, member of the committee, suggested that such events should be given importance so that these are able to attract tourists from in and around the country. He said local talent and culture should also be given priority during the carnival.

Rajat Aggarwal, another member of the committee, suggested a team of volunteers to look after various day events to be organised during the carnival period should be formed.

Municipal Council president Manmohan Singh Mall said the tentative budget for the proposed Winterline Carnival is around 1.25 crore while the contribution of the Municipal Council is around Rs 30 lakh. He said the members of the committee deliberated with the SDM Mussoorie to bring in professional performers who have a large fan following around the country, during the Winterline Carnival in December this year. He said efforts were on to bring in folk dancers from Himachal and other states to give the carnival a wider appeal.

SDM Mussoorie Ramjee Sharan Sharma said effort was on to make the second Winterline Carnival much grander in the limited budget and several suggestions were put forth at the meeting such as organising the kite-flying festival by inviting professionals from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

He said they were also planning to seek financial help from various corporate houses under corporate social responsibility fund.

Indian, Chinese civilisations have much to share: VC
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 20
India and China are ancient civilisations have a rich cultural heritage and have much in common to share. This was stated by Vice Chancellor Gurukul Kangri University Dr Surendra Kumar here today at the concluding session of the fortnight-long yoga training programme specifically for a Chinese delegation.

Certificates were awarded to the Chinese learners who honed their skills at the yoga training programme.

VC Surendra Kumar said that in the 21st century, both India and China were leading powers from Asia, be it in terms of culture, economy, industrial hub, technology or Panchsheel principles.

He added that the Gurukul Kangri University had been a pioneer in propagation of yoga and ayurveda.

Uttarakhand Sanskrit University Vice Chancellor Professor Mahavir Aggarwal related Indian culture with ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’, saying that our culture teaches us to live with harmony as one family unit, considering the earth as one big family.

Registrar Prof Mukesh Ranjan Verma lauded the dedication shown by Chinese learners in learning varied aspects of yoga, which they beautifully demonstrated prior to the concluding session.

The head of the Chinese delegation Jessica termed the experience as memorable, one that brought them closer to the Indian culture, yoga, ayurveda, traditions, customs and spirituality.

Kamal Yoga Institute, Beijing coordinator Dr Dheeraj Malik said more Chinese were getting inclined to learn yoga, with this institute being one of the leading yoga institutes in the Communist nation.

Prof Ishwar Bharadwaj, head of the yoga department, Gurukul Kangri University, coordinated the 15-day yoga training programme of Chinese practitioners, with Prof Rajendra Aggarwal, Prof Somdev Satanshu, Prof Dinesh Shastri, Prof Sohan Pal Arya, Dr RKS Dagar, Dr Surendra Kumar Tyagi, Dr Pradeep Kumar Joshi, Dr Bijendra Shastri, Dr Pradeep Joshi and Satya Prasad Bhatt pitching in.

People urged to maintain cleanliness
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, October 20
A Deepawali function was organised at Nishkam Sewa Trust, ward no-16, in which former Cabinet minister Madan Kaushik presided as chief guest. In his address, the three-time Haridwar city legislator said that Deepawali is the festival of prosperity and wellbeing, dedicated to deity Laxmi and the triumphant homecoming of Lord Rama, deity Sita and deity Laxman along with deity Hanuman to Ayodhya.

He said that with victory of Lord Rama over devil Ravana, the festival symoblises victory of truth over evil and concludes the month-long Dasehra festivities.

Kaushik also called on people to ensure cleanliness as where there is cleanliness prosperity and wellbeing automatically arrive.

He urged people to contribute their bit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swach Bharat’ drive,which commenced on October 2, the birthday of Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.

Divisional president BJP Vikas Tiwari thanked organisers Anirudh Bhati,Nathi Ram Prajapati,Gagan Yadav,Bina Khurana for hosting on a grand scale the Deepawali lilan programme.

Eminent citizens Brij Bhushan Vidyarthi, Ganga Dhar Pandey, Anu Kakkad, Sarveshwar Moorti Bhatt, Pradeep Ahuja, Sachin Arora, Pradeep Sharma, Maya Bhati, Teerthbhan Pal, Neeraj Sharma, Mukesh Rana, Satish Pal, Balam, Bunty, Sukhendra Tomar, Ram Dayal Yadav, Mahesh Chauhan, Ramesh Yadav, Suryakant Sharma, Vijay Bishnoi, Sunil Sethi and Ravi among others were present on the occasion.

‘Rawat should have called all-party meet’

Pithoragarh, October 20
Reacting to Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s invitation to Opposition parties to the Cabinet meeting at Kedarnath, former BJP state chief Bishen Singh Chulal said that had the chief minister been really sincere in taking Opposition cooperation towards undertaking rehabilitation works in Kedarnath, he would have instead called an all-party meet rather then Cabinet meet at the shrine valley.

The BJP leader, who was speaking to the press here today, said that reconstruction and rehabilitation process of Kedarnath should not be dependent on a particular political party or the party which is in power. Rather it should be a long-term process and all political forces in the state should be taken into confidence. “ If the chief minister thinks that ruling party is only capable for reconstruction in the valley and rehabilitating the pilgrimage centre of crores of Hindu devotees, he is merely playing with the emotions of the victims rather than doing any concrete long-term work on the matter, ” said Chufal.

Chufal termed the recent visit of the chief minister as a routine one and said the chief minister could not come true to the expectations of disaster victims who are still to be rehabilitated despite much hue and cry made out of chief minister’s visit to his Assembly constituency Dharchula. — OC

Wildlife institute publishes pictorial document
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
The Wildlife Institute of India has rendered its technical assistance in the publication of the Union Government’s pictorial document ‘A Panoramic View of India’s Presidency of Conference of the Parties (CoP) to Conference of Biological Diversity (CBD) (2012–2014)’.

The document provides an overview of important activities undertaken during India’s presidency of CoP.

India led the Presidency of CoP for two years from October 2012 till October 2014. The Presidency of the CoP led to an enhanced focus on strengthening the implementation of biodiversity programmes and stimulated country-wide awareness on biodiversity issues.

The document was released at CoP-12 in Incheon, Republic of Korea, on October 13, 2014. The pictorial document provides details of outreach and awareness activities undertaken throughout the country by the Union Government and various non-government organisations.

It highlights success stories on conservation such as the Amur Falcon, a migratory bird, protected under the Convention on Migratory Species and national legislation in India.

Founder’s day celebrated at The Doon School
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
The concluding day of the founder’s day celebrations at The Doon School saw the much-awaited Pagal Gymkhana take the limelight. Parents, old boys and students enjoyed themselves in various games and foodstalls. This year, Kashmir House hosted and organised the Gymkhana, an evening of fun and games, which was greatly appreciated by all. Several food outlets were invited to set up stalls.

Gautam Thapar, the chairman of the Board of Governors, addressed students about various developments. In his address, Kunal Bahl, founder and CEO of an e-commerce website, talked about his ups and downs in life and struggling days and how he chased his dream instead of following herd mentality. He shared with the audiences that his parents wanted him to go to IIT to pursue engineering, but he left the preparation midway and joined a manufacturing company at a monthly salary of Rs 6,550. Today, around 2,000 people are working with the site he set up.

Ishan Sandhu, the school captain, expressed his views on his life in school and also delivered the vote of thanks. Capping the celebrations was a brilliant musical performance by the school orchestra.

Shivaji section win RIMC athletics
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
Shivaji section emerged victorious in the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) Inter-Section Athletics competition that concluded here today. Ranjit section bagged the second position while Ranjit and Pratap section got the third and fourth position respectively.

On the basis of overall excellence in the athletics meet, Cadet Aman Kumar was adjudged the best athlete in junior division and Cadet Tomthin and Cadet Sohail Islam were declared the best athletes in middles and senior division of the championship respectively.

New records were made in various track and field events. Cadet Malsumzuala made new record in junior division in 100 m run category. Cadet Sachin Kumar shattered the old record in senior division in javelin throw while Cadet Louzink too made a new record in senior division discus throw.

Chief guest Lt General Manvendra Singh, Commandant of the Indian Military Academy, and an alumnus of RIMC reminded cadets of Rashtriya Indian Military College that how privileged they were to be studying in such a distinguished school with lots of facilities and called them upon to avail all facilities available in the school.

He also gave away awards and trophies to the deserving boys. Rashtriya Indian Military College commandant Col HS Bainsla and Lt Col ERM Prasad were also present on the occasion.

Bajrang Dal members seek boycott of Chinese electronic products
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
The Bajrang Dal activists protested today against Chinese electronic products. The activists urged residents to boycott Chinese electronic products.

The Bajrang Dal activists gathered at Clock Tower and raised slogans against China. They lamented that the economy of India was badly affected due to Chinese electronic goods.

Addressing the gathering, Mahendra Singh Negi, an office bearer of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said that economy of China had grown due to selling of its electronic products in India. He pleaded with everyone to boycott Chinese electronic products during Divali.

Speaking on the occasion, Amit Tomar, district convener, Bajrang Dal, said that China earns around Rs 350 crore by selling its electronic products during Divali. He urged everyone to boycott Chinese products with an aim to reviving Indian economy.

Arya, Vijendra Singh, Gaurav Dhingiya, Rohit Dabral, Sushil Kumar, Ajay Arora, Vishal Uniyal, Darshan Lal, Laxman Rawat and others were present.

ISO team completes audit of Doon Women’s Hospital
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
A four-member team comprising Dr VP Gupta, Bhavesh Kumar, Anil Zutshi and Debashish of the International Organisation for Standardisation of Hospitals has completed the clinical and non-clinical audit of Doon Women’s Hospital and of the Blood Bank and Diagnostic Department of Doon Hospital.

The members who wrapped up their visit today will send the report in the coming few days, which will pave the way for the renewal of ISO certification for female hospital and the two departments that were left when the audit was carried for the Doon Hospital last year.

The report will list the grey areas that have to be improved and also suggest measures for making services more patient friendly,” said Dr Chandra Pant, CMS Doon Women’s Hospital.

The ISO certificate is given to the hospitals that conform to the norms laid down by the Indian Public Health Standards. The certificate is a confirmation that the best medical practices were being followed.

20 officers join mainstream of ITBP in Mussoorie
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, October 20
Around 91 officers joined the mainstream of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) after undergoing 50 weeks rigorous training at ITBP academy. The newly inducted officers took oath under the national and ITBP flag to serve the country during the colourful passing-out parade and attestation ceremony at the ITBP grounds today.

Director/Inspector General, ITBP academy, Harbhajan Singh, presided over the function. He also gave away citations and trophies to the trainees for their excellent performance during the course in different streams.

The parents of the passing-out officers, distinguished local representatives and serving and retired ITBP officers witnessed the ceremony. The passing-out officers included one from Haryana, four from Bihar, one from Punjab, one from Jammu and Kashmir, seven from Rajasthan, three from Uttarakhand, one from Madhya Pradesh and one from Kerala. AC/GD (UT) Tikam Singh Negi was adjudged the overall best in outdoor and best in endurance category. AC/GD (UT) Dilip Shan was adjudged best sports man, AC/GD (UT) Mani was adjudged best in conduct, AC/GD(UT) Rohit Kumar was adjudged best in indoor category and AC/GD(UT), Arvind Kashyap, was adjudged best in firing.

St George’s College, Wynberg Allen School overall champs
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, October 20
St George’s College (Boys) and Wynberg Allen School (Girls) teams were declared overall champions in inter school athletics meet that concluded at Wynberg Allen School grounds .

Pronatti Wylie and Abhishek Sharma of Wynberg Allen set a new record in the high jump and in 800 m, respectively. Akash Sachdev, Raag Munjal, Sirasath Piyapootinum and Bharat Jaglan of St George’s College, Saurabh Mehla of Guru Nanak Fifth Centenary School, Bhanu Pratap Singh, Jason Birch, Abhishek Sharma, Shreya Gaurang of Wynberg Allen, Denisa Natrhani of Waverly Convent won gold in their respective events.

The guest of honour on the occasion was Rajat Chauhan, Director, Sports and Exercise, Ashoka University.

Tanya Gupta of Waverly Convent, Siddharth Gusain of Wynberg Allen in the sub junior division, Rehmat Kaur Madhok and Saksham Tyagi of Wynberg Allen in the junior divisions, Zorammawii of Wynberg Allen and Aklash Sachadev of St George’s in the Intermediate divisions, Areeba Waziri of Waverly Convent and Abhishek Sharma of Wynberg-Allen were declared the overall in their respective categories.

BP.Ed, MP.Ed protesters arrested
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 20
Agitating BP.Ed and MP.Ed protesters were arrested by the city police while they were on their way to protest in front of the secretariat here today. The agitators have decided to intensify their agitation if the state government does not accede to their year-long pending demands.

The agitators under the banner of BP.Ed and Mp.Ed Unemployed Association gathered at Raipur bus stand here today and took out a rally. The city police arrested them while they were heading towards the secretariat.

The agitators lamented that memorandums highlighting their demands were submitted to government officials but state government is yet to fulfill their demands.

Kavita, Mannu Sharma, Jyoti, Suresh Kumar, Nepal Singh and others were present.

CM promises jobs for youth

Dehradun, October 20
Chief Minister Harish Rawat participated in the annual function of Arya Samaj Shamshergarh, Balawala, in Dehradun today.