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Portals of Kedarnath, Yamunotri shrines closed for winter
Murder accused remanded in judicial custody |
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Uttarakhand film producers plan convention next month
Rain, hail send temperature plummeting in Mussoorie
Study reveals snow vegetation in glaciers
Come clean on fund utilisation, BJP tells Rawat
Bhaiyya Dhooj celebrated in Doon Cleanliness awareness drive
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Portals of Kedarnath, Yamunotri shrines closed for winter
Dehradun, October 25 Amid chanting of vedic hymns and elaborate prayers by priests, the portals of the Kedarnath and Yamunotri shrines, the two major Char Dham shrines, were closed at 8 am and 1.15 pm, respectively. Besides a large number of pilgrims, who reached there braving snowfall, members of the temple committee and priests were present for the annual ceremony. BB Singh, Chief Executive Officer of the Kedarnath-Badrinath Temple Committee, said special prayers were performed by Bagesh Ling, chief priest of the Kedarnath temple. “Later, the Shivlinga located at the sanctum sanctorum in the temple was smeared with one quintal of ash brought from Nasik by Mahamandaleshwar Swami Samvidanand following elaborate prayers called ‘Samadhi
Puja’. It is an annual ritual which is done before the portals are closed for the winter and the area becomes completely inaccessible,” he added. After the closure of the doors, a replica of the idol of Lord Shiva was carried in a palanquin called “Utsav
Doli” to nearby Ukhimath town where it would be kept till the winter end. Meanwhile, the portals of the Yamunotri shrine were closed following prayers by chief priest Khelanand Uniyal at 1:15 pm. An idol of ‘Ma
Yamuna’ was taken out as the doors of the temple were closed for the winters and taken in a palanquin
(Utsav doli) in the form of a procession to Kharsali where she would be worshipped in the interim. The portals of the Badrinath shrine would be closed on November 18, marking the end of the annual pilgrimage.
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Murder accused remanded in judicial custody
Dehradun, October 25 Notably, one of the victims included Harmeet’s step-sister, Harjeet Kaur, who was carrying full-term pregnancy. Harmeet has already been booked under Section 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code. “We have decided to impose Section 316 of Indian Penal Code against Harmeet, which refers to the offence of criminal miscarriage and has a provision of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment in case he is found guilty under the IPC section,” Superintendent of Police (SP), City, Ajay Singh, told The Tribune. On the question of whether police have found any other clue in the case, the SP City said, “We have gathered all the forensic evidences from the crime scene and now we would try to build them together to be presented before the court against the accused. However, the police would now try to get Harmeet on police remand during the next hearing on October 27. The police want to question him with regard to numerous other unanswered questions in the sensational multiple murder case. According to police sources, Harmeet Singh continued to change his statements since his arrest on Friday afternoon and tried to mislead the investigators in the case. “He is an alcohol addict and changed his statements on a number of times during interrogation,” VK Jetha, in-charge, Cantt police station said. It is to be noted that Harmeet Singh allegedly killed his father Jai Singh, his step-mother Kulwant Kaur, his step-sister Harjeet Kaur and his 3-year-old nephew on October 23 night. Moreover, he also tried to kill his seven-year-old nephew, Kawaljeet, but he luckily survived and sustained serious injuries. It is pertinent to mention here that Harmeet stabbed all of them with a sharp knife. Initially, to deceive the police, Harmeet told the cops that unidentified thieves struck the house on Diwali night and killed the family members. Although his lies could not last long after his nephew Kawaljeet, who also got injured in the incident, told the police that Harmeet killed all the family members. Later, after stern interrogation, Harmeet also confessed to having committed the crime. During investigations, the police found that Harmeet was upset over “step-motherly treatment” given to him and was allegedly planning to take revenge from his father and other family members. Reportedly, Harmeet was also angry over his father’s second marriage and was carrying a feeling of vengeance against his father, step-mother and other family members. The police were told by the relatives that Harmeet was an alcoholic and used to have regular fights with family members under the influence of alcohol.
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Uttarakhand film producers plan convention next month
Dehradun, October 25 Addressing a press conference here today, association president Shiv Penyulli said that owing to the lackadaisical attitude of the state government, the regional film industry had suffered a major setback. “The main aim of the convention would be to bring out alternative solutions for the revival of the regional film and television industry of Uttarakhand. At present there are around 60-65 film and TV producers in the fraternity. In fact since the formation of the state, there has been no growth in our industry as the producers continue to suffer losses with each film being produced,” he added. Citing the lack of theatres in the state as a major reason for the dwindling industry, Penyulli said that except for Lansdowne none of the areas in the upper reaches of the state had theatres. “These days the youngsters, especially those in the cities, have lost connection with their roots. They are neither interested in watching regional language films nor are in touch with the culture of the state. Our target audience is those residing in the hill areas and interiors of the state. Unfortunately the state government has taken no interest in setting up movie halls at those places. Therefore, this has rendered a huge blow to the industry,” he added. “During the convention we would be preparing a report on the plight of the fraternity since 2000 and the steps that need to be taken for its revival. Apart from the producers, there are a lot of other people including technicians, artistes and directors who are affected with the downfall in the industry. It is very important to take steps or else we would be losing an important part of our culture,” he added. Those present included Debu Rawat, Ram Negi, Ashok Chauhan and Kailash Kandwal along with several others.
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Rain, hail send temperature plummeting in Mussoorie
Mussoorie, October 25 The high mountains around Mussoorie experienced a moderate spell of hail and rain during the day. The fresh spell of showers that began around evening in Mussoorie forced the schoolchildren returning home to head for cover as the mercury plummeted drastically within a few hours here. Mall Road wore a deserted look. A few tourist couples were seen strolling and enjoying the cold weather, wrapped in woolens. Ravinder and Simran, a couple on a honeymoon from Ludhiana in Punjab, said they had never thought the temperature would drop so much. “The hail storm was a unique experience and the roads wore a white blanket, making it look like snowfall,” said Ravinder. Another tourist Sandeep from Delhi said the chill due to the spell of rain and hail was unbearable and they would have to rush for woolens in the wake of the dip in temperature. Farmers in Garhwal region have also welcomed the October rains. They say it augurs well for the soil and especially the apple produce in and around the apple belt of Dhanaulti. The farmers are of the view that if the rain continues in a similar fashion in the coming days, chances of a good spell of snow in the winter months will have increased. Jabber Singh, a farmer from Kandi Khal, said the area was mostly rain-fed. The fresh rain would be helpful for crops sown in winter, he added. Officials of the Agriculture Department have also welcomed the fresh spell of rain. They are of the view that the non-irrigated areas would benefit from the rainfall immensely. The power situation remained erratic the entire day and seemed to play hide-and-seek with consumers due to extra consumption of electricity in the form of room heaters in the town. Daily wagers were the most affected due to the severe cold and remained huddled together, warming themselves at various cross sections of Mall Road by the firewood provided to them by the administration. According to the Met Department, the hail and rain came about due to thundercloud development. Very light to light rain or snow could occur at isolated places in higher reaches of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh districts while weather would remain dry in other parts of the state, the department added.
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Study reveals snow vegetation in glaciers
Pithoragarh, October 25 “In connection with the study of changing nature of the glaciers in the Darma valley from where Dhauli, and Gori rivers emerge, we have decided to study the Mewla glacier during our next trip to the valley,” said Dr Kirit Kumar, a scientist working with the Himalayan Environmental Institute, Almora. According to the team members, the study being conducted with the cooperation of ISRO scientists for the first time in this part of Himalayas using equipment of latest mapping technology is studying the flow of the glaciers, its scrapping, and quality of water emerging out of them. “We have taken separate methods to study comparative situations of thickness of snow at the glaciers to find out the real density of snow at the glaciers, which persists at regular basis,” said Dr Kirit. He added after they compile a report of the study the data would be able to feed the ground data in making plans to conserve the glaciers to feed water for long-term river valley projects.
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Come clean on fund utilisation, BJP tells Rawat
Dehradun, October 25 “Every day, the government is making announcements about reconstruction activities in the disaster-affected districts, but nothing is visible on the ground. The roads are in a state of disrepair and the government has failed to satisfy us on the amount spent so far on the reconstruction work. There is anger among the disaster-affected people as a result of the tardy distribution of ex-gratia,” said Rawat while addressing a press conference. He said the law and order situation in the capital was deteriorating every day. He blamed the inefficient state government for failing to nab the remaining culprits in the Nakronda murder case. “In November, we will start our agitation, which will reach its climax during the winter session of the Assembly, when we intend to hold protests both inside and outside the Vidhan Sabha,” he said. The BJP chief also unveiled the membership drive that the party will launch from November 2 in the state. “As part of the party’s nation-wide programme, wherein we aim to have members in every part of the country by 2020. In Uttarakhand, the membership drive will start from November 2 and continue till March 2015,” he said.
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The Kedarnath and Yamunotri shrines also closed for the winter on the occasion of Bhai Dooj today, a day after the portals of the Gangotri shrine were closed.
To highlight the plight of the producer fraternity of Uttarakhand, the Uttarakhand film and TV programme producers’ association will be organising a convention titled ‘Uttarakhand film paridhshay evam film vikas vichar goshthi in the month of November.
