Uttarakhan News Feb. 2011

Clashes at Corbett

The police fired in the air as a group of students from New Delhi clashed with local people at Bijrani gate of Jim Corbett National park at Ramnagar area of Nainital district. The Corbett administration also slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on the students of Kanshiram College of Higher Education for violating the norms of the park, official sources said. The incident took place last evening when the students visiting the Corbett park by a jeep got down from the vehicle. Their guide Shailendra Rawat, however, asked them not to do so as it is prohibited in the park. Soon, an altercation erupted between them. It later turned into a scuffle and the students beat up Rawat. As the news spread, the police reached the spot and tried to take the students outside the park. Meanwhile, a large number of people also gathered at the gate of the Corbett park and beat up the students. When the police intervened, the mob also tried to snatch their arms. Later, the police fired in the air to disperse the mob. After paying the fine of Rs 10,000, the students left for New Delhi.

Tehri SP transferred

Uttarakhand government has transferred Tehri SP Kewal Khurana after having suspended two circle officers following a CID probe into alleged irregularities in departmental examinations for sub-inspectors in the state. Khurana has been replaced by Rajiv Swaroop as the new SP of Tehri district, police said. Satyavir Singh and Harish Kumar Verma, two COs from Tehri district, were last week transferred after an inquiry report revealed that they allegedly favoured appointment of a few policemen, who had appeared for the departmental examinations. Director General of Police J S Pandey had ordered the CID probe last month following allegations that these officers had tried to favour some policemen. The probe was headed by ACP CID Vimla Gunjyal.

Nishank defers yatra

State Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank postponed his awareness drive to highlight development works of his government ahead of the upcoming assembly election in the state. Nishank had deferred his "Vikas Yatra" in view of the ongoing visit of BJP leader Thavar Chandra Gehlot, in-charge of party affairs in Uttarakhand, to Garhwal region, state party spokesman Satish Lakhera told PTI. The yatra would now commence on March eight when the BJP government would complete four years in office, he said. "Since the timing of the two leaders -- Gehlot and Nishank -- was clashing with each other, the yatra of the Chief Minister has been postponed," Lakhera said.

An official release earlier stated Nishank would embark on the "Vikas Yatra" from Champawat on February 20. Despite postponement of the yatra, Nishank flew to Champawat and reviewed various developmental schemes and intracted with locals.

Vikas Yatra under criticism

Hitting out at the ruling BJP in Uttarakhand for its plan to take out a rally highlighting developmental measures taken by it in the state, Opposition Congress said it is a move to misguide people. "During its rule in the past four years, BJP has done nothing except indulging in corruption, scams and scandals. Now, they have planned to undertake 'Vikas Yatra' from February 20 to misguide people ahead of the Assembly polls, due in 2012," leader of the Opposition Harak Singh Rawat told reporters here. Rawat alleged the BJP government has failed to bring out any new developmental or welfare schemes. They have not been able to even implement the schemes introduced by the previous Congress government.

Seven injured

Seven people, including two women, were injured today in a post-election clash between two groups in the Sohanpurgarh village of Haridwar district, police said. Following enmity over the district panchayat elections held yesterday, two groups clashed with each other in which incidence of firing was also reported, police said. The injured were admitted to a government hospital.

Financial support to ailing journalist

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has announced financial aid of Rs 4 lakh to senior journalist and eminent author Sudhir Thapliyal for his treatment, officials said. Terming Thapliyal, author of the famous book 'Mansuri Macabre', as a legend of Indian journalism, the Chief Minister praised Thapliyal for his contribution to his profession, they said.

State bans strike by education officials

Uttarakhand government has banned with immediate effect any strike by employees of the education department. The ban will remain effective for a period of six months, educational secretary Manisha Pawar said here. The order will also be applicable to the school education board.

CM bullish on investment

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has said he is upbeat about the Tata Group making a "significant" investment to pursue new business opportunities in the state, in addition to the proposed expansion of its Pantnagar auto manufacturing plant. "I am confident that Tata Group will invest more in our state, besides expanding its existing Pantnagar auto manufacturing plant," Nishank told reporters here.

A high-level team of top officials from different Tata Group companies visited Dehradun last week as a follow-up to Chairman Ratan Tata's visit here on November 15, 2010. During their visit, they evinced interest in different sectors like power, housing, tourism and IT sectors. Nishank also said the Tata group is in the process of expanding its Pantnagar plant by raising the production capacity from 2.5 lakh units to 5 lakh units per annum. Tata produces its Nano compact car model, as well as light commercial vehicles at the Pantnagar facility. Recalling his close interaction with Tata, Nishank said he had a one-to-one meeting with Tata for nearly one-and-a-half hours, during which they discussed various issues. "Although, that was our first meeting, now we are in regular touch with each other. I am confident that a substantial investment will come from the Tata Group to our state," Nishank said. Group officials from various companies like TCS and Tata Motors last week held talks with Nishank, who wanted the Tata Group to invest Rs 10,000 crore in the hill state to create about 50,000 jobs. Top government officials had prepared a detailed investment opportunity report for the Tata Group after the November 15 meeting between Tata and Nishank. On November 15 last year, Tata visited Dehradun, where he had expressed a desire to explore new opportunities for investment in the hill state.

Tata Motors has already put up a manufacturing facility at Pantnagar at an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore. "The talks were positive and highly satisfactory and we are hopeful that we will get a positive response from Tata," said Nishank. In addition to the Chief Minister, the Tata Group officials held a separate meeting with Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar and a group of secretaries at the State Secretariat last week.

‘Straight drive’ Sanjna

a budding squash player from the state has added one more feather in her cap by winning Uttarakhand Open Squash 2011:

P.S. Chauhan

A three-day Uttarakhand open squash tournament for 2011, organised by the state level squash association, was held in the holy city of Haridwar at the Dayanand Stadium, Gurukul Kangri University. The women's single title was won by a class 10th student from DPS Ranipur - Sanjna Verma. She won the trophy when she defeated a 27-year-old army captain from IMA Dehradun in a tough three set match.

The closing ceremony was a splendid affair in which the vice chancellor of Gurukul Kangri University, Swatantra Kumar gave away the trophies and prizes to the winning participants. The boys open trophy was bagged by IMA, Dehradun and the boys inter school trophy by RIMC, Dehradun. The girls inter school trophy was bagged by DPS Ranipur, Haridwar and the girls open state level championship went to Sanjna Verma for the second consecutive year. K.C. Pandey, principal DPS Ranipur and president Uttarakhand squash racquet's association, RKS Dagar; general sectary, Sanjay Verma, Sr. vice president and Rajeev Bhatnagar, Town Administrator (BHEL) were present to cheer the winners.

Daughter of Mona and Sanjay Verma from Haridwar, Sanjna had made her mark in 2010 as a budding player of Uttarakhand as she then beat an IIT 4th year student in the state level squash tournament. An elated Sanjna told Haridwar Plus that she owed her success to her father, who was also a national level squash player. "My father did his best to accommodate my training schedule and my parents reposed their faith in me even when I was slated to play against professionals, at the kingfisher national squash racket championship, 2009," said Sanjana, beaming with joy. Sanjna will now be provided with a scholarship by the district squash racquet's association for further training in the game. She will be representing the state at national level games in 2011.

Apart from being an outstanding student, Sanjna also excels in music, dance and public speaking. She has bagged prizes in all the above at school level. She has also bagged a gold medal each in badminton and table tennis in her school this year.

At the altar of development

The debate between expansion of Dehradun vs. preservation of its legacy becomes more heated with the Doon-based Rangers' College being the latest casualty of development:

Anjali Nauriyal

The tragedy of Dehradun is that it is being pushed towards so called planned Utopianism - pushed towards a categorization that is unwilling to accommodate each one and everyone. Life does not, or rather should not, work this way. If it does, then significant aspects of the diversity of living are bound to get lost.

Our case in point is the taking over of the portions of the Rangers' College grounds and St Joseph's Academy by the administration for the expansion of certain bottlenecks that are obstructing easy commuting. On one hand is the growing requirement of the city that is literally bursting at the seams while on the other is the voice of the people who feel that what is valuable needs to be preserved at all costs. This has led to a crisis of sorts that is becoming difficult to resolve.

Recently when portions of the walls of the Rangers' College grounds were brought down to widen the Landsdowne Chowk, there was uproar. Many Tibetan Market shops were vacated and brought down. What caused great disturbance was the fact that the valuable heritage housed within the walls of Rangers' College seemed to have been considered insignificant.

For the sake of records, it needs to be mentioned that Rangers' College today stands in honour of Sir Dietrich Brandis, a German Botanist and founder of forestry education in India. He developed the present sylvan surroundings as the Imperial Forest School Garden in 1878. In later years, the campus belonged to Forest Rangers' College under the FRI and Colleges (FRI & C), Forest Survey of India, and presently as Forestry Extension City Centre of FRI. The place abounds in spectacular trees that are part of the urban environs of Doon. The herbarium specimens of several trees, dating back to 1892-1899, from this centre are used and preserved in the FRI herbarium. Amongst the monumental trees here is a Gab Tree (grown in 1890) with a dark and thick crown typical of swamp forests of Doon Valley. There is another huge teak tree that has been named The Pride of India. Then there is a Ficus Elastica Tree with a ramified trunk whose crown is the resort of the fast disappearing Grey Horn bill species. These examples should give an idea how priceless the place is.

REACH, well-known cultural organisation of Doon, occupied the premises of Rangers' College about a decade ago after entering into an MOU with Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) to start a cultural centre in the premises. R.K. Singh, Secretary, REACH, states, "Then, too, the administration forcibly took over the premises and immediately began breaking the floor of the heritage building to accommodate offices or some such things. We created a hue and cry and somehow managed to stop the damage that was being caused to the building. At the risk of the reputation of our own organization, we fought to save the Rangers' College campus. Now matters seem to be getting shoddier as the campus seems to be at risk."

The preservationists can take heart in the fact that a show-cause notice has been issued to Mulayam Singh, Executive Engineer of PWD, by Azam Zaidi, Chief Conservator of Forests, in the Union Government, posted at Lucknow, informs S.S. Negi, Director, FRI. The notice has been served for the violation of the Forest Conservation Act 1980. According to Zaidi, this property has the status of deemed forest, presently being used for forestry purposes like silviculture nursery, bamboo germ plasm, and houses a large number of rare and endangered tree species. This is central government land and the district administration has no right to acquire it.

Attention has been drawn to the Supreme Court order WP (c) 202/95 dated 12th December 1996, wherein it has been clarified that in any forest land, as per the dictionary meaning irrespective of status and ownership, the FC Act 1980 would be applicable. Any use of forest land for any non-forestry purpose would require approval of the Central Government under the FC Act.

Zaidi has pointed out that according to the information with and records at his office, no such approval was sought to acquire the Rangers' College land. Negi informs that the executive engineer has been directed to stop violation of the FC Act with immediate effect and to explain why action ought not to be taken under section 3 of the act. A reply has been sought within 15 days, else action would follow. A copy of the notice has been sent to the DM, Dehradun. Another disgruntled party is St Joseph's Academy School situated in the centre of the city. This school was made to give up portion of its campus some time ago and the school accommodated for the sake of larger good. In the process, many valuable trees were chopped down. Now again the school has received a notice with regard to taking over of another portion of its land.

A.J. George, the Principal, states, "We will take legal action. They should not threaten us with bulldozing scares. Whatever they want to do they must do legally. We don't know what's going to be their next move. Their plan was to demolish our wall by February 12. " St Josephs' Alumni Association undertook a silent candle march recently to protest against the land acquisition by the administration for road widening. "This is just not done. Our school is a heritage school that has given to the country some leading men in a variety of fields," says Rajive Sachar, Coordinator of the association.

The attempts of the state administration to alter the boundaries of Gandhi Park and Parade Ground were thwarted by a public interest litigation filed by the Citizens of Green Doon. The Uttarakhand High Court has issued stay orders on the above alteration plans and cutting down of trees.

Japanese encephalitis vaccine given to five lakh children

On Feb. 15 state government organised an immunisation camp to administer Japanese encephalitis vaccine to more than 500,000 children, after a few cases of the disease were reported in Udham Singh. The camp's medical superintendent, P. D. Panday, said that the government would soon launch the immunisation programme in other regions of the state as well. "Udham Singh Nagar is an industrial area. It has more chances of having mosquitoes, as there are many rivers and ponds here. We have been informed of some cases of fever, though there is no confirmation of the disease. That is the reason the government has launched this project." he said.

Panday also stated that around 17 teams are working and at least 5,000 children are being immunised everyday. "Our 17 teams are working and every day around 4500-5000 children come to us for vaccination. We are working regularly except on Wednesday. We intend to cover the children of the whole region," he said.

Many people are turning up at the vaccination centres and the campaign would run for at least 20 days. "They are providing vaccination for the fever. So I came here for the immunization of my child," said Anita Dwivedi, mother of a vaccinated child. Japanese encephalitis affects 30,000 to 50,000 people each year across Asia, killing up to 15,000. The virus affects membranes around the brain and usually causes mild symptoms, but can lead to high fever, brain damage, coma and death. It is the leading cause of childhood encephalitis and viral encephalitis in Asia.

MOKSH AFTER 40 YEARS

The last wish of 135 Hindus and Sikhs who had died in Pakistan was fulfilled after 40 years when their ashes were immersed in the Ganga recently:

P.S. Chauhan

It is the heart felt wish of many devout Hindus that after death their ashes be immersed in the holy Ganga so that they may get salvation. This last wish of 135 Hindus and Sikhs, who died in Pakistan, could be fulfilled after 40 years of struggle and efforts by their family members and some social organizations.

Mahant Ram Nath Mishra Maharaj of the Karachi based Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir had been trying to bring these ashes to India for immersion in the Ganga for quite some time. After co-ordination with Devothan Samiti and Mahant Surendra Nath Avadhoot of Kalka Mandir in India, the efforts of the office -bearers of Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir met with success and visas could be obtained to bring the ashes to India.

After reaching Haridwar, the 135 urns containing the ashes were kept at the residence of Mahant Surendra Nath Avadhoot where a yagya was performed. Among others, it was attended by Kamla Advani, the wife of the former deputy prime minister, L.K. Advani.

Later on the procession, consisting of 12 persons from Pakistan, including the relatives of the deceased and others and along with hundreds of people from the city, with playing of bands, started from Nishkam Sewa Trust to Sati Ghat Kankhal. The ashes of the deceased were immersed in the holy Ganga at this ghat with full rites. Among those present on the occasion were the state minister of urban development and tourism, Madan Kaushik, the vice chairman of the state SC/ST commission, Suresh Rathore, the vice chairman of the state cow protection board, Swami Yatishwaranand and the prominent saints of the city.

Ram Nath Mishra told Haridwar Plus that these ashes had been kept in a library at Karachi and were guarded by a Muslim watchman, Murad Baksh. According to the Pakistani delegation, more such urns have been kept by the Hindus in several parts of Pakistan. These are also to be brought for final rituals.

Anil Narendra, the chief of the Devothan Samiti, termed the day as ‘historic’ and said that it would foster the bond of amity between the people of the two countries. Members of the Pakistani delegation said that the governments of the two countries should work together to simplify the rules so that religious visa could easily be granted to those who want to come to India and the souls of the Hindus who die in Pakistan do not have to wait for decades for peace

CBRI CELEBRATES FOUNDATION DAY

P.S. Chauhan

The Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee, the premier institute of the country for higher studies and research in building technology, celebrated its 65th foundation day with usual gaiety and fanfare. The institute, which is one of the leading units of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Reseach (CSIR) was set up in 1947 to develop technology suited to people of different income groups in various geo-climatic regions of the country with focus on indigenous material, local skills and eco-friendly approach.

Some of the landmarks achieved by the institute are the utilization of agricultural and industrial wastes for building materials, developing technology for earthquake resistant constructions, rehabilitation work in the natural disasters hit areas in the country and development of a device of gravitational and settling chambers for brick kilins to make them pollution free.

Speaking in the function organized on the occasion, the chairman of the Kinetic Motors Group, Arun Firaudia said that the CBRI should use its technology to develop model villages where people should feel proud to live in and stop migrating towards the cities. He further said that the task of constructing cost effective and durable habitats, in sync with the requirements of a particular region, could only be achieved by combining applied engineering and research.

"If we could do so, the whole scenario of the country, through building model villages, will undergo a radical transformation within the next 30-40 years", he remarked. The former director of the institute, Rajendra Kumar Bhandari, lauded the pioneering efforts of the institute in providing most appropriate economic solutions for housing to the poorest of the poor while also providing expertise for the highly specialized structures in the country.

Highlighting the recent strides taken by the institute, the director of the institute, S.K. Bhattacharya, said that the institute was fully geared up to face the challenges of the future. "Steps have been initiated to meet human resource crunch and, along with research, higher studies and Ph.D. courses have been launched in the institute", informed the director. The function was convened by Yadvendra Pandey, a senior scientist of the institute.

Standing tall

DSB International Public School Rishikesh becomes the first educational institute to have the honour of hoisting the highest National Flag in the country and the first in the state:

February 16, 2011 can be termed as a red letter day in the history of DSB International Public School, Rishikesh. This was the occasion when this emerging school of Rishikesh added a new chapter not only in its own history but also in the history of the whole state by being the first and foremost educational institute in Uttarakhand to have achieved the honour and glory of hoisting the Tricolor having the ratio of 30:20 feet at an altitude of 110 feet high monumental flag pole in the school premises . Undoubtedly, this day proved to be a golden day in the history of the school.

The programme started with the unfurling of the Tricolor by the chief guest Naveen Jindal, the honourable member of Parliament from Kurukshetra, Haryana. Having hoisted the Tricolor the four houses of the school exhibited a grand march past saluting the chief guest and the national flag.

Thereafter, the school students presented cultural programmes among which group songs, folk dance, patriotic songs and many other spellbound programmes were main attractions. The students from Keshri Devi Lohia Public School Kurukshetra, Haryana also presented beautiful programmes.

On the closing ceremony of the programme the chief guest addressed the gathering present there in which he said unfurling the national flag is a matter of great pride and added that the national flag is the symbol of our prestige which every Indian deserves to possess. And it is due to his tireless efforts that today every Indian has got the right to unfurl the national flag with dignity and honour.

To conclude the proceedings of the programme, the principal of the school proposed his vote of thanks to the chief guest, distinguished guest, delegates, guardians and school staff members for having graced the occasion by their presence and being part of the historic moment.

News from Uttarakhand: Feb. 2011

39 smuggled tortoises rescued in Nainital

Uttarakhand forest officials rescued 39 smuggled tortoises and arrested four smugglers in Nainital. Acting on a tip off, the forest officials recently carried out a raid and arrested two smugglers, who had kept 37 live tortoises hidden in water tubs and jute bags. Officials also recovered two more tortoises from two men, who kept it inside a gunny bag for sale. "We got information that in nearby market tortoises are being sold. Acting on the information, we found that two people were selling the tortoises while two others were buying it. We rescued 37 live tortoises from them," said Jagdish Pant, Section Officer, East Forest Division, Terai. "Some of the tortoises were kept in a tub and the rest were kept inside a jute bag. The other two people, the buyers, had a jute bag with them having two more tortoises," he added.

Motorcycle thieves arrested

A tailor and a motorcycle mechanic were arrested allegedly with 36 motorcycles they had stolen from various states in north India, police said. Rizwan (21) and Iqram (23) were arrested recently from East Delhi, I.B. Rani, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), said. Rizwan, the tailor, hails from Muzaffarnagar in UP while Iqram, the mechanic, belongs to Hardwar in Uttarakhand. "They operated in Delhi, UP, Uttarakhand and Haryana. At their instance, 36 stolen motorcycles were recovered," Rani said. The first to be arrested was Rizwan on January 31 from Gandhi Nagar area during a vehicle checking. During interrogation, he told police that he had stolen many motorcycles from different areas in east Delhi. On the same day, two motorcycles were recovered at his instance, which were found stolen from Jagatpuri.

TV channels launched

Media and Entertainment major Sri Adhikari Brothers Television Network (SABTNL) have announced launch of two new Hindi channels. The company announced launch of two Hindi channels namely Dabangg and Dhamaal. While Dabangg will cater to audience of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand, Dhamaal has been launched to cater audience of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, SABTN said in a statement. The company is shortly going to launch third channel in the name of Dhamakaa for audiences in Gujarat. SABTNL has been produces multi-lingual, multi-genre content. It already has an established regional presence in various Indian languages.

Badrinath shrine to don a new look soon

A new town will come up near the Badrinath temple, as part of a special plan by the Uttarakhand goverment to beautify the shrine area in Chamoli district. The plan entails vacating the area falling within 50 km radius of the shrine which is being occupied by bungalows, Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee chairman Anusuya Prasad told PTI. The owners of the bungalows will be asked to to re-locate to the Nar mountain range, Bhatt added. A committee to execute the plan has been formed under the leadership of a former MP Manohar Kant Dhyani, she said. Bhatt said this plan will help in better managment of traffic as the shrine is visited by approximately 5 lakh devotees every year.

Gadkari launches Rs 2/kg wheat scheme

Asking party leaders to regard politics as a tool for social and economic uplift of the downtrodden, BJP president Nitin Gadkari today said state governments should ensure that schemes for the weaker sections are "transparent" and "free from corruption". Launching the "Atal Khaddyanna Yojana" which envisages providing wheat at the rate of Rs 2 per kg while rice at Rs. 3 per kg, Gadkari said it would benefit around 30 lakh people in Uttarakhand and has a potential to emerge as a "model" scheme for other states.

"If you are in politics, your aim should not be just to become an MLA, a Minister or a Chief Minister. Instead you should aim at eradicating poverty and providing each and every person with food, clothing and a shelter," he said. Gadkari said the governments should ensure that such schemes are "leak proof". "There should be complete transparency and no corruption should be tolerated." The scheme, launched from 27 different centres in the state on the death anniversary of Bhartiya Jana Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyaya, covers both the categories of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL). Gadkari said that his party regarded politics as a "tool" for social and economic uplift of the downtrodden. "Our agriculture minister says that foodgrains worth around Rs 58,000 crore rot every year in godowns. If this is the case why then the foodgrains are not distributed among the poor who need it the most," said the BJP chief. Even if the country is fast developing, the survey reports of Planning Commission "are disappointing. Almost 50 per cent of population survives on a meagre income which is even below Rs 90 per day while food inflation is rising at staggering 18 per cent thus forcing people to take their own lives due to poverty and hunger," Gadkari said.

Tata group exploring investment opportunities

Last week a high level delegation of Tata group called on Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank at the Secretariat for discussing possibilities of investment in Uttarakhand in various sectors like contract farming, tourism, IT and power. During a meeting of the Chief Minister with Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata on November 15 last here, Nishank had informed the latter that the state government had created congenial atmosphere for the investment. In the wake of assurance of Tata, the visit of the delegation can be termed as a big stride in the direction of investment in the state, an official release said.

Nishank hoped that minimum of Rs 10,000 crore capital investment and 50,000 direct and indirect employment could be expected from the Tata group. For the purpose of accelerating the proposals presented by the Tata group and strengthening the single window system. On various proposals of different projects of public services to be carried out on PPP mode, presented by TCS he directed the officers concerned to initiate necessary action after examination. Nishank asked senior officers of Tata Group to propose investments and assured that the state would extend full cooperation. Tata Motors Vice President A.S. Puri informed that the group had encouraging experience of working at Pantnagar established in a record period of one year. He apprised that the maximum target of production of vehicles 2.5 lakh per year would be extended to 5 lakh per year.

Besides, the Group was also interested for investment in contract farming sector, he suggested. Earlier, in a meeting of the Secretaries with the officers of Tata Group presided over by the Chief Secretary , possibilities of investment was discussed at length. Owing to the nearness to the national capital, better transport facilities, high literacy rate, better law and order, and pollution free environment, Uttarakhand is fast emerging as moving state towards investment, Chief Secretary informed. During the meeting, Tata Group has expressed its interest in contract farming, information technology, run-of-the river hydro project, tourism, health and low cost housing projects.

Teacher inflicts serious injuries on 40 students

A teacher allegedly inflicted serious injuries on the ears of 40 students in Bhel area here by hitting them with a sharp wire and left them profusely bleeding, official sources said. Vimal Singh, a teacher at Vahini PAC School, punished the students on Feb. 14 for playing in the school by hitting on their ears with the sharp wire, they said. Taking suo motu cognizance of the incident, State Education Minister Govind Singh Vashisht has directed District Magistrate to investigate the matter and submit the report within a week. The DM has constituted a panel of five members headed by Deputy Collector Harvir Singh which has initiated its inquiry into the matter, the sources said. The parents of the students had complained about the incident to PAC Commandant Janmejaya Khanduri, the school management and police.

Winter Season Char Dham Yatra from March 2

The initiative is expected to boost tourism further in the state:

P.S. Chauhan

Though the summer season Char Dham Yatra will begin after a few months, the announcement of the auspicious dates for the reopening of the portals of the four dhams of the Hindus, situated in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, has begun.

After remaining closed for six months during winter, the portals of the sacred shrine of Badrinath will be reopened for devotees on May 9. As per tradition, in the presence of the Tehri King, Manujendra Shah and Maharani Rajlakshmi, the Raj Purohit of the King dynasty announced the date for the reopening of the shrine.

The shrine, the most revered by the Hindus, was closed for the devotees on November 17 last year. Legends say that for six months the humans pray to the gods, while for the next six months gods pray at the shrine.

In a related development, the state government has decided that the Char Dham Yatra, which is the backbone of the economy of the state, should continue round the year instead of for six months only. The proposal to increase the duration of the yatra was mooted by the N.D. Tiwari government. But it did not find favour with the management of the shrines and some sections of society. For some time opinions have been building in favour of the continuation of the yatra for long. After consultations with concerned organizations the state government has decided to start the winter season Char Dham Yatra from March 2. Surat Ram Nautiyal, the vice chairman of the Char Dham Yatra Vikas Parishad, said that the auspicious date of the commencement of the winter season Char Dham Yatra for this year had been decided after holding consultations with Jagatguru Madhvashram, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirpeeth of Badrinath. "Necessary instructions have been issued to the concerned departments", informed Nautiyal. During winter the yatra will go up to Kharsali, Mukhba, Ukhimuth and Pandukeshwar which are the respective wintry abodes of the deities of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. Welcoming the new move about the yatra, Suresh Gulati, the president of the Haridwar city Vyapar Mandal, says that so far the yatra season has remained limited to only four months. "The move of the government to start winter season Char Dham Yatra to boost tourism throughout the year is a step in the right direction", says Gulati. In some quarters there are reservations about the success of the winter season Char Dham Yatra. Kaushal Sikhola, a prominent priest here says that there is no provision for such a yatra in the scriptures. "The pilgrims come to pay obeisance at the four holy shrines. The winter season Char Dham Yatra is not likely to be a success, since the devotees, guided by deep seated beliefs, may think that praying at the idols of the deities at their wintry abodes, will not be as fruitful as praying at the holy shrines of Char Dhams", opines Shikhola.

However, Praveen Jha Shastri of Jwalapur has a different opinion: "Praying at the Chal Vigrah if properly installed, at one place, is as blessed as praying at these idols at the other place." However, it remains to be seen how far the state government succeeds in creating adequate infrastructure for the winter season Char Dham Yatra and how far the new experiment succeeds.

Ruskin’s acting in a Bollywood movie

Upasana Mantri

Many of Ruskin Bond’s novels have been adapted into movies. The Flight of Pigeons was adapted for Shyam Benegal’s Junoon, The Blue Umbrella became Vishal Bhardwaj’s movie by the same name. And again, Vishal took the 76-year-old author’s novella, Susanna’s Seven Husbands to make it into Saat Khoon Maaf. But in this film, the author will make his debut on the silver screen too. Says Ruskin, with a child-like enthusiasm, “I have a guest role in Saat Khoon Maaf.”

Ask him about whether he is excited and Ruskin tells us, “When I was 16, I was old, and now I feel like a boy... So, yes, I am excited.” And so, the world will see this boy doing a cameo with Priyanka Chopra. And since we caught him on the sidelines of the Jaipur Literature Festival, he also told us about an incident that has endeared Jaipur to him. It so happened that a few years ago, he visited a small book shop in Jaipur to see if his book was there. “And imagine vanity of the author in me, I was surprised to see that my book kept in the bestsellers of the day category.” But he did not let go at that. “I kept my book on top of the pile so that it was visible, but the owner of the shop, who didn’t recognize me, said that nobody is buying this book so don’t keep it at the top.” He laughs as he narrates the rest of the story, “And to teach him a lesson, I bought my own book.” Did he get upset? He comes back with, “I get upset when people murder the English language. I guess I have been just lucky to make a living from what I love doing, writing.”

in brief: Jan. 2011 fourth week

Dhumal flags off Una-Haridwar Link Express:

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister P K Dhumal flagged off at Una the Una-Haridwar Link Express which would provide direct train services between the two cities. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Dhumal urged the Union Railway Ministry to extend all trains reaching Nangal in Punjab up to Una in Himachal Pradesh as only 40 km of new railway lines had been added to the hill state after independence.

The on-going Nangal-Talwara railway line should be completed in a time-bound manner as the railway track up to Amb had been completed and the trains reaching Una should also be extended up to Amb by completing electrification work on the railway line, he said.

Youth lynched in Haridwar

A 22-year-old youth was lynched and three others were badly beaten up by residents when they allegedly tried to abduct a girl from her house after she broke up with one of them, police said. Parvez and three of his accomplices barged into the house of Deenanath and forcibly tried to take his 20-year-old daughter with them late Wednesday night in Tibri colony area of Haridwar, they said. A crowd gathered outside the house when the girl's family raised an alarm after which they caught hold of the four youths and started beating them, they said. The injured youths were rushed to a hospital where Sajid, 22, was declared brought dead. The condition of the other three youths is stated to be out of danger, they added. The girl allegedly had an affair with Parvez, but her family was opposed to their relationship. The spurned lover had then allegedly hatched a plan to abduct the girl and had reached her house with three of his friends for this purpose, police said. Six persons have been arrested in connection with the case and further investigations are underway, police said.

Industrial Expo in Haridwar begins

BILLED as one of the largest B2B (business to business) industrial fair ever to take place in Uttarakhand, the 3-day Industrial Expo beginning January 29, at Haridwar, is all set to give vendor development a shot in the arm and give the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) a major uplift. The industrial expo in the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttaranchal (SIDCUL) integrated industrial estate, Haridwar, is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (Northern Region) in partnership with the government of Uttarakhand. The 70 lakh mega event, spread over 3,500 sq m, will have over 130 exhibitors, 90% of whom will be MSMEs and be a major platform for industry-institute interface with the bigwigs including Tata Motors, Hero Honda, BHEL, Delphi-TVS, IRDE, Godrej & Boyce, Siemens, Hindustan Unilever and Schunk Intec India are among the exhibitors. The mega event has been organised at a time when Uttarakhand celebrates a decade of its existence.

The proactive initiative of the state government has in the last 10 years brought in a sizable investment into the state with Haridwar and Udhamsingh Nagar emerging as major industrial hubs. Already, the available data indicates that 990 units with a total investment of 14,580 crore are operating in Haridwar and another 685 units with an investment of 8,682 crore are in operation in Udhamsingh Nagar taking the total investment to 23,262 crore. There are also a large number of small scale units in operation in the state with a sizable investment. Talking to this correspondent CII(NR) regional director Charu Mathur said that with leading industrial houses in the country as well as MNCs having established their industrial ventures in Uttatrakhand, the state assumes importance and it is the first in the country to have industrial estates in the private sector. Moreover, to woo industry in the hilly and remote areas in the state, the Uttarakhand government announced an attractive package of incentives through a Special Integrated Industrial Promotion Policy 2008.

Illegal construction

Ashrams, houses and business complexes have been built on the very bank of the holy river. Illegal constructions are also being done in the name of religion. Recently the district administration identified 531 illegal constructions at public places in the name of religion. Now, it is posing a problem for the district administration to implement a decision of the Supreme Court and demolish these constructions.

The HDA, which was set up for the planned development of the Kumbh mela area including Haridwar and Rishikesh, has not so far been able to demolish even a single illegal construction, though as per records, it has passed orders for the demolition of 4172 constructions till date and hearing on the legality of 1532 constructions is going on in the HDA and 900 cases of alleged illegal constructions are pending in the court of the CJM. The people have started thinking that the HDA is a 'toothless tiger'. "We have to depend on the district administration and the police to carry out our orders. There is staff crunch also. A massive and determined drive is required to clean the Augean stables,: admits the secretary of the HDA.

Deepak Nautiyal, a teacher near Rishikul College, says that the people are also to be blamed for this bane of the city. "No drive against illegal constructions can be successful without public support. The administration many times started the drive against encroachments and illegal constructions, but it had to be dropped due to stiff opposition from the vested interests. In some cases the personnel engaged in the drive were roughed up. Unless enlightened citizens come forward against the menace, the situation on the front of encroachments and illegal constructions will remain dismal," asserts Nautiyal.

State to create 50,000 jobs in 2011

The Uttarakhand government has set a target of creating nearly 50,000 jobs this year for the people of the state, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank said recently. In his message on the eve of Republic Day, Nishank said the state government has launched various developmental and welfare schemes for all sections of society like women, youth and old-aged persons.

The hill state is among the top six states of India, which are attracting huge industrial investment, an official release said. The Central Planning Commission has also approved weightage on financial grant to Uttarakhand for conservation of environment and forests, it added. In an another statement, Nishank slammed both the UPA Government and the National Conference-led government in Jammu and Kashmir for "banning" the flag hoisting at Lal Chowk.

The citizens of the country were free to hoist the tricolour in any part of India as it is a symbol of pride and nationalism, he said. The chief minister also telephoned senior BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Ananth Kumar.

Clearance for riverbed mining in 2 weeks

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) may give the final clearance for riverbed mining in forests areas of Uttarakhand in next one to two weeks, a state government official said on Monday. The chairman of state-run Uttarakhand Forest Development Corporation (UFDC), Jyoti Prasad Gairola, said he expected the final clearance in next one to two weeks time, as an empowered committee in the Union ministry has already given its in principle approval.

The mining activities in the rivers of hill state have been banned for past one-and-a-half years after the ministry refused to give its permission expressing environmental concerns, as they fall in forest areas.

The empowered committee gave its approval after the UFDC submitted various survey reports regarding wildlife and hydrology of the forest areas, where it had sought permission for riverbed mining. The UFDC had also prepared a separate environmental impact assessment (EIA) report in this regard. The UFDC had hired a Delhi-based consultant to prepare EIA on rivers like Gola, Sharda, Dabka and Kosi in Kumaon region and Songh and Jakhan in Garhwal region. The ban on riverbed mining in the hill state had not only affected those associated with its business but also raised the construction cost many times.

"The cost of building materials became double to triple since the mining activities were banned in the state making it difficult for the people to construct buildings," said Gairola, adding, he was hopeful that the cost of material would come down with the clearance from the ministry.

Height of corrruption

The entire city of Haridwar, once known for its spacious roads and clean environment, is choking with illegal constructions galore in all the parts of the city. These illegal constructions, in the form of colonies and the commercial complexes, including hotels, have disfigured the city, besides causing traffic problems and acute shortage of space for the melas held here round the year.

One reason for scramble for constructions, against prescribed norms, is the shortage of space in the city which is squeezed in between the BHEL, the Rajaji National Park and the Ganga," says V.S. Dhanik, the secretary of the HDA. The master plan of the city expired in 2001 and the new master plan has not been notified even after 10 years of the expiry of the old plan. As per the old master plan, the entire area from Shiv Murti in Haridwar to the Jatwara Bridge in Jwalapur is residential. However, this whole belt, on both sides of the main road of the city, is flooded with business and commercial complexes, which per existing rules are illegal. Similarly, the old master plan lays down at least 1500 meter of land for the construction of a hotel. Due to non availability of so much space of land, people have constructed hotels on 400 or 500 meters of land.

Such a situation, caused by the skyrocketing prices of land in an around the city during the last two decades, is proving a boon for the builder mafia and the colonizers. The sources say that the colonisers have developed 132 colonies either on the agricultural land or by felling trees of the orchards on the periphery of the city. The sources in the HDA say that 57 colonies have so far been sanctioned and regularized, while 74 colonies are still illegal and the case of one colony for regularization is under consideration. It is also strange that in many unapproved colonies the facilities of electricity, sewage and water supply have been provided by the local MLAs from the development fund given by the state government.

Praveen Jha of Dheerwali, Jwalapur alleges that large scale construction of residential and commercial complexes could not have been possible without the connivance of the administration. Groups of real estate mafia, including financers and politicians, with unholy nexus with the officials, are active in the district to mint money. "The modus operandi is that the officials of the HDA remain a silent spectator when an illegal construction is going on. When the construction is complete, a notice is served on the builder and the case is compounded and settled after charging some penalty," says Adesh Tyagi of Shivlok Colony. A group of real estate developers, has illegally constructed 11 commercial complexes from Bahadrabad to Bhimgoda and is currently engaged in the illegal construction of a four star hotel near the SIDCUL. The illegal construction of a hotel in the residential area near Jamna Talkies by an important office bearer of the City Vyapar Mandal is nearing completion. Nearly half a dozen hotels are under construction, all illegally, at Doodhadhari Tiraha. Hundreds of residential complexes have been turned into lodging houses, without permission, in the Shravan Nath Nagar, which is the heart of the city. Dharmshalas and even ashrams are being illegally converted into hotels and lodging houses. The sources say that the number of illegally constructed hotels has touched the whooping figure of 300 during the last one year alone. Such is the greed of the people, with no one to check them, that even the directives of the court are being openly flouted. As per existing rules and also the direction of the High Court, there can be no construction within 200 meters on the Ganga’s bank.

in brief: Jan. 2011

Vedic astrology website launched

A Vedic astrology website developed with assistance from Uttarakhand astrologers has been launched by a US-based company here. "We are hopeful that astrologers from all over India will be able to utilise the benefits of our website," ZoTally Inc's chairman Naresh Belwal told reporters. Apart from accessing various astrology services, the website named www.zotally.com will also help in match making and for social networking, US-based businessman Belwal said. The users will also be able to get the daily predictions on the basis of their birth charts and astrology compatibility match, he said.

Bahuguna turns 85

Environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, who has voiced his fierce opposition to big hydel projects saying these are destroying the rich eco system of the Himalayan region, turned 85 on Jan. 9, 2011. He celebrated his birthday at HESCO village, located near the city, where he planted a sapling.

Speaking on the occasion, Bahuguna called for taking steps to protect ecology of the Himalayan region. "Construction of big projects have harmed our rivers and the people living there," he said. "Tehri dam is the worst example in Uttarakhand where the Himalayas are highly fragile."

India win all medals in 1000m speed skating

India continued its dominance in ice-skating events of the SAF winter games third day in a row by winning all the medals in 1000 meter speed skating in both men's and women's categories. India's Subodh Patil won gold in 1000m speed skating in men's category, while Mushtaq and Lavish bagged the silver and bronze respectively. In women's category, Shruti Kotwal won the gold, Sonam Tsoma took the silver and Rinchim Dolam clinched the bronze. The players from Bangladesh and Maldives also took part in the 1000m speed skating event. It was curtains for the ice-skating events of the SAF winter games today, which were held in state-of-the-art ice-skating rink at Maharana Pratap sports complex here. The colourful closing ceremony was attended by Uttarakhand Governor Margaret Alva, which was held from January 10 to 12. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank inaugurated the event on January 10 here.

The second part of SAF winter games comprising of skiing events would be held at Auli in Chamoli district from January 14 to 16. Besides medals, SAG winter games 2011 will also encourage sporting culture in the state and surely help it in emerging a sought-after destination for adventure sports.

Game, set, match to Uttarakhand!

Anjali Nauriyal

The hosting of the first South Asian Games was a moment of pride for Uttarakhand as it was a chance to showcase its abundant natural beauty. The successful completion of the games, irrespective of certain glitches has enabled the state to become an example not only within India, but even internationally.

Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal has often reiterated that the state government is committed to making all efforts to encourage sportspersons and sports in a big way in the state. This is bound to provide the youth of the state opportunities galore to vent their natural talent in a variety of games. For this state-of-the-art facilities have developed and more are in the offing.

Both the opening and closing ceremonies were the highlights of the mega event. Folk dancing, hoisting of games flag, ice skating speed demo and pageantry were all in evidence.

Nishank, while inaugurating the games, said, "Special emphasis has been given by the state to promote winter games in the state, especially by developing world class winter games infrastructure in Dehradun and Auli. The present winter games will help in boosting relations with South Asian countries and attract winter sports enthusiasts in India as well as from various parts of the world." He pointed out that Uttarakhand had already given well-known sports persons from the state, including ace shooter Jaspal singh Rana and cricketer M.S. Dhoni.

As many as 150 participants from India and the six other South Asian countries, including Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, participated in the games. The biggest participating delegation of 27 participants was from Pakistan. The Doon Ice Skating Rink in Raipur is a sportsman's delight. The man behind this wonder is Mike Jeschke, a Canadian expert, who stay in India for a couple of months to train Indians how to maintain the rink. The rink in Doon has the distinction of being the first artificial skating rink in entire South Asia.

Secretary Toursim and Sports Rakesh Sharma expressed confidence that the Winter Games 2011 would work as a launching pad for future winter sports in Uttarakhand and would attract a large number of sports persons and tourists from India and abroad.

A special exhibition was set up by Uttarakhand government to promote the hill state as a tourist attraction for adventure and winter sports as well as a land of floriculture and industries. The dignitaries who were present on the occasion included Madan Kaushik, Minister of Tourism, Uttarakhand Government, and Khajan Das, Sports Minister, Uttarakhand , Mayor of Dehradun, and several MLAs. Amongst the major highlights of the event were musical performances by well-known country music singer Bobby Cash and Sufi singer Kailash Kher and his troupe, Marchpast by teams on army band, Mangal Gayan by Basanti Devi Bhist, Bharatnatyam by Ami Parikh, cultural dances by folk artists of Uttarakhand, Himachal, Assam and J&K. Demo performance by Anup and Awani, speed demo by various skaters and an exhibition ice hockey match were the other highlights. The events at the Auli Ski Resort included Alpine Skiing Slalom - Men and Women; Giant Slalom - Men and Women; Nordic Skiing - Men 10 kms, 15 kms, 4x10 kms relay, and for Women 3 kms, 5 kms, 10 kms relay, apart from many others. Auli has been developed as the world class destination for winter games for skiing events. State-of-the-art ski slopes, artificial snow-making system, water storage for artificial snow-making system, chair lift system for ski sport and residential accommodation have been developed. Uttrakhand Governor Margaret Alva speaking at the closing ceremony in Doon said, "Special emphasis has been given by the state to promote the winter games in the state, especially by developing world class winter games infrastructure in Dehradun and Auli. The present winter games will help in boosting relations with South Asian countries and attract winter sports lovers from all over the world."

Father of the brides

Surendra Nath Singh, who is better known as Sunny Singh, has been working for the betterment of underprivileged girls, whose future, including their marriages, has been his main concern since the last four years

Raj Kanwar

His little known Tons Valley Education Trust has become a harbinger of a different kind for many an underprivileged girls, mostly teenagers. Sunny Singh aka Surendra Nath Singh, a Dosco and retired executive director from General Electric Company of India in Calcutta, has ushered in a new awakening amongst the young girls from economically backward families in Guniyal and nearby villages on the outskirts of Dehradun. Now the girls have acquired a craving of sorts for learning English and elementary computing.

A few years into his retirement, Singh had returned to Dehradun. "Frankly, I myself didn't know what had attracted me to the city after so many years. But I decided to build a cottage in Guniyal Gaon, far from the maddening crowd of Delhi," he reminisces.

Soon enough he noticed the plight of the girl child in the villages around him. The transformation then came easily. Surendra Nath Singh, the suave happy-go-lucky gentleman of Calcutta, soon became Sunny Singh. With a makeover, he gave away his western clothing; gave up drinking and smoking and started growing a beard and resolved to do something to improve the lot of these village girls and to impart to them skills in English language and elementary computing. "I felt I must have a purpose in life and decided to give something back to the society," he says. His Summer Home thus became his 'Karam Bhumi'.

The Centre started in November 2006 with only six girls, with an object to educate girls, 13 years and above, of BPL families. "Initially the parents were reluctant to send their daughters since they were also earning members by doing odd domestic jobs. But soon as the word spread, more and more girls started coming in, and within a year or so, we had strength of 53," says Sunny.

The Trust does not get any government aid or funding, and is totally dependent on donations from Sunny's family members and friends. It has taken upon itself the entire responsibility of even providing higher education to these girls and sponsors their college education; it not only pays for their tuition fees but also meets all other needs, including clothing and books. Currently, there are 13 college-going girls, and many of them are doing very well in their studies. Additionally, the Trust also takes care of their health problems. Five senior doctors have now volunteered to attend to the girls at no cost; even medicine is provided wherever possible.

Remarkably, the Trust has also taken over the onerous responsibility of helping towards marriage for the girls. "In a land where the birth of a girl child is considered a curse in many families, God has given me 53 'daughters' to take care of," says Sunny who has already married three daughters to fairly well-to-do grooms.

The Trust has now become the first in Uttarakhand, perhaps India, to introduce tiny laptops designed by Professor Nicholas Negroponte of Massachusetts Institute of Technology with view to donating these to primary school classrooms in developing countries around the world. Currently, classes are held in a small makeshift classroom, in a decrepit state, near the village temple. "I cannot afford to buy expensive land. The Trust will construct the school at its own cost for which I have already received financial commitment and will be able to admit other children from the surrounding villages. My girls have now become quite ambitious. All of them want to do something worthwhile in life. So I must be able to provide them best possible environment," says Sunny very proudly.

Karishma Casts Spell

P.S. Chauhan

The denizens of the holy city virtually witnessed Karishma's charisma, as she came here for promotion of Utsav jewellery brands at a jewellery showroom at Ranipur area. As the news spread that the celebrated heroine of the Hindi cinema was arriving in the city her fans started flocking to the venue. People even climbed the roof tops to have a glimpse of the Bollywood celebrity. There was such a huge rush, the people jostling each other, that the police had a tough time in controlling her fans who had almost gone berserk.

The traffic in the area remained disrupted, as the crowds refused to budge from their places. Dressed in an elegant white kurti, matched beautifully with an azure stole, the swelte and all time charming heroine of the Bollywood enchanted thousands of her admirers. In the prevailing melee some youth succeeded in obtaining her autographs, while most of the spectators had to content themselves only with a passing glimpse from a distance. Karishma stayed only for 20 minutes, amid warm welcome, whistles and applause of a large number of her fans. Just as Karishma cast spell on the people here, she herself also came under the enchantment of the spiritual ambience of this world renowned city. As soon as she stepped out of her car, she said, "Hello to the people of this great city". "I am blessed to come to this holy city. It is really great to be in this famous city of the Ganga," she further said.

In a brief chat with Haridwar Plus, she welcomed the diminishing difference between the big screen of the cinema and the television. "It is a mingling of the two modes for better entertainment. Television has taken giant strides during the past few years and has been providing more opportunities to the film stars as well as for the audiences, which is a good sign," she remarked. She further said that after becoming mother, her life had changed and now her priority was the good upbringing of her kids, Samira and Kiaan. "However, I am still in films. But now I shall consider only good proposals. There is no use playing the conventional roles at this age," she remarked. She was all praise for her sibling, Kareena Kapoor, the hottest heroine these days, and said that the acting gene in the Kapoor clan had once again being demonstrated to the world. Her tip to those who want to make career in the films : "Hardwork, perseverance, confidence and creativity, this is the essence of success here, as in most other fields."

Games a success

Anjali Nauriyal

The first South Asian Winter Games came to a close at the Auli Ski resort in grand style with India winning most medals with some fight back from arch rival Pakistan. Indian skiers dominated the various skiing events by bagging maximum number of gold. Pakistan stood second in the games while other countries Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives failed to open their account in both skiing and skating events.

Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Madan Kaushik was the chief guest at the closing ceremony. While speaking on the occasion he thanked the people of Uttarakhand, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Indian Army, Winter Games Federation and other agencies involved in making the games success despite various initial hiccups. He stated, "Despite the fact that these were the first-ever multi nation winter games being organized in the country, they were well managed. This success will further encourage the state government to bid for much larger games. This will also help in boosting state tourism and economy."

State sports Minister Khajan singh, local MLA and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. Garhwal Rifles and other army bands played various march past tunes during the closing ceremony.

The events held during the last day included Giant Slalom for Women, 19 Km cross country for women, 15 Km Cross country for men.

Industry Watch

Govt gives extra time to 20 SEZ developers to execute projects:

While four SEZ developers, including State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand, have been allowed to surrender their projects, 20 developers have been given more time by the government to execute their projects. The government has given more time to 20 SEZ developers, including Tata Consultancy Services and Mahindra World City, to execute their projects. At a meeting on January 14, the Board of Approval (BoA) headed by Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar also allowed four SEZ developers to surrender their projects.

The BoA is a 19-member inter-ministerial body that deals with Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and related issues. However, the developers surrendering their projects have to obtain a certificate from the respective Development Commissioners that "they have refunded all the tax/duty benefits availed under SEZ Act/Rules," a senior Commerce Ministry official said. SEZ developers, including Medicaps IT Park Pvt Ltd and State Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand, had approached the BoA to surrender their projects. They have cited global economic uncertainty as the reason for quitting their export-focused projects.

"It will not be financially feasible to develop the SEZ due to ongoing uncertainties in the global economy," one developer that had requested the withdrawal of approval for its IT/ITeS SEZ in Maharashtra said in its application. "... Due to the present market scenario, it does not seem possible to implement the project," Medicaps IT Park Pvt Ltd said in its request.

According to an industry expert, uncertainty over whether new SEZs will be eligible for tax exemptions — which are proposed to be confined to existing units in the latest draft of the Direct Taxes Code Bill — has dampened interest in the enclaves. The developers that got more time to implement their projects include Genpact Infrastructure (Jaipur) and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd for their IT/ITeS zone in Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, respectively.

Parsvnath SEZ Ltd also got one more year to develop its biotechnology SEZ for in Andhra Pradesh. With this, over 200 SEZ developers have got additional time to implement their projects. The BoA also approved three new proposals, including one from Mahindra World City (Jaipur) Ltd, to set up SEZs. So far, 580 SEZs have been formally approved by the BoA, of which 114 are in operation. SEZs have emerged as major sources of attracting investment and increasing exports.

SEZs contributed 35 per cent to the country's exports revenue in 2009-10. Exports from these zones stood at Rs 1,39,841 crore in April-September, 2010-11, as against Rs 89,750 crore in the same period last fiscal. Shipments from SEZs increased from Rs 22,840 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 2,20,711 crore in 2009-10.

Nod to Ganga Canal Expressway

The Uttar Pradesh government has given the nod to go ahead with the proposed eight-lane Upper Ganga Canal Expressway (UGCE) project, kick-starting the process of getting bids for tenders from the month-end. "The UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority (Upeida) has invited tenders and these will be opened on January 31st after being shortlisted to six contenders and the cost of the project is likely to be Rs 8450 crore," project engineer and coordinator in Meerut, A.P. Singh said.

The 212-km expressway flanking the Upper Ganga Canal is proposed from Sanauta Bridge in Greater Noida to Purkazi on the Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand border. Last year, the financial bidding process was cancelled several times due to variety of reasons, including investors' lack of interest and environmental issues. The Environment Ministry, had in July last year, raised concerns over the project, saying it would lead to loss of over a lakh trees.

It also raised apprehensions on the effect of the project on a variety of endangered species of animals, including that of snakes, bulls, foxes, jackals and rabbits. The UP government, in a latest project report, has claimed its complete readiness to go ahead with it, hoping to get the Request for Proposal (RFP) documents from bidders by January 31, Singh said.

CM for special status to state

Chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to restore status of special category state to Uttarakhand. In a letter to the Prime Minister, he said that keeping in view the tough geographical conditions and economic backwardness of the state, the Centre had given Uttarakhand the status of special category state in 2001.

Subsequently, the Planning Commission had clearly mentioned that Uttarakhand would be treated as a special category state. This decision was based on the concept of Inclusive Growth, Nishank pointed out. He, however, rued that Uttarakhand was not getting its due share. Under the special category status, central assistances are 90 per cent grants and 10 per cent loans. "You are fully aware with the geographical conditions and complexities of Uttarakhand, which in no way are less than that the North-Eastern states," the chief minister added. The state CM also demanded 'green bonus' for its "contribution" in preserving the country's ecology. Addressing a meeting of state finance ministers chaired by Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Uttarkahand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said several developmental works in the state are hindered due to the Forest Act which prohibits cutting down of trees. Since 65 per cent of the state's area is covered by forests, little space is available for development work, Nishank said at the meeting.

The Chief Minister demanded a 'green bonus' from the Centre for Uttarakhand's role in preserving the country's ecology, a statement from Uttarkhand government said. Advocating a special economic package on the lines of Northeastern states, 'Nishank' demanded that the package provided earlier to Uttarakhand be extended till 2017.

The Centre did not extend the Industrial Promotion Package for Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand that provided excise and other duty concessions for new projects beyond March 31, 2010 despite intense lobbying by Chief Ministers of both the states.

Cleaning Act

Encroachments around Badrinath temple to be removed:

The Uttarakhand government plans to launch a drive to remove encroachments from near the world famous shrine of Badrinath after consulting with local people. Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank said the government has set up a committee under the chairmanship of state Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Manoharkant Dhyani to evolve a consensus on the issue. Nishank said the unauthorised structures around the Badrinath temple, nestled in Garhwal Himalayas, have "defaced" the beauty of the shrine and it was government's priority to remove these encroachments, according to an official release. The chief minister was speaking after laying foundation stone for a guest house of Badrinath-Kedarnath temple committee at Kargi here.

Depleting green cover

Haridwar is fast losing its greenery in the name of development, says P.S. Chauhan:

Greenery and sanitation were the two special features for which the holy city was once known all over. However, during the last two decades or so the city has lost most on both these counts.

There was a time when there were more than two dozen parks in the city, besides many orchards dotting the periphery of the city. Some of the well-known parks in the city were Ram Rakha Park at Jwalapur, Shravan Nath Park in Shravan Nath Nagar at Haridwar city and Laljiwala Park at north Haridwar, with swings, slides and lush green plants and blooming flowers. Going down the memory lane, Ram Murti Veer, a senior citizen of Avas Vikas Colony near Ranipur crossing, reminisces, "These parks served as playgrounds for children and the old used to relax and stroll there. These parks were virtually the lungs of the city, providing fresh air to the citizens." All this is history now, since all these parks have now vanished into thin air, leaving no trace behind. The disappearance of these parks has not only robbed the city of much of its aesthetic beauty but has also degraded its environment .

The rapid commercialization and the pressure of increasing population took a heavy toll on the parks in the city and the orchards on the fringes of the city. After 1990 the prices of land started soaring and the land mafia exploited the situation to mint money. Some parks have been usurped by the unscrupulous persons, while some have been sold by the greedy owners to the land mafia and the builders . The park at Lalta Rau Bridge in the main city has been usurped by a political party, which runs its office from there . The Shravan Nath Park, situated in the posh colony of the city, was sold by the trustees of the Shravan Nath Muth and commercial complexes stand there these days. The other parks of the city tell the same sorry tale. Jungles of concrete, including residential buildings and commercial complexes, have mushroomed where once existed beautiful parks. "The Haridwar Development Authority (HDA), which was set up in 1986 for the planned development of the city, has remained a mute spectator to the plundering of the greenery of the city and has miserably failed in discharging its duty," rues Kaushal Shikhola, a prominent priest of Jwalapur. To some extent the citizens are also to be blamed. The parks are public property. But when a park is usurped or sold, no one comes forward to raise a voice against it," says Kamala Joshi a social activist of Dadu Bagh Kankhal. There is also provision of a park in every colony but this provision exists only in the layout of these colonies . In most of the cases these parks have either been encroached upon or sold by colonizers.

Besides the disappearance of the parks in the main city, the felling of trees in the orchards on the outskirts of the city has caused considerable depletion in the green cover of the city .Taking the case of Kankhal alone, there were 21 tree gardens as per the revenue records, at the time of the creation of the state in 2000. The number of these gardens came down to 10 in 2006 and now only four are left. These gardens with thousands of trees at Sapt Sarovar, Bhupatwala, near the industrial area, Sitapur, Saray, Jagjeetpur, on the national highway from Haridwar to Roorkee, on the high way from Bahadrabad to Dhanauri, all have been logged off by the land sharks to build colonies and commercial complexes ,in flagrant violation of the environment protection rules.

Recently, hundreds of trees were chopped from an orchard at Sitapur. In a belated action, the forest department arrested the owner of the orchard along with some of his accomplices. The forest circle officer, K.S Rawat has admitted that there seems to be negligence of duty on the part of the forest personnel of the range. The sources say that the few remaining tree gardens near the city are now the next targets of the colonizers and the builders.

"Large scale felling of trees, a complete violation of rules, could not have been possible without an unholy nexus between the land mafia, the politicians and the officials, including those of the forest department, the HDA and the revenue," regrets Dr. Sanjay Maheshwari of S.M.J.N College Haridwar .V.S Dhanik, the secretary of the HDA says that it is really difficult to tighten the noose on the land mafia, since the tree gardens which have been chopped off are dozens in number and constructions which have cropped up at these places are in thousands. "A massive drive is the need of the hour to deal with this menace," says Dhanik.

Amid the dismal situation, the Swarn Jayanti Park of the B.H.E.L is a shining exception. The B.H.E.L administration deserves lavish commendation for this very well maintained park, with its velvet green grass, abundance of large varieties of flowers and spacious lawns. It is an example for the district administration and the city municipal board to emulate.

At a glance

Screening of 'Daayen Ya Baayen'

'Daayen Ya Baayen', which is being publicised as first Uttarakhandi film in Hindi, had a special screening for Governor Margaret Alva in the state Rajbhavan. Set against the backdrop of an Uttarakhand village, the film was shown at an auditorium in the state Rajbhavan, director Bela Negi told reporters here. Negi, who has also written the story, screen-play and dialogue of the film, said she made the film in Hindi instead of local dialects of Garhwali and Kumaon as she wanted to reach out the wider audiences of the country. The film, made with a budget of Rs 2 cr, has also been released in Uttarakhand on Jan 14. However, it has already hit the screens in New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune getting good critical response, she said. Through the film, Negi said, she has touched various issues like unemployment, migration, education, environment and alcoholism, albeit in a light and humourous manner and claimed that the people of hills would be able to identify themselves with the characters. The film has been shot in Chaukuri village and adjoining areas of Pithoragarh district and 97 percent of its cast is from Uttarakhand.

250 gms of heroin seized

Three persons were arrested and 250 gms of heroin worth Rs 2.5 lakhs in the international market were seized from them at Rishikesh near here, police said. The trio -- Deshraj Saini, Akhlaq and Sanwar Ali were intercepted at Ranipokhari area of Rishikesh by a police team, they said. The accused, who have been booked under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, told police that they had got the drugs from a person in Jammu and Kashmir and were on their way to sell it in New Delhi, police added.

Man dies in police custody in Haridwar

A man died in police custody when he was being taken to the local court here, police said. Prakash Chandra (50), suddenly collapsed yesterday when he was being taken to the court of city magistrate. He was soon rushed to the district hospital by police where he was declared brought dead, they said. Chandra, a resident of Dehra Dun, had come here to take back his wife Chanda, who was living with her sister following a domestic squabble with her husband, they said. When Chandra reached his sister-in-law's house, he had a scuffle with his wife and her sister Vimla Devi and her husband Naresh after this both the sides registered a case with the police. After preliminary investigations, police arrested Chandra. SP (City) K L Shah said Chandra died after he was badly beaten up by his wife and her relatives and a case under section 304 of IPC has been registered against the accused.

Real to reel

Bollywood's director Karan Chaudhary has decided to make a movie on state chief minister's novel 'Major Nirala':

P.S. Chauhan

The state chief minister, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who has earned many national and international accolades for his literary achievements, will soon add one more feather to his cap. The story of his novel 'Major Nirala' will be the theme of a Bollywood movie. The shooting of this film for the big screen will also take place in Uttarakhand. The film director, Karan Chaudhary from Mumbai came to Haridwar to see locations for the shooting of the film. The local talents will be provided due opportunity in the film. The shooting of the film will begin next month. Besides Haridwar, the shooting will take place at other places in the state.

Karan Chaudhary visited Har-ki-Pauri, Daksh Mahadev and Bilkeshwar Mandir etc. Karan has already produced the Hindi film 'Manoranjan' and his second film 'Tara Sitara' is soon going to be released. He said that he had selected the C.M. Nishank's novel 'Major Nirala' for his new film and that he had obtained the consent of the Chief Minister for this. He further said that the film centered round a major who had devoted his whole life to the nation and the society, but a small mistake brings about his downfall in the eyes of the society. The emotional content dominates the film. "Uttarakhand holds immense potential for film making. The locations here, with their scenic beauty and historical and mythological significance, surpass those of the foreign countries. If film industry is promoted, it will generate employment for the locals," said Chaudhary.

Gyan Deeksha ceremony held

P.S. Chauhan

With the 18th Gyan Deeksha (initiation) ceremony held at Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar, students of various disciplines at graduate and post graduate level formally started their academic session. At a time when the commencement of an academic session in most of the universities and colleges is marked by ragging and freshers party, the Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya is pursuing the age old tradition of Gyan Deeksha ceremony of the gurukuls.

The highlights of the ceremony were the rendition of the Vedic mantras and the performance of other rituals. Invoking the freshers into their courses, the chief guest, Dr. D.S. Chauhan, the vice chancellor of the State Technical University, Dehradun lauded the value based educational system of the Vishwavidyalaya. "The Vishwavidyalaya is doing a commendable job by imparting 'sanskars' to the students and by synthesizing what is best in the old traditions with the modern disciplines of knowledge,” said Dr. Chauhan. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pranav Pandya informed that two new schools, the school of spiritual sciences and the school of communication were being set up in the vishwavidyalaya campus. The vice chancellor of the vishwavidyalaya, Professor S.P. Mishra highlighted the progress made by vishwavidyalaya since its inception.

A ‘HOT’ spot

Auli has potential to

become world winter sports destination

Uttarakhand governor Margaret Alva said skiing slopes at Auli in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand has all the potential to become the most favoured winter sports destination in the world. Speaking at the closing ceremony of three-day Auli Open skiing championship, Alva said that there were very few places in the world as beautiful as Auli. "This is for the first time that Auli has been projected at an international scale. With the organisation of this international sporting event here, I am hopeful that the place would soon become a sports and training centre of world fame," Alva stated in a release.

Admiring the pristine natural beauty of the Auli region situated in the midst of snow-capped peaks, the governor said, "I have seen Switzerland and the Alps but there are very few places in the world as beautiful as Auli." Alva also stressed the need for building a permanent winter games training centre at Auli while maintaining the natural beauty of the area.

On the occasion, the governor congratulated participants and award winners including young boys and girls from various states, one club and army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) units.

Ready for the leap

Anjali Nauriyal

Project SAF Winter Games has proved a huge hit and all those involved with its planning and execution are smiling. Uttarakhand now has an incredible winter sports destination for all times and its sportspersons are waiting to make a mark in the international sporting arena.

And the medals haul has already begun, with India winning all the gold, silver and bronze in the speed skating events at SAF Games. In the men's category Subodh Patil, Mushtaq Ahmed and Lavish Vaidya bagged the first three positions, respectively, in the speed ice skating while in the 1500 m speed ice skating Subodh Patil, Harshit Bhosle and Mushtaq won the first three medals. In the women's 500 speed skating, Shruti Kotwal, Sonam Tismo and Rinchen Dolma won the gold, silver and bronze, respectively. If no medal came in, in figure skating, then it was because it was declared a non-competitive event as no player from any other country chipped in.

An effect of SAF Games was the enhancing of the image and position of Auli as a destination for adventure and entertainment. The people of the state had hoped that post the big event, Auli would become a destination of the East for skiing and Dehradun for ice skating. Going by the things, it appears that the long-cherished dream of the people has finally been realized.

"And what an opportunity!" exclaims Kedar Singh Fonia, local MLA and former Minister as he adds, "Except for Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, no other SAF country has snow at home. The elite from countries like Sri Lanka, Maldives and others go to Europe to experience snow games. A successful SAF Games can divert their attention towards next door Auli at much less cost." Reacting to the observation that Auli may have been recognized as an international ski resort, but it is still not yet a full-fledged ski resort, Fonia comments, "What we need to do now is to extend Auli further so that it becomes fit for cross country races. Events like Super G, Down Hill and Free Skiing, cannot be held here. Having spent so much on the project, why should it be left halfway when not much investment will now be required? We are lucky that the Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) was headed by one Uttarakhandi and now another Uttarakhandi has taken it over. With the state-of-the-art infrastructure now made available within the state, Uttarakhand is bound to become the hub of winter games in South Asia. I feel also feel that WGFI should be headquartered in Uttarakhand."

Asked whether other places such as Dayaara Bugyal need to be included in the skiing loop, Fonia states, "Dayaara is also ok, but it is advisable to first concentrate and focus on developing one destination. One cannot spill one's energy everywhere."

Experts reiterate that the doors are now open for many more similar events in the future that are bound to catapult the state into one of the hottest sporting destinations of the world. Kiran Bhatt, a sports enthusiast with her own rafting enterprise in Shivpuri, avers, "The SAF Games were a privilege for the state. In future, we hope to host more such events at an international level. This will also boost tourism. Our state has immense potential for a lot of adventure sports. If this ice skating rink continues, we would like to float year-long packages for tourists."

The people of Uttarkashi have been demanding the creation of skiing facilities in their vicinity for long. Speaking on behalf of the people of Uttarkashi, Major R.S. Jamnal, who is endeavouring to promote the district on many counts, points out, "Dayara Bugyal and Auli together can offer a wonderful sporting experience. Dayara has 13 kilometers of ski-slopes. Already the first Asia Cup in Artificial Wall Climbing and 13th National Games were held here at NIM(NIM). “

Panchayat elections next month

Panchyat elections in Haridwar district will be held in two phases on February 12 and 19, Uttarakhand state election commission said. A notification regarding panchayat elections at all the three levels -- village, block and district -- was issued yesterday, state election commissioner Harish Chandra Joshi said. While polling in three blocks of Bahadarabad, Roorkee and Khanpur would be held on February 12, other three blocks of Bhagwanpur, Laksar and Narsan will go to polls on the 19th of next month, he said. The election process would begin on January 19 and end on February 21 with the counting of votes and declaration of results. During the period, the election code of conduct would remain in force in the entire district, he added.

Govt doc removed

Satet Chief Minister has removed a physician of Haridwar district hospital for forcing a patient to buy medicines from market. During a surprise visit to the hospital, Nishank was told by a 50-year-old patient Babli that Pradip Kumar prescribed her some medicines which were not available in the hospital and she had to buy them from market. This enraged the chief minister who immediately ordered to remove the doctor from the post.

Shot to fame

Filmmaker Bela Negi is back to her roots with her debut film, Daayen ya Baayen, which was entirely shot in Uttarakhand with an almost Uttarakhandi cast. The movie, which was released in October, will be screened in the state on January 14 for the first time:

Anjali Nauriyal

She is a die-hard Uttarakhandi at heart. And now as a filmmaker she has decided to dedicate her talent to showcasing her home state through her films. So it's no wonder that her first film, Daayen ya Baayen, has been based in the state.

"As a child I often visited the village of my parents in the remote hills of Uttarakhand. What stayed with me was the unique flavour of life there - the simplicity of the people compounded with their complexity; the sadness of the hills peppered with the spontaneous joy in small everyday things; the desperate struggle to make ends meet offset by a wise philosophical view of life; the high rate of literacy but a severe lack of opportunities; the desperate reality mixed with the desire to dream of utopias; the small gossip peppered with weighty discussions on world politics; the big egos mixed with a lack of self-confidence; a stinginess giving way to generous excess; a practical rationality mixed with superstition; its amazing beauty offset by haphazard development; its mythological importance dulled by administrative neglect of several years," reminisces Bela Negi, born in Nainital and educated at Sherwood College and Indrapratha College, Delhi.

She specialized in film-editing from Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, and later assisted renowned editor Renu Saluja in a number of feature films. After that she produced television shows before setting up her own production house, Nitric Films, which produces ads, corporate films and has also co-produced and line produced Daayen ya Baayen (DYB) her debut feature film. It has been written, directed and edited by Bela.

Recalling the making of the film, she states, "In the past few years I worked on a number of scripts. I have worked hard on all of them but somehow DYB was destined to be my first film."

Bela points out that the year 2000, when Uttarakhand was made, was a turning point in the lives of the people of the state when their dream of a better life germinated. The film is a social comedy set in an Uttarakhandi village. The essence of the story is a man's search for dignity, in a state that, like him, is coming into its own.

"When I began thinking of a story for my debut film, it was natural that it would express the unique world view that had evolved in this corner of the world - my homeland. But at the same time it would have a universal appeal because after all the struggles of men are the same everywhere. The story is set in a small village in Uttarakhand, which has recently been formed and the protagonist, Ramesh Majila, returns from the city to the village. He is an ordinary man like us, a man who wants to hold on to a dream of better hills. This reverse migration is looked upon with scorn till he wins a car in a television contest and becomes the hero of the village. His red luxury car in its incongruity to the landscape personifies the contradictions that exist in the hills. Till finally the car takes him on an unexpected journey," says the director, who shot the entire film in Uttarakhand, with an almost entirely Uttarakhandi cast.

Deepak Dobriyal, an award-winning actor, plays the lead role while late Girish Tiwari (Girda) is also seen in a special role. The film was released in Mumbai and Delhi in October to a fair amount of critical acclaim, informs Negi excitedly. "However for me the journey was not complete till I had shown it in Uttarakhand too. So now I am distributing the film here myself. I also hope to take the film to villages in Uttarakhand if I can have some logistical support with that," she says.

The film will be screened in Doon on January 14. A special show will be held at Raj Bhawan after which the film will show at Digvijay Talkies.

"It is a great pleasure to see the film finally releasing in Uttarakhand, where it truly belongs. I hope to take the film to the rest of Uttarakhand in the subsequent weeks. And I hope the journey of cinema in Uttarakhand will go a long way," states Bela before signing off.

The protectors

Van Gujjars to serve in Corbett Tiger Force:

Van Gujjars, a nomadic Muslim tribe in Uttarakhand, will now guard the forest areas in the state from where they were uprooted during the past two decades on the suspicion of being poachers. Thanks to a new initiative by the Central government that seeks to set up a Corbett tiger force which will have 30 per cent reservation for Gujjars and other local communities living in the Corbett National Park.

"The move will restore some pride of Gujjars. They can tell the world that they were not the actual poachers," said Avadhash Kaushal, chairperson of RLEK, a Dehra Dun-based NGO which had been fighting for the rights of Gujjars. Kaushal severely criticised the forest department for suspecting the role of Gujjars, who are traditionally vegetarians, in umpteen poaching incidents that take place in the Corbett National Park and other wildlife sanctuaries in the hill state.

With Uttarakhand cabinet recently giving its consent, the new tiger force is expected to come into effect when the Corbett National Park celebrates its platinum jubilee this year.

Corbett tiger force will have three platoons headed by additional conservator of forest (ACF). The platoons will also be headed by a ranger, Secretary Forests M H Khan said.

There will be a total of 90 forest guards with nearly 27 posts being reserved for Van Gujjars and other forest dwellers. The forest guards will also enjoy police powers, he said. The Centre will spend Rs four crore per year on the force that will be deployed exclusively for the security of Corbett Park and will never be used for other para military activities. Meanwhile, Kaushal has alleged that Van Gujjars were not being given the ownership of the land where they are being rehabilitated in Haridwar district.

"We are getting hundreds of complaints where Gujjars have been denied the right of ownership after they were forcibly uprooted from the forest areas," Kaushal said.

International Yoga Conference

Yoga for health and social transformation were the key issues of the summit:

A four-day international conference on yoga was held at auditorium of Patanjali Yog Peeth. The conference witnessed deliberations and discussions by crème de la crème of yoga enthusiasts from across the world. The conference aimed at establishing how Yoga can be used for social transformation in today's degraded atmosphere apart from its therapeutic and educative values. This was the first international conference by Patanjali Yog peeth wherein delegates from 20 countries participated. Inaugurating the conference Baba Ramdev said, "Yoga is a complete science and its wide acceptance in the West has proven that it can become an effective medium in resolving the societal issues." Delegates chanced to attend morning yoga camps with Ramdev and had brush with Indian culture and Vedic traditions performing yajnas (sacrificial fires). Amongst the foreign delegates participating on the first day were Dr. Luciano Bernardi from university of Pavia, Italy, Dr. Elisa Kozasa from Sao Paulo Brazil, Kim Innes from university of Virginia, US, John Kapner from international association of yoga therapies, US, Leigh Blashki from Australian institute of yoga therapy, Australia and Dr. Robin Monro from Yoga Biomedical Trust, London. The four-day programme was telecast live on all days at Aastha channel.

"Yoga can be used to alter or readjust important cardiovascular reflexes, since it is an integrated system and lack of oxygen becomes a reason for functional abnormality. It has been proved by clinical trials as well," said Luciano Bernardi, M.D from university of Pavia, Italy. "We have done case studies on trekkers to Everest North Face Base Camp Tibet on 26 July 2004. It was observed that breathing rate was much lower in yoga practitioners than the non yoga practitioners. Slow deep breathing increases oxygen in the blood. Pranayama is specially effective for high altitude dwellers," added Luciano. Efficiency of breathing is more important than quantity, says the study undertaken by Luciano.

Robert Saper M.D from Boston medical centre US gave talk on the use of yoga for low back pain. Stating the fact that it was not a problem of only the eastern countries but a major problem of the west, Robert said, "Low back pain treatments cause 50 billion dollars annual direct costs of US. Yoga is the only effective low cost way to get over the spine related problems." Yoga therapy addresses multi dimensions in treatment- physical, psychosocial and spiritual dimensions. US must emulate Indians who are the most intensive yoga practitioners. "6.3 per cent of whites use yoga socio economic 3.3 % African non whites use yoga in US," he added. Also people form low socio economic status suffer from worse possible back pain. Awareness needs to be s pread to the lower strata as well.

For the first time in Haridwar 2000 headphone translators were used which used bilingual translation from Hindi to English and vice versa. The foreign delegates enjoyed the accented translation of talks on yoga and the Indian delegates from various parts of the country could grasp the talks of these experts.

Let the show begin!

The grand opening ceremony of SAF Winter Games will be held today (January 9) in Dehradun, where Sufi singer Kailash Kher will be the showstopper:

Anjali Nauriyal

Pakistan`s 25-member ski contingent, including four women skiers led by Javed Iqbal, have arrived in Dehradun under tight security to take part in the first ever South Asian Federation (SAF) Winter Games scheduled to be held in two slots in Dehradun and Auli from January 10. The preparations for the games are almost complete and the teams from Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal have already arrived.

The Winter Games will be held in the Uttarakhand capital from January 10 to 12 in Dehradun and from January 14 to 16 in Auli. The opening ceremony will be held today (January 9) in the city where acclaimed Indian Sufi musician Kailash Kher will perform.

According to Brig. S.S. Patwal (retd), President, Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI), "Our preparations are well in place and the indoor stadium in Doon will be the venue for ice hockey. As many as 300 participants from India and six South Asian countries, including Butan, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, are participating in the games. And the major events would include speed skating, figure skating, ice skating and many more. Majority of the events would be held in the city, while events requiring ski slopes would be held in Auli."

Patwal expressed confidence that the Winter Games 2011 will work as the launching pad for future winter sports in Uttarakhand and will attract a large number of sports persons and tourists from India and abroad. Grand opening and closing ceremonies have already been planned. A winter sports team for participating in forthcoming seventh Asian Winter Games to be held in Kazakhstan would also be selected shortly.

Bharal, the Himalayan Blue Sheep, has been chosen as the mascot of the Winter Games, keeping in view its agility, strength, sure-footedness and adaptability for survival in high altitudes.The skiing events during the games will be held in Auli, District Chamoli, and the ice skating events will be held in Dehradun.

The cultural highlights of the inaugural ceremony will be dances from host state Uttranchal, Ladak, Assam and Himachal and Sufi Dance by renowned dancer Manjari Chaturvedi.