Page 103

YouTube launch of the “Shri Ram Bhajan” composed by Secretariat employee

0

“Shri Ram Bhajan”, composed by an employee of the Secretariat Bhupendra Singh Baseda was launched on YouTube by Finance Minister Prakash Pant.

On this occasion, Mr. Pant said, “common man will get the benefit of getting information about the greatness of Maryada Purshotam Lord Shri Ram.” He added that composer Baseda has penned down and sung the Bhajan himself. He termed it as a beautiful and meaningful endeavour.

Through this Bhajan, the poet Baseda has given his talent a platform which needs to be applauded.  He said that Baseda has proved that if anyone gets an opportunity to show talent, then he can be successful. 

Secretary, Secretariat Harbans Singh Chugh congratulated the lyricist and singer Baseda for the beautiful work. President of the Secretariat Association Deepak Joshi appreciated the efforts of Bhupendra Baseda and hoped that in the future he would continue to benefit the masses through his songs. 

Lyricist and singer Shri Baseda thanked all those gathered and said that, “Shri Ram Bhajan,” the greatness of Lord Shri Ram has been described and common man will get its benefit.”

CBSE training centre to open at Dehradun

0

A CBSE training centre will be opened in Dehradun. The central government has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 20 crore for the training centre. Ranveer Singh, Regional Director, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) met Uttarakhand Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat at Chief Minister’s residence on Tuesday.  The Chief Minister giving his consent for land allotment for the training centre instructed the District magistrate to prepare a proposal in this regard.

Ranveer Singh thanked the Chief Minister for his consent on land allotment for training centre and the CBSE regional office. It is to be mentioned that the regional wing of the CBSE looks after the work of 700 schools in Uttarakhand and 1100 schools in western Uttar Pradesh. Ranveer Singh, Regional Director said that after the opening of the regional office in Dehradun, it will benefit affiliated school, students and general public. On the instructions of Chief Minister, land for regional office of CBSE has already been allotted.

Samaun: one-stop-shop for Uttarakhand Products

0

Uttarakhand has been a State resonating with morose, sad and heart-wrenching stories of mass-migration but little do stories of reverse migration make it to the headlines.

One such story is of Durgpal and Deepti Chauhan and their brainchild Samaun, a unique one-of-its-kind-shop at the Times Square Mall, in Dehradun.

Born and brought up in Phalasi Village, Rudraprayag, founder Durgpal Chauhan moved to Faridabad with his family as a child and completed his Software Engineering from Ambala. The degree took the young man to America in 2002 and then to United Kingdoms where he and his wife worked for eight years.

A conscious decision, and the couple found themselves in Dehradun. Bringing up their eight year old daughter as well as setting up a social-entrepreneurship-enterprise called Samaun.

You name it! And you shall find it here! From Chamoli’s vanishing hand-paintings to rajma and other organic pulses from Harsil, Turmeric from Saalt in Kumaon, to copper-ware from the recesses of Almora, woven carpets, wooden masks to name a few.

For two to three years, Durgpal visited each and every nook and corner of the hill-state searching, researching and building the confidence of long forgotten artisans. He purchased artefacts, spices, woollen clothes, copper ware, pulses directly from the craftsmen and has beautifully displayed them in this shop-cum-museum.

Durgpal states, ‘Uttarakhand is very similar to Rajasthan in the sense that you can make the most of tourism and our culture, by promoting the way it is done in Rajasthan.”

Rudraprayag MLA Manoj Rawat who frequented the shop had this to say, “Our youth are leaving the hills in search of petty jobs where they earn anything between 10,000/- to 12,000/- a month if they are lucky. If they were to hear, read or see how an engineer gave up his plush job and returned home to do his bit, I am sure this will get most of them thinking.’

Shopping here, we bump into Puja Bahuguna, a tourist from Delhi picking up souvenirs and flavours to take back home. She tells us, “this is one-stop shop for all that the thirteen districts of Uttarakhand have to offer. You get everything under one roof, from utensils, painting, woolens, shawl, statues all-handpicked which makes them unique.”

And unique it is, in more ways than one.

Kosi River revival campaign started on Harela

0

Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat has asserted that Kosi revival campaign will be successful with public participation. On the occasion of the Harela Festival, a symbol of happiness, prosperity and greenery, the Chief Minister launched the extensive tree plantation campaign from Kantali for the protection of the River Kosi.     

Chief Minister said that this pious programme has been started from Rudradhari – the Tapsthali of Lord Shiva. A record is being set by the plantation of 1,67,755 saplings through mass participation.  The state government has taken the initiative to revive Rispana (Rishiparna) river in Dehradun and the Kosi River in the historic district Almora. This campaign is being started near the world’s famous tourist destination Kausani that will spread its message across the world. Similarly, on July 22, a target of planting 2.50 lakh trees in Rispana, Dehradun, has been set. Chief Minister said that for the protection of the river, we all have to pay special attention to protect these planted trees for a period of five years, along with special focus on the cleaning of the rivers.

After this, in a program organized in Bal Vidya Mandir, the Chief Minister said that the state government is giving priority to the works of water conservation. We must pay special attention to the conservation of conventional Dhare Naule. The Chief Minister urged villagers to take the maximum benefit of the public welfare schemes being run by the government. He said that the state government will cover all the 27 lakh families of the state under the Ayushman Bharat – Ayushman Uttarkhand scheme. Health insurance upto Rs. 5 lakh per annum for each family will be provided by the state government. Under this scheme, Uttarakhand will be the first state in India to provide health insurance to the entire state. Chief Minister said that the state government is paying special attention to basic needs such as health, education and drinking water. In order deal with the disaster, the Disaster Management Department has already been alerted. Along with this, all the District Magistrates have been instructed to keep the arrangements in place to deal with the disaster and along with it, money has also been allocated to them.

Chief Minister announced the Damrikaran of the Katli-Pachis Motorway during the programme. He also said that for the mobile tower here, he has sent his recommendation to the Central Government. While paying tributes to Late Kamal Ram Arya, he said that state government will provide proper support to his family. It is worth mentioning that Late Shri Kamal Ram Arya, while travelling on foot, had worked for a long time for the revival of Kosi River.

Paddy purchase to begin in October for Uttarakhand

0

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has instructed to start the purchase paddy from first of October. He instructed that by September 25 all purchase centres should have computerized, weigh balances and other necessary arrangements and purchase of paddy should be online.  Chief Minister also released a sum of Rs. 50 crore to cooperative department so that paddy farmers get paddy price of their produce on time.   

Addressing a meeting on Kharif purchase season 2018-19 with senior officials of the concerned departments at his official residence on Friday, Chief Minister instructed that farmers should not face any difficulty at the purchase centres and this should be ensured that farmers get the price of paddy produce immediately.

Chief Minister said that a target of ten lakh tonne of paddy purchase should be fixed. He also asked for increasing the number of purchase centres as compared to last year in Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar. He said that online system of paddy purchase will help farmers get their payment early. He said that it should be ensured that farmers get paddy price within three days. He also instructed that a list of farmers be prepared without any delay and start of registration of farmers should start from August 1, 2018.  

Principal Secretary Food Grains Anand Vardhan informed the Chief Minister that five agencies have been named for the purchase of paddy for the Kharif purchase season-2018-19. These are Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department (marketing branch), Uttarakhand State Cooperative Marketing Federation Limited,   National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF), Uttar Pradesh Consumers Cooperative Federation Limited and  National Federation of Farmers’ Procurement, Processing and Retailing Cooperatives of India Ltd, (NACOF).   

He said that a total of 158 purchase centres have been set up in Garhwal and Kumaon regions. On the instructions of Chief Minister, the number of purchase centres in Udham Singh Nagar have been increased from 127 to 140 while the number of purchase centres in Haridwar have been increased from 13 to 20.  He informed that a software has been developed for the purchase and payment of paddy to the farmers and an amount of Rs.1770 per quintal has been fixed as paddy price.  

Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundram, D. Senthil Pandian, RFC Garhwal Chander Singh, RFC, Kumaon Lalit Mohan Rayal, Managing Director, Mandi, DheeraJ Singh Garbyal, MD, USF, Era Upretai, Additional District Magistrate Udham Singh Nagar Jagdish Chander Kandpal, officials of food and supply department and representatives of purchase agencies were present in the meeting. 

Advent Thrill: The Next Big thing in town

1

Dehradun, Vijay Pratap Singh is a young man who wears many hats. This young man gave up his multinational job for the love of adventure and returned to Dehradun to set up base in his hometown.

Just a year ago, 25 year old Vijay started his own adventure company called Advent Thrill, and today his team of six, take along anywhere between thirty to thirty-five groups of like-minded people, per annum for trekking, camping, expeditions to off-beat places such as Chopta, Auli, Kuraee-Pass Kedar Kanth, Jim Corbett and other scenic places in the hill-state.

Jack off all trades, Vijay and his company believe in all kind of thrills, from the mild to the wild and everything in between. “From trekking to rock climbing, cycling, mountaineering expeditions, you name it and we deliver,” but what so different about it, I ask! “we are a non-plastic adventure group, which means, zero-tolerance to using plastic in any form in all our activities.” 

Along with zero-tolerance for plastic waste or usage, Advent Thrill promotes home-stays in villages so that there is employment at grass-root level, financial gains to those who need it the most as well as an up-close personal interaction of the team mates with hill-folks who introduce the traveller to their cuisine and culture, a complete package some would say.

Smitten by the adventure bug, Vijay is an avid photographer as well, who has captured some breath-taking still on his shutterbugs as this seasoned mountaineer travels where few dare, making his creations the topic of many interesting conversations.

Advent Thrill is a conscious-adventure group which goes an extra mile to ensure that not only do people enjoy the thrill when it comes to adventure activities but also feel personally responsible in making sure that their activities in no way harms the fragile environ which they set out to enjoy.

CM Trivendra launches Red FM 93.5 Radio Channel

0

Chief Minister  Rawat launched  Red FM 93.5 Radio Channel from the office of South Asia FM Limited at Kaulagarh Road. While congratulating and extending wishes to the Radio Channel Red FM 93.5 team, Chief Minister said that, “it is first Radio Station of Red FM 93.5 in Uttarakhand and Dehradun. Along with entertainment, Red FM 93.5 Radio Channel will play a vital role in bringing social awareness on various important issues and will make the people aware about the public welfare schemes and policies.”

With FM Radio Channel at local level, the delight, beauty, spiritual and cultural features of Uttarakhand will get more recognization. With the start of the radio channel, there will be new opportunities for talented youngsters of the state, who can give interesting presentations on the radio.

4 dead, 2 injured as incessant rainfall lashes Dehradun

0

Rain, Thunder, Lightening, since late last evening brought the hill-state to a dripping halt.  Predictions of the Met department came true as incessant rainfall lashed the hill-state including the State Capital, Dehradun.

In the district, close to Seemadwar’s Shastri Nagar four members of a family including two minor children died when a retaining wall collapsed on their home in the early hours of today morning. Two others injured  in the incident were rushed for medical assistance to Doon Hospital where SSP, DM and senior officials visited them. There were also unconfirmed reports of two separate incidents in which two people were said to have been swept away in Rispana and Bindaal river which have been in-spate due to heavy rainfall in the upper reaches since late last night.

Numerous roadblocks, landslides plagued the roads connecting the district to its surrounding areas such as Dehradun-Mussoorie route was blocked at Kolukhet, Kincraig in Mussoorie, Yamntori-Mussoorie highway at Kadikhaal. There were long queues of vehicles lined up on either side as the administration worked on war-footing to clear up the roads within a short span of time.

 

 

There was also news of water logging in many areas of Dehradun, such as Dalanwala, Govindgarh Colony where homes were filled with close to six or seven feet of water. People were advised to move to higher grounds from these and other low lying areas.

Dehradun District Magistrate S.A. Murgeshan did announce ‘one day holiday’ for schools and anganbaadi’s at 7:00 a.m. in the morning, but by then it was already too late as most students had already reached their institutions safely.

According to the Met department there is  heavy to very heavy rainfall in store over the next 48 hours in Kumaon and Garhwal region. The district administration, State Disaster Response Force and State machinery is leaving no stone unturned to deal with any eventuality which may arise. All systems in place were on high alert, with senior officials at district levels manning all stations personally.

Education Minister holds meeting with SIT on issue of fake documents

0

A joint meeting of the education department and the Special Investigative Team (SIT) formed to probe the forged educational documents of some teachers working in primary Education Department, held under the chairmanship of State School Education Minister Arvind Pandey at Secretariat.

The Education Minister reviewed the progress made by the SIT in the matter. On the complaint of Deputy Education Officer, Bahadarabad that two clerks namely Pawan Kumar and Manoj Chauhan are not cooperating in the probe, the minister ordered the transfer of those two clerks to far flung areas. He also ordered registration of FIRs against accused teachers in 20 cases recommended by the SIT and also ordered action against appointment officers in those cases.

The state government had ordered an investigation by SIT after it was found in an inquiry that some of the teachers appointed in primary schools as well as in Inter colleges in the past five years had fake educational documents.  In this regard, the service records of 7047 teachers appointed between 2012 till 2016 were provided to the SIT and 10485 documents have been received after verification. Apart from these complaints against 365 teachers received from various sources, 161 complaints have been disposed off.  The verification of documents of all those teachers who joined between 2012 till 2016 and provided by education department has been going on.

Incharge SIT Shweta Chaubey informed the Education Minister that after the verification of documents of 42 teachers, the SIT has recommended registration of FIR in 20 cases to the education department and investigation in 22 cases is going on. The Incharge SIT said that universities and colleges are demanding fee for verification of educational documents by the police. She said that for police verification there should not be any charge. The Education Minister assured to plead the case effectively and asked the education department to provide the money required for any such fee.

Secretary Education Dr. Bhupender Kaur Aulakh, Director General Captain Alok Shekhar Tewari, Director, Secondary Education R.K. Kunwar, Additional Director Education Ramkrishan Uniyal, Virender Rawat, officials of education department of SIT participated in the meeting.

‘Kodo ka Kodua’ a tribute to the hills of Jaunsaar

0

From the charming Jaunsaar belt, young singers Abhinav Chauhan and Sunny Dayal have come out with a Jaunsaari  Youtube foot-tapping video, which, just two days old is already creating  a sensation amongst all age groups. ‘Kodo ka Kodua,’ has beautifully captured the beauty of the Jaunsaar-Bawar belt.

The soulful lyrics composed by Late Ratan Singh Jaunsari Ji and Music by Rajesh Gandarv and Rohit Modak has been Directed by Ansh Studio Haripur. Shot on location in one of Garhwal’s little known, yet most scenic regions of Chani-Churani and Chakrata towns, ‘Kodo ka Kodua,’ is sung by debut singer Abhinav Chauhan who tells us, “I have had no formal training as far as singing is concerned. I enjoy acting and theatre and I brought all my talent to the forefront to make this song and video a hit with people from our region.”

Adding, “the song has been sung and shot on-location to promote the beauty and the culture of the little known Jaunsaar belt, the song recording and videography took less than a week and is a small tribute from our side to the hills we belong to.

At a glance, the six-minute song is a soulful rendition of the flavours, art, culture, dance form, scenic beauty of an area that has managed to retain its rich culture and tradition with a touch of modernity, even today.

While the future of the debut singers depends on the success of Kodo ka Kodua, which has been positive thus far. The complimenting video is a visual treat as it brings alive the hidden natural beauty of a region tucked away in the Aglaar valley.