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Uttarakhand Hotel Association appeals for help

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Dehradun: Following close on the heals of Goa tourism industry, Uttarakhand hoteliers have appealed to Uttarakhand state authorities to vaccinate all those associated with the tourism business, irrespective of age.

Addressing the media in Mussoorie, President of the Uttarakhand Hotel Association, Sandeep Sahni, stated, “Keeping in mind the importance of tourism in our state we request for all those associated with the tourism business to be vaccinated at the earliest, irrespective of age.” Adding, “We appeal to those in power to exempt our House tax, water and electricity bill be waivered along with road tax. We need the government to boost what remains of the tourism industry, in every possible way.”

With eyes on peak summer season they fear that a repeat of last year could spell doom for close to three thousand five hundred registered hotels and guesthouses in Uttarakhand. The tourism industry contributes 30% to the hill-state’s GDP while generating direct employment for about 1.2-1.5 lakhs. Virtually 1/4th of the hill-state depends on tourism alone and hence cannot be ignored.

Winter of 2020, things were looking up for tourism industry there was a sense of ‘feel-good’ and people were comfortable heading out for holidays. But the recent surge in Covid positive cases has brought about a lull all around. It is no secret that the Tourism Industry world over has taken a major battering.

Hill-stations like Mussoorie and Nainital which on long weekend breaks would be teeming with hordes of tourists from home and aboard have seen a meager 5-10% occupancy, which foretells a bleak future for those associated with the industry.

The Uttarakhand Hoteliers Association seeks timely financial assistance and help from the State government for its employees as well as their establishments as most of them feel they might not be able to sustain another body-blow this year around.

Happily ever after: Haridwar, Mahakumbh

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Haridwar: Everyday a new story unfolds at the Mahakumbh in Haridwar.  Some maybe heart breaking while other’s make you believe in fate, destiny and a rainbow at the end of the clouds.

Today, five long years after being separated from her loved ones on the banks of Ganges, an elderly lady is reunited with her family.

It all started in the beginning of the year. Prior to the upcoming Mahakumbh, an intense verification drive was carried out by the Uttarakhand police along the ganges from Rishikesh to Haridwar. On 1.1.2021 Krishna Devi, presently residing in Triveni Ghat Campus was the wife of a certain Jwala Prasad who was living in Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The state police  sent her verification form, along with Krishna Devi’s latest photograph to the police station in Siddharth Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, in an attempt to find Krishna’s family.

When the family members of Krishna were contacted, they informed the police that in the year 2016, Krishna Devi, had visited Haridwar during the Ardh Kumbh. But had failed to return home. Her family searched for Krishna from Haridwar to Ayodhya to Varanasi and Allahabad. Dejected they filed a ‘missing person’ report and also took out an advertisement in newspapers and television channels, but to no avail.

Five years down the line, when the Uttarakhand police contacted her son Dineshwar Pathak and showed him the verification copy of the Kumbh Mela police, their happiness knew no bounds.

Her husband Jwala Prasad along with their son Dineshwar Pathak and daughter Uma Upadhyay reached Rishikesh, in the early hours. They were informed that since her disappearance, their mother had visited Haridwar, Ayodhya, Mathura, Vrindavan, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath.

Today, after all necessary formalities were taken care of, a happy and relieved family was reunited. In the past few weeks, the ‘Lost and Found Centre’ set up in Haridwar has  reunited close to four hundred missing people with their family, giving them that perfect ‘happily ever after’ ending.

Rain to douse Uttarakhand’s forest fires

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Dehradun: Forest fire season generally begins around the second week of February until mid-June. Come April and Uttarakhand has already seen over nine hundred incidents of forest fire that has decimated 1,292 hectares of green cover.

Worst affected are hill districts of Pauri, Tehri, Nainital and Almora with forty active forest fires even today. Twelve thousand forest guards are manning thirteen hundred fire crew stations.

Long spell of dry weather; low-lying land winds, rising mercury have been the perfect recipe for these raging fires which wipe out forest wealth worth lakhs within hours. This year around, there have been four human deaths, two injured and seven animal fatalities due to these forest fire incidents in the State.

Forest Minister Harak Singh Rawat took to social media stating that forest officers and guards had been stationed and are on vigil, their leave cancelled, trying to minimise loss to life and property. The State machinery has been in over-drive, trying to contain these growing infernos.

Taking cognizance of the forest fires in Uttarakhand, the Centre today stationed two helicopters, one in Gauchar in Garhwal region and the other in Nainital in Kumaon to assist in quenching these garlands of fire.

But there is good news in the offing. Scientist, Rohit Thapliyal from Dehradun Meteorological Department shares with us, “Uttarakhand hills will witness light rainfall activity starting tomorrow i.e. 5th . The plains will witness light to moderate rainfall from 7th onwards. There are chances of hailstorm and thunder in the hill districts of Uttarkashi, Dehradun, Almora, Pithoragarh in the coming days as well.” Consider this as music to the ears of our forest officials and guards who have been working on war footing to contain these fires.

Forest fires have been a constant threat to Uttarakhand’s 3,400 sq km of green forest that comes under a dark cloud every fire season, yet there seems no permanent solution to it.

Eight kilometers walk for a Covid vaccine jab!

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi/Harish Thapliyal
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Dateline Uttarkashi: While Uttarakhand’s state government preparations for the Mahakumbh made national headlines, elsewhere in the state, some eighteen kilometers from Purola Tehsil headquarters, elderly hill-folks from Sirbadiyaar area trudged eight kilometers to get their first dose of Covid vaccine.

On Tuesday early morning, a group of older people from a dozen villages in Sirbadiyar region, men and women ranging from their late sixties to eighties headed out to reach Sarnaul, the nearest vaccination center for Covid vaccine, eight kilometers away.

While those who could walk, trudged with their walking sticks, others hitched a horse-ride or used dandies or palanquins to negotiate the treacherous mountain path, even crossing mountain torrent helped along by each other!

Villagers vent their anger at the lack of empathy from the administration: “We have no roads, no connectivity, no bridges, no post offices or even the most basic of facilities here!”

Given Uttarakhand’s special geographical conditions, a little bit of empathy on the part of the powers-that-be, would have gone a long way in softening these body blows onto its citizenry. One cannot pretend that they have ceased to exist.

Young social activist Kailash Rawat highlighted the issue on social media expressing the angst of senior citizens at the insensitivity of the Health Department in not setting up camp closer to their home in the hills.

Talking to Newspost, Chief Medical Officer, Uttarkashi, DP Joshi said: “We are bound by the strict guidelines of the Government of India. We have to vaccinate our people where there is provision for ambulances to reach. Until such time that geographic limitations are not taken into consideration, policies cannot be changed. In the present scenario, our hands are tied. Till there are major policy changes, there is little that one can do.”

And until such time all we can pray for, is for the second dose of Covid vaccine to make its way closer to these hill-folks.

Look out Mount Annapurna! Here comes our Indian team

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Pithoragarh: Climbing Beyond The Summits team from Pithoragarh is set to summit the world’s 10th highest mountain peak and amongst the most challenging, Mount Annapurna at 8091 meters situated in Nepal, in the third week of April 2021.

Yogesh Garbiyal, Co Founder & President of CBTS will lead his abled-team of mountaineers Sheetal and Pasang Sherpa. The three of them make a very impressive team as they are seasoned mountaineers from Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand and have successfully summited Mount Everest, Mount Kangchenjunga, Mount Satopanth, Mount Trishul & other peaks in the Indian Himalaya.

This is also the first time that an Indian woman will be attempting the indomitable peak. Talking eagerly about her expedition, 25 year old Sheetal tells us, “I am super excited to be part of this expedition. Also knowing that I am the first Indian woman to attempt this challenging peak has motivated me to another level.  I feel this expedition will cement the fact that we as ‘women’ are no less and we too, just like our male counter-parts can also test ourselves and think beyond Mt Everest.”

Yogesh Garbiyal fill us in with facts and figures, “Mount Annapurna is the tenth tallest mountain in the world, but ranks as one of the most dangerous. It lies in the highly avalanche prone area. As per Kathmandu based Himalayan Database, close to two hundred mountaineers people have successfully summited Mount Annapurna, with sixty four deaths till date.”

Putting in hours of high altitude training, the three-member team has been working hard for months, to create history atop Mount Annapurna.

Climbing Beyond The Summits, a non-profit organization is based in Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand. It works with the objective to empower women through adventure sports. As a part of their high altitude exposure and training ‘Climbing Beyond The Summits’ will be flagging off its  maiden ‘All Women Expedition’ in September, this year.

Unit of ‘Jaggu Ani Juliet,’ begins shooting in Uttarakhand

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Rishikesh: World-known for its scenic beauty, Rishikesh is ready to play the perfect host to a film unit from Maharashtra. Over the next one week, “Jaggu Ani Juliet,” a commercial ROM-COM feature film, is being shot on location in Rishikesh.

Multi-talented and versatile Mahesh Limaye is the Director and has also scripted the movie. Mahesh Limaye has been cinematographer in movies like Dabangg 3, Freaky Ali, Happy Ending, Gori tere pyar mein, Heroine, Dabangg and others. Punit Balan is producing this contemporary story about people, fun, love, travel and discovering one’s soul mate.

Mayank Tiwari, who is the Local Line Producer for ‘Jaggu Ani Juliet in the hill state, tells us, “It is heartening to see Marathi film industry moving North to Uttarakhand for such shoot’s. The movie revolves around yoga, rafting, beaches and mountains which all come together in one place i.e. Rishikesh,” adding, “the one-window clearance system from the State government is very lucrative for directors who know think of Uttarakhand as a viable destination to shoot their movies, web-series, serials and so on.”

About two months ago, the core team had come on a recee to go through some of Uttarakhand’s scenic locations and then zeroed in on cafes, rafting camps, Laxman Jhula and Shivpuri beach in Rishikesh for the movie. Apart from these, the unit will film in Mussoorie and Haridwar as well.

Post their one-week stint in Rishikesh, the ‘Jaggu Ani Juliet’ unit will return in the month of June to continue their schedule in Mussoorie, Haridwar and Rishikesh as well.

A literary discussion on the book: His Holiness The Fourteenth Dalai Lama

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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Dateline Dehradun: Those of you who are wondering what-to-do this weekend, here is a bit of news: ‘Keep your weekend free!’ as Roli Books & Sri Aurobindo Society, Rajpur have teamed to host to a literary discussion on the book His Holiness The Fourteenth Dalai Lama, by Tenzin Geyche Tethong in conversation with author Ganesh Saili tomorrow i.e. Saturday the 20th of March, 2021 from 4:30 pm onwards.

Crafted beautifully, this illustrated book is an in-depth, firsthand narrative on the life of the Dalai Lama’s life and in turn the riveting saga of Tibet. From remembrances of those close to him, this treasure trove packs over four hundred images of Tibet’s priceless visual heritage. The biography is a record of what it was like to create a nation from almost baseline. Living in exile, the God King rallies endlessly for his people. The author, Tenzin Geyche Tethong, a trusted companion and aide to His Holiness, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, has for over four decades worked in the private office. His own father had been second in command of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama’s bodyguard, whilst the Dalai Lama has officially commended his forefathers. This is the first time that he has written about his remarkable years as one of His Holiness’ closest aides.

Mussoorie-based author-photographer Ganesh Saili will be in conversation with Tenzin Geyche Tethong in the hour-long event. Talking about the event, Publisher, Roli Books, Pramod Kapoor said, “We are delighted to be hosting the first in person event for this very important book on His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Rajpur is also the second home of author, Tenzin Geyche Tethong, who spends half the year here. Publishing this book has been a highlight in the history of our 42-year old company. I would like to express our gratitude to Tenzin Geyche La for trusting us to tell his tale.”

Uttarakhand Chardham Yatra begins in May, 2021

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Dehradun: Following tradition, the dates for the opening of the portals of the world-famous Chardham shrines has been declared. The famous shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath will open in the second week of May, including the Sikh pilgrimage site of Hemkund.

Last year, due to the pandemic, Chardham Yatra was stalled and subsequently opened on July 1, 2020. To make the most of Chardham pilgrimage this year, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat stated, “Chardham of Uttarakhand is the center of our faith.” Working on war footing, the State machinery is on over-drive mode to facilitate the pilgrimage with adequate arrangement for drinking water, sanitation, sign-age along with other basic facilities enroute.

Tirath Singh Rawat laid stress on arranging water ATMs and  water tankers on travel routes. Posting of cardiologists in Kedarnath and Yamunotri along with oxygen cylinders, ICUs and ventilators. Installation of streetlights along the Hemkund route. Commercial vehicles on yatra route to ply with fitness-certificate, fixed rate list for vehicles and hotels along the pilgrimage route. Strict action against those who over-rating are some of the points highlighted by the Chief Minister and his team of officials are leaving no stone-unturned to ensure that all falls into place before May.

Chardham Yatra is one of the major sources of income for a State that thrives on spiritual tourism. This time around with the Mahakumbh in April followed by the Chardham pilgrimage in May, the State is looking at a rapid increase in devotees making their way to ‘Devbhoomi.’ A move welcomed by the Hoteliers Association, “It’s essential for the economy of our state. Over 30 % of the states GDP is from tourism , the governments finances as well as lively hood of millions is dependent on it,” says Sandeep Sahni, President Uttarakhand Hotel Association.

Chardham Opening dates:

Yamunotri : 14th May

Gangotri : 14th May

Kedarnath: 17th May

Badrinath : 18th May

Off-the-beaten-track temples:

Rudranath: 17th May

Madmaheshwar: 24th May

Hemkund Sahib: 10th May

Saving Lives: Major Avnish Sharma, Officer Commanding, 72 RCC

By
newspost
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0

Dateline Uttarkashi. On the 10th of March, Mr. JP Dobhal met with a road accident on the busy Rishikesh – Narendranagar route. Mr.Dobhal sustained serious injuries to his right leg which could have turned fatal if not for the timely intervention of Major Avnish Sharma, Officer Commanding, 72 RCC.

Major Avnish was enroute to Rishikesh for an official visit when he came across a long queue of vehicles near Narendranagar due to the accident. Trained to take quick action, the Army Officer took help from those around him, not only pulled out the injured Mr. Dobhal from his wrecked car, he rushed him to the nearest hospital and informed the Dobhal household as well. All this was accomplished within minutes of Major Avnish reaching the spot that ensured that Mr. JP Dobhal lived to tell the tale.

Talking about the incident, Major Avnish Sharma said, “Most of fatalities can be avoided if the victims are taken to a hospital in the first hour of the accident or the ‘Golden Hour,’ which enhances the chance of the victim survival.”

Major Avnish Sharma

At present, Major Avnish is part of the Border Roads Organization, whose endeavour is to ensure that National Highway-34 from Gangori in Uttarkashi to Gangotri shrine is safe for commuting. In the past two years, under his command, no lives have been lost in this stretch with the road open to traffic year round, come rain or sunshine.

Under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, section 134A “Protection of Good Samaritans” was inserted which states that a good samaritan shall not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of the victim in an accident. The Supreme Court  also approved the guidelines for protection of good Samaritans in March 2016.

This selfless act of quick thinking, gratitude and help is what makes humanity prevail.

Landour Cantonment surges ahead

By
Dr. Tania Saili Bakshi
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0

Dateline Mussoorie: Landour Cantonment, Mussoorie more than a mile high in the sky, is one amongst the sixty-two cantonments in the country. Today it stands on the edge of celebration mode as three of its properties, whose licenses had lapsed and were up for renewal, have now been licensed out for astronomical figures. 

It all started when the then Commandant Captain Young, pleaded with the Directors of the East India Company to start a Convalescent Depot in Sister’s Bazaar because “Height was Health.”  Even today, the Cantonment is unlike any other, in the sense, you are here in the picturesque and that precisely what draws tourists hordes up here, giving it much to celebrate about. 

While Ivy Cafe at Chardukan was auctioned at a whooping ten lakh per month, Childer’s Shop went for two lakh, two thousand per month, for five years. On the other hand, the Circular road car parking was auctioned at thirty-six thousand for a year.

Within a month of being put out in the market, the three cantonment-funded properties had forty bidders, out of which only eleven bidders made it to the final round with all the required papers in place.  A legal consultant, a technical team and a Chartered Accountant scrutinised the papers required for the license that included five-lakh deposit, character certificate, Solvency certificate, non-defaulter affidavit, amongst other papers. 

The entire process, from tenders being floated for the license to the bidding process was  kept open for public scrutiny. 

Chief Executive Officer, Abhishekh Rathour IDES updates us, “the bidding amount did not come to us as a surprise. Landour is now an entity on its own. We have three-four more properties which will be put out in the market within a month and we look forward to a similar, upward trend.”

He further added, “ We want the cantonment to be financially-able so that the revenue generated from these cantonment-fund properties can be put to use in making the cantonment better in every sense of the word.”

As Landour Cantonment inches its way to become the country’s Number One Cantonment residents believe, ‘You aint seen anything yet!’

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