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Not all heroes wear capes: Bhaskar Joshi

By
Lucky Singh/Tania Saili
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0

Almora, Today, social media is pouring with selfless stories from all over the globe and we can’t seem to get enough of them. On the same lines, we share with you the story of Bhaskar Joshi, a teacher par excellence.

When most Government schools are shutting shop, Government Primary School in Bajela, Dholadevi, Almora is a success story. For over five years now, Bhaskar Joshi with single-minded pursuit has been changing things for the better.

50kms from Almora by car and then a strenuous six-kilometer trek brings you to this back of beyond village school, where a dedicated teacher Bhaskar Joshi, has been teaching and guiding his students for a better, brighter tomorrow with utmost dedication.

The region, infested with poverty and unemployment isn’t the best of settings for a school but that did not deter Bhaskar, as he tells us, “The first day in school when I was posted here in the year 2013 is still vivid in my mind. The building was dilapidated, enrolled students were missing from classrooms.”

Today, the school boasts of 24 students from what were previously just 10. The school building has been restored to its previous glory, complete with a smart-class and self-raised library. The young minds speak fluently in Hindi and English. Weak students are coached post school hours. The morning assembly is in four languages, a kitchen garden by Bhaskar and his students completes the school’s periphery. Cleanliness is of utmost importance along with all round development of students.

Not the one to chase government funds or officials, Bhaskar Joshi is a living example of how we become successful by what we get, but we become happy by what we give, and reminds us, that we shouldn’t confuse the two !

 

For those who would like to do their bit for the school can contact Bhaskar Joshi @ Education for Underprivileged or call him @ 8899477395, 9410166577.

The Great Global Clean-Up Campaign comes to Uttarakhand

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun, 49 years later, Earth Day Network the international NGO has engaged in over 50,000 organizations in some 190 countries to take environmental movement forward. Now the organisation is bringing to India, and more so to Uttarakhand, The Great Global Clean Up campaign.

‘’Specially crafted programs are planned along the 2,510 km course of the Ganges River – from Devprayag to the Sunderbans’’ said Karuna Singh, Country Director, Earth Day Network, India, adding, “A people’s movement that will help those on the grassroots level to be a part of the movement and understand keeping the Ganga clean is beneficial to them.”

Kathleen Rogers, President of Earth Day Network, Washington said, “This Ganges initiative will serve as a lightning rod for many more countries and communities to get involved worldwide. As we look toward Earth Day 2020, we will mark the 50th anniversary of this historic movement with a myriad of events.”

Serving as an entry point and a springboard for people of all ages from all walks of life to become environmentally engaged, on April 13, the formal inauguration of clean River Ganga campaign will be done by Anil Joshi of HESCO fame, at Devprayag, Uttarakhand at 12.30 pm.

“The upcoming event has already drawn in much interest”, says Mr. Shyam Lal Bhai, Chairman of from Lok Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan, on-the-ground partner.

Over the next nine days, rallies-cum-campaigns will be held enroute to Haridwar. Many locals, saints and academic institutions have pledged to walk along the Ganga and collect garbage. The collected waste will be handed over to the municipal corporations for proper disposal. The 105-km route, volunteers from Lok Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan (LPSS) will hold sessions to help people understand the hazards of indiscriminate littering of non-biodegradable waste, such as plastic and the adverse effects this has on humans, animal health and species that thrive in the water of the Ganges.

The Rally will culminate at 4.00 p.m. on April 21st, 2019 at Harki Pauri, Haridwar, where a public dialogue will follow:

If you wish to be a part of this Rally follow this route-chart:

April 13th        – Devprayag Sangam to Gullar Sangam, Tehri Garhwal

April 14th        – Shivpuri to Brahmpuri, Tehri Garhwal

April 15th        – Laxman Jhula to Sachha Dham Ashram

April 17th        – Purnand Ghat to Ram Jhula Parmarth Niketan

April 19th        – Hanuman Mandir to Triveni Ghat, Rishikesh

April 20th        – Kankhal, Haridwar

April 21st        – Chandi Ghat to Harki Pauri, Haridwar

Keeping her roots intact: Saumya Pant

By
Tania Saili
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0

Almora, Mother of a three and half year old, Saumya Pant, made United Kingdom her home when she went looking for a promising future in the year 2009. A decade gone, and today this enterprising lady is showcasing her roots and traditions at the Mrs. India Competition held at United Kingdom.

Daughter of Dr. Subodh Kumar Pant, Retired Principle Scientist at ICAR, Almora. Saumya was born in Nainital and completed her education from Kendra Vidyalaya Almora until 9th standard. Her mother’s untimely death saw Saumya moving cities.

Always looking out for the silver lining Saumya looked for opportunities to further her cause of doing something for the society and environment. She used the platform of Mrs. India UK to promote and inspire people to help protect the environment back home.

Having grown up in close proximity with nature, Saumya  had a natural empathy for nature and how not protecting, “our environment now would see the next generation suffer,” says adds.

Out of the 150 contestants who registered, Saumya is all set for the finals. For the National costume round, Saumya represented Kumaon at its best. “Being a Kumaoni, it was a real pleasure to showcase the beauty of Kumaon.” Donning traditional Kumaoni attire with Rangwali Pichora and complimenting jewellery like Pohuchi and Galoband, she brought alive her hill roots on an international platform.

If that was not enough, she dedicated her performance to the people of Kumaon and the brave soldiers of Kumaon Regiment stating, “Kumaon is full of nature, the the mighty himalaya showcase the bravery and inner strength, the flowers showcase the diversity and inclusion, the beautiful holy places showcase the commonness and the spirituality of Kumaonis.”

Even while staying on foreign shores, Saumya works closely with several charities in India, including GreenHill Almora, WWF and supporting several schools in her home state, Uttarakhand.  She also heads the people and talent team of a Neuro-linguistic agency called Lab Digital UK, in London.

Saumya signs off saying, “be kind to yourself, to others, and to the environment,” as she gets busy with the upcoming finale this weekend. We, at Newspost wish her all the very best!

“LBSNAA Festival of Literature and Arts” 12-13th April

By
Tania Saili
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0

“LBSNAA Festival of Literature and Arts,” 12-13 April 2019 will see a confluence of art, literature and administration, where at over a mile high in the sky in Mussoorie, artists, writers, poets and administrators, shall meet and mingle over two days.

Perhaps Mussoorie the distinction of being  home to the highest density of published authors anywhere in the country. In nineteen square miles there are more published authors than anywhere else in the country. It all dates back to 1838, when the hill station was just thirteen years old as one of the  earliest writers, Fanny Park wrote: ‘The beautiful rhododendrons are forest trees, not shrubs, as you have them in England.’

Following in her footsteps was Mauger Fitzhugh Monk, who wrote  letters home in 1840 and gives us an idea of life in the hills when we were in our  teenage years. Soon after came the writers of our earliest guides beginning with John Northam in 1870;  F. Bodycot in 1900 and F. Wilson in 1936. The Austrailan John Lang spent the last years of his life here and gave us exaggerated accounts of life during the Raj. Among the famous are Kedar Pandey a.k.a Mahapandit Rahul Sanskritayan with fifty-six books in his eight years in Mussoorie’s Happy Valley. Others resident authors include those gone before us like Satyaketu Vidyalankar, Dr. Hari Dutt Bhatt and Sudhir Thapliyal. Presently Bill Aitken, Ganesh Saili, Ruskin Bond, Hugh and Colleen Gantzer, Stephen Alter among many others have kept the ink flowing.

From the 12 to the 13th of April, authors, poets, novelist from all over India will flock to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie to take part in the 2nd Edition of the “LBSNAA Festival of  Literature and Arts.”

Among invitees are diplomat-politician-author Pawan Verma, Author Pooja Marwah, Author Mona Verma, First Naga-Novelist Easterine Kire, Lokesh Ohri, Bijoya Sawain, Pradeep Singh,  Dr. Jaskiran Chopra, Author Raj Kanwar. The rest looks set to be a memorable feast of words and more.

10% discount on showing that indelible ink

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun/ Mussoorie, India is all set to celebrate democracy tomorrow with the first round of polling taking place in 91 constituencies tomorrow morning from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m on 11th April.

Compared to other Himalayan states like Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim, Uttarakhand comes in at an appalling 30th in all India polling percentage. In 2004, a poor turnout of 48.07 was replaced with a 53.43 percentage in 2009 elections, which was replaced by the Modi-lehar in 2014 with a promising 61.6% exercising their power to vote.

Hoping that these figures will change for the better, Brentwood Hotels and Resorts have come out with an innovative idea to ensure that you are rewarded for casting that valuable vote of yours.

After you have cast your vote, make sure you head out to any of the five Brentwood hotels and Restaurants such as The Tavern Dehradun and Mussoorie, Cafe De Tavern, Mussoorie, The Imperial Square, Mussoorie or Whistling Pines, Hotel Brentwood Mussoorie. Flaunt that indelible or phosphoric ink or dye applied to your left-hand forefinger post casting your vote and you can avail 10% off on Food and Beverages at these eateries over the next two days i.e. 11th and 12th of  April.

Speaking about this unique gesture, Sandeep Sahni of Brentwood Hotels and Resorts tells us the idea behind the incentive, “it is to simply encourage people to vote for a healthy democracy and act as an incentive for first time voters and ladies who want to take that much-required break from their kitchen chores for the day.”

Tomorrow when you get ready to head out of your homes to exercise your power to vote, do head to the any of the nearest Brentwood eateries in your vicinity post voting,  to avail this lucrative offer over the next two days.

Danguntha, Uttarakhand’s remotest polling booth

By
Tania Saili
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1
Polling party

Dehradun, As the country readies itself to celebrate Democracy with it first round of polling around the corner i.e. 11th April, the polling team for the furthest polling booth at Danguntha in Dehradun District left for their station today early morning.

The first to leave the Election Office gates and the last to return, the Danguntha polling team has an uphill task set out for them. Danguntha polling station falls under the Tehri Lok Sabha seat in Chakrata region of the State.

Nodal officer for transport Vipin Kumar updated the media stating, “Danguntha is some 240 kms from the Maharana Pratap Sports College in Raipur, Dehradun which also happens to the Election Office for the Lok Sabha elections. Once the polling team leaves from here today morning it will take them good ten hours to reach their destination.”

Adding more Mr. Kumar stated, “568 vehicles have been made available for polling teams to reach their respective booths. Other than that 767 vehicles have been kept in reserve. Some 250 vehicles have been made available to the Police Force along with 450 vehicles which have been designated to Sector Zonal Officers.”

83 vehicles, all tanked up with fuel are ready to ferry polling teams to and fro from polling stations in far off places like Chakrata and Tyuni region alone.

Giving a run-down of the furthest polling booths from road-heads, most hill districts topped the list.

Furthest Polling Booths from Road-heads:  

Dumka Chamoli 20 kms
Dansal Tehri 19 kms
Pilang Uttarkashi 18 kms
Nauliya Pithorgarh 18 kms
Kotkendri Champwat 18 kms
Bor Balda Bageshwar 15 Kms

Mussoorie Farmers Market: A must-visit

By
Tania Saili
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2

Mussoorie, This coming Sunday i.e. the 14th of April,  the hill-station of Mussoorie is all set to play the perfect hostess to it very first edition of Mussoorie Farmers Market,  at Brentwood Hotel, Mussoorie from morning to noon.

The walk-in event from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm is open to visitors, tourists and residents who wish to be part of this unique endeavour.

Vivek Benipal, the man behind the scene, tells us more, “The Mussoorie Farmers Market is a growing community of Uttarakhand based farmers, naturepreneurs, organic start-ups, and health enthusiasts, inspiring everyone to buy local produce. It is also an attempt to bring the community together to support indigenous produce by offering farmers a platform to not only showcase but also sell their produce to the buyers directly.”

There is more to the fest. You can also satisfy your taste buds with some culinary delicacies specially prepared from locally sourced ingredients from in and around the hill-station.

An interesting cocktail of stalls of various items such as vegetables, pulses, spices, beverages, gardening, local crafts, handmade & natural products along with a GreenLife Exhibition showcasing a variety of eco-friendly products for personal and household use will also be on display for those who wish to buy.

 

Rajat Kapoor of Brentwood Hotel who are also venue partners and co-host of the event adds, “we want to make this a regular calendar event in Mussoorie where the community gets together and get to buy indigenous produce directly from the farmers from the periphery of the town.”

These eco-friendly products are all made-in-India and rest assured, will be readily available online for future purchases as well, so you aren’t at a loss once you run out of the product purchased at the Mussoorie Farmer’s Market.

Those who happen to be in town or plan to visit Mussoorie, do mark your calendar and make sure you come visiting to encourage local growers and enjoy this community event.

Rising Mercury leads to Forest Fire incidents

By
Lucky Singh/Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun: Two months on. Close to a dozen incidents of forest fire in Garhwal and Kumaon region. 15 hectares of forest cover lost and adding to that, an economic loss of rupees 26, 475 to the ex-chequer. And this is just the beginning of a scorching summer up ahead, leading to increasing instances of forest fire.

Leading from the front, District Haridwar has to-date witnessed four forest fire incidents since 15th of February when the Forest Fire Season officially begins in Uttarakhand. The season comes to an end on the 15th of June, just when monsoon comes knocking.

Ranjan Misra, Chief Forest Conservator assures us, “We have taken preventive measures such as controlled fire-lines and rotational burning of grass and shrubs, we have been successful in controlling forest fires thus far.“

Long spells of dry weather; low lying land winds and rising mercury have in the past been the perfect recipe for disaster. 2016 summer, Uttarakhand witnessed raging infernos turning everything in its path to ashes. Last year too  i.e. the summer of 2018, 4,480 hectares of forest cover were affected by 2,150 forest fire instances alone.

Leaving no stones unturned, the Forest Department has divided forest areas into sensitive and highly-sensitive sectors and dedicated a mobile no: 7900577999 for anyone willing to share information regarding forest fires in their area. Along with that, the Forest Survey of India has registered 2229 for sms fire-alerts as well.

The Forest Department has set up 40 control rooms in Dehradun, an Information Technology and Geo-Information cell which co-ordinates with 1,437 crew-stations along with 174 watch-towers keeping a vigilant eye on any untoward incident.

As mercury rises, garlands of fire are visible at night from a distance. In the day, billowing tendrils of smoke rise as our forests fall prey to rising flames, a growing threat to Uttarakhand’s 3,400 sq km of green forest which comes under threat each fire season.

Uttarakhand matra-shakti : A bridge too far

By
Tania Saili
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0

Dehradun, Traditionally, women of Uttarakhand have been the backbone of all environmental, social revolution the hill-state has ever witnessed. From Chipko Movement for Greener Himalayas, anti-liquor prohibition or a fight for separate statehood. Even when it comes to sending Minister of Parliament to the Center from here, a whooping 3,711,220 women voters out of the total 77,65, 423 voters play a pivotal role.

Between Dehradun and Haridwar, the plains of Uttarakhand have the highest women voters with the District of Dehradun topping at 6,71,645 followed by Haridwar at 6,16,865. On the other hand, the hill district of Champawat has the lowest number of women voters at 92,453.

A graph of women franchise from Rudraprayag shows how women voters will be the deciding factor here and not their male counter part: 

Rudrapryag: Male: 92,497; Women: 93,889            

Since its very inception, when it comes to distribution of political tickets for Vidhan Sabha or Lok Sabha elections national political parties like the Congress and the Bhartiya Janta Party sideline the much-talked about Matrashakti of the hill-state. Out of the five MP seats, BJP has fielded a repeat candidate Mala Raja Lakshmi Shah from Tehri, the sole women representation from the State at the Centre since 2014, and the Congress, none.

Neha Joshi, a young, dynamic BJP worker and National media coordinator for BJYM feels that her party is grooming women leader to contest future elections, ‘change has to come from the bottom upwards and leaders have to be groomed, and my party is consciously working on those lines. They are trying to inculcate leadership qualities and groom more women leaders. We are being prepared for future elections and this mere tokenism of giving tickets to empower women is not going to work.”

On the other hand Congress Spokesperson Garima Basauni states, “Congress doesn’t abstain from giving women equal opportunity. We have had the first woman Prime Minister, President, Speaker, AICC President.   This time the scenario is different, its about winning elections and each and every single seat counts.”

So for now, the women of the hill-state have to find consolation in the fact that in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections they can make a difference through their collective franchise, that is the power of Democracy.

Women Voters District-wise:

Dehradun: 6,71,645

Haridwar: 6,16,865

Bageshwar: 10,3,859

Uttarkashi: 10,8,831

US Nagar: 5,63,815

Nainital: 3,52,487

Pauri: 2,73,369

Almora: 2,59,312

Tehri: 2,44,667

Pithoragarh: 1,86,476

Chamoli: 1,43,552

Rudraprayag: 93,889

Champawat: 92,453

PEN-India School news session begins with a Voter Awareness Rally

By
newspost
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0

Dolwala, An awareness rally was organised by PEN-India School to make people aware about the importance of their polling rights. School students and their parents participated in the rally and made an appeal to the general public to cast their vote and also encouraged new voters to participate in the upcoming general elections. The theme of the rally was “Cast your Vote, Don’t become an April Fool”.

Dr Prakash Keshaviah, the patron of the PEN-India Foundation said, “PEN-India School aims at imparting free and quality education to the underprivileged students. The Foundation also aims at the overall development of the children which will help them in becoming responsible citizens in future. Further adding, “each and every vote is important for democracy.”

Mr Anoop Rawat, the Founder and President of PEN-India Foundation said, “the new session of the school started today with an awareness rally to make people aware about their voting rights and the importance of their votes. If we do not want to become a fool, we all should practice our right to vote and hence the theme of today’s rally was “Cast your Vote, Don’t become an April Fool”.

Mr Santosh Budakoti, the Director of the foundation stated how, “ we all should cast our votes as this gives us an opportunity to bring about a change and to get heard. To vote is every individual’s national responsibility to maintain and strengthen the democracy of our nation.”

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