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CM Trivendra honour families of freedom fighters

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Dehradun, Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat and Vidhan Sabha Speaker Mr. Premchand Aggarwal honoured the families of the freedom fighters at Thano on Thursday.

On this occasion, families of 12 freedom fighters who were part of the freedom movement, were honoured. Among those honoured include dependents of Hari Singh Solanki, Kishan Singh, Bhuria Singh, Buddhi Prakash, Pancham Singh Krishali, Dev Narayan, Sainpal Singh Bhidola, Padam Singh Solanki, Surat Singh Chauhan, Gaurish Verma, Bankelal Garg and Madan Singh Rawat.

Chief Minister said, “ Thano is an area associated with the memories of our freedom fighters, who contributed significantly to the country’s independence. The freedom fighters are source of our inspiration. Their sacrifice and contribution to the nation’s freedom will inspire our new generation and we will go ahead with the inspiration from the courage of these freedom fighters, whenever the need to protect the country arises.”

To cherish the memories of the freedom fighters, Chief Minister asked to send a proposal for the renovation of the water tank and school in the Thano. He said that the Thano and Raipur hospitals have been given to AIIMS. In these hospitals, health facilities will be provided by AIIMS Rishikesh. Proposals have been sent to AIIMS Rishikesh to start services in these hospitals. Two assistants are being soon recruited in AIIMS, who will give information about health related facilities to patients.

Chief Minister added that for development in the area like electricity, water, roads etc, proposals should be sent through the area’s public representatives which would be resolved soon. Chief Minister said that a 300-bed maternity hospital will be opened in Harrawala and its foundation stone will be laid soon.

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Mr. Premchand Aggarwal spoke on the occasion saying, “ freedom fighters have sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the country and it is our responsibility to solve the problems of their families.  It is also our duty to respect these brave fighters and the principles and devotion of these brave soldiers will always remain inspirational.”

Tourists choke Mussoorie

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Tania Saili
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2

Dehradun: Hardly had the snow settled in Mussoorie and its adjoining areas when in a few hours, thousands of tourists in cars and bikes have managed to clog the 33 km road to the hill-station.

Pic Courtesy: Nikhil Aggarwal

It began yesterday early morning even as the first flake danced to the ground and over thousand vehicles snaked their way to this colonial-era hill station. Folks carrying babies as little as one year olds to people in their late seventies – came in droves, all charged up to get a feel of the ‘Real Thing!’

Tipping point or carrying capacity arrived around four p.m. when the local administration had to step in for the safety of visitors by curtailing entry at Kothal Gate. Elsewhere too, on numerous occasions, this strategy of limiting entry has worked very well.

Pic Courtesy: Mussoorie Police

SHO Mussoorie Bhavna Kainthola has had a busy day on her hands. She and her team worked late into the morning, unclogging roads and by-lanes through the length and breadth of the town. Talking to Newspost she said: “Thus far there have been no untoward incident. We pray that all visitors go return home safely. Perhaps we might need to arm the force with spades someday to clear roads,” she added on a lighter note.

As for local residents, the enthusiasm of tourists to ensure their vehicle goes where angels will fear to tread is fraught with danger. Nikhil Agarwal tells us: “There are cars stranded all over town. It’s pure mayhem. Tourists refuse to walk and enjoy themselves. They insist on driving and have no clue how dangerous it is for all concerned.

It’s vehicles, inching bumper to bumper late into the night from and to Mussoorie which are modern day curse. The waltz of the snowflakes is once in a lifetime experience but it comes with its own peril and dangers for those who refuse to dance in harmony with the forces of nature.

Roorkee gets a thumbs-up in Gati’s Swachh Survekshan 2019 Report

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Dehradun, Gati Foundation, a Dehradun based research and policy think-tank, working on the issues of waste management and sustainable urbanization, has released a report on the ongoing Swachh Survekshan. The nationwide cleanliness survey is being organized since 2015 under the aegis of Swachh Bharat Mission by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India (GoI). The survey began on 4 Jan and will end on 31 Jan, in all the cities/towns of India.

The report discusses the new methodology and marking scheme of 2019 in comparison with earlier versions of the competition. This year’s competition is of total 5000 marks while the earlier competitions have been restricted to a total of 4000 marks. The scoring of the competition is based on three old components viz. service level progress, direct observation, citizen participation and one new component i.e. third party certification based on star ratings and protocol. All these four scoring components are of 1250 marks each.

The Founder Chairperson of Gati Foundation, Anoop Nautiyal said “Citizen Engagement remains a key area of concern as several ULBs are lagging behind in terms of encouraging public to participate in this nationwide competition aimed at promoting cleanliness and citizen participation.”

Commenting on the star ratings for the cities, Nautiyal welcomed the start of the new component and said that this will propel ULBS to take sustainable measures to improve their sanitation and waste practices. He added that cities will need to invest in resources and engage with citizens deeply if the ULBS in Uttarakhand were to aim for higher ratings in the future.

As per the findings of the research conducted by Gati Foundation, Dehradun has been an under-performer in the last two versions of Swachh Survekshan so far. However, the capital city saw a slight improvement in its ranking in Swachh Survekshan 2018 as compared to 2017. City secured 316th rank in Swachh Survekshan 2017, while it moved up 59 slots to reach 257th rank in 2018. The best performing city of Uttarakhand has been Roorkee which was ranked 218th in 2017 and moved to 158th in Swachh Survekshan 2018.

“There is a lot of scope for improvement for ULBs in this entire exercise. The ULBs in Uttarakhand can learn a lot from ULBs of different cities in India. In depth study and understanding of the competition can bring positive results both for the city leadership and citizens of Uttarakhand” said Rishabh Shrivastava, Policy Analyst with Gati Foundation.

The study also revealed that large numbers of citizens in many ULBS are not aware of Swachhata Mobile Application which was launched by MoHUA for promoting the objectives of the competition. As per the data available on the Swachhata City Analytics dashboard, Roorkee is once again leading the state with 208 marks.  However, there remains a number of ULBs who have still not initiated the awareness drives with respect to downloading of Swachhata Mobile App, which can reflect in the final markings of the cities. Also, efforts to perform better in the competition must be pursued by the concerned ULB throughout the year, instead of activating the city leadership and administrative staff before few months of the competition, recommended the study.

Tourists make a beeline to enjoy Mussoorie’s snowfall

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Tania Saili
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Pic Courtesy: Elena Wadehra

Post Manali, the Queen of Hills Mussoorie welcomed tourists to enjoy its white mantel of snowfall. After a long dry spell, Mussoorie residents were in for a pleasant surprise, the seasons first major snowfall kissed its ranges in the third week of January.

Though there was a snowfall in the hill-station around the 12th of December, but it did not set. But today was different. Snowfall since last night and within hours a thin mantel of snow covered Mussoorie and its surrounding areas.

Shop owners and hoteliers had something to cheer about as cash counters began ringing. Pundirji of Pundir Dhaba in Suakholi, tucked away in the busy Mussoorie-Dhanolti highway is a happy busy man. His sales of maggi, hot piping vegetarian thalis, paranthas followed by umpteen cups of tea have business rolling with tourists heading to Dhanolti to enjoy the snow, ‘this is good business. Tourists as well as local shopkeepers are enjoying the snowfall.’

For tourists, the snow-covered hills are a bonus especially over the weekend. Nalin Bahuguna, a resident of Kuwait was pleasantly surprised by the snow-covered hills when he woke up today morning, ‘I have returned to Mussoorie after thirty-four years. I remember a snow-fight with my cousins back then, but dint anticipate that it would snow especially with the sunshine that we witnessed over the past one week.’

Come rain or sunshine, the magic spell of Mussoorie continues to attract tourists all year round but this fresh snowfall definitely adds more icing to the cake.

Made in Dun: India’s First Horror Comedy Webseries

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Lucky Singh/Tania Saili
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Dehradun, Web-series are the next big thing online! And naturally Uttarakhand’s young talent, is not far from carving a niche in this genre of entertainment as well.

Abhishekh a.k.a ABRK, a second year student of Mass Communication from Graphic Era University is a well known rap-star who is now being credited for making India’s first Horror Comedy Web-Series ‘Darr Kaisa.’

If one was to search for Horror Comedy Web-series on any search engine, the first name to pop-up is ‘Darr Kaisa.’ An official trailer of the web-series was launched on the 12th of January on YouTube which was appreciated by one and all.

“I had thought of making a horror web-series with a twist. My friend Bharat Gupta who had done a course in film direction from Whistling Woods inspired me to write script for a horror web-series. While the script was written in 24 hours. The shoot took a week, four days of editing and finally three episodes are now ready to be aired,” ABRK tells us. The first episode of the web-series was telecast yesterday.

The series was shot late into the night in locations situated in Malsi, Indira Nagar, Anarwala in Dehradun.

“Shooting the web-series was no easy task,” ABRK adds, “our team comprised of students. We got no assistance from the State government which boosts of promoting art and cinema, it was very disheartening for all of us but we did not quit.“

Signing off ABRK states, “staying in Dehradun we have managed to make our presence felt nationally and its just a matter of time when we will make our mark internationally as well.” The conviction with which he says, am sure this isn’t the last we are hearing off ABRK and his achievements.

Crew that made it happen:

  • Director: Bharat Gupta
  • Starring: Sunit Verma, Puja Kanwar, Shubham Bhatt, Manoj Kumar, Purshottam Gupta  Producer: Krishna Dhyani and Ghanshyam Gupta.

187 Recruits join Garhwal rifles

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Lansdowne, On 19 Jan 2019, 187 recruits of the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre, after completing their 34 weeks of training, were attested in Naik Bhawani Dutt Joshi, Ashok Chakra Parade Ground at Lansdowne, Uttarakhand. The recruits were taken into the folds of Indian Army after administration of oath by the Reviewing Officer, Colonel Kuldeep Sirohi, Sena Medal, Director ECHS, Headquarters Uttarakhand Sub Area, Dehradun.

The Reviewing Officer after taking salute inspected the parade and addressed them. In his address to the young soldiers, the Reviewing Officer encouraged them to unflinchingly discharge their duties in the service and security of the nation. He praised the courage of these young soldiers for joining the Indian Army and also congratulated their families on this momentous occasion.

During the parade, Gold Medal was awarded to Riflemen Naresh Kumar who was adjudged as Best Recruit during the entire training. Medals were also distributed to other winners.

Tree Man of India passes away at 97

By
Tania Saili
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1

Dehradun,  As the news of the passing away  of Tree Man of India Vishweshwar Dutt Saklani spread like wildfire, condolences started pouring in from far and wide. By planting  and fondly nurturing more than fifty lakh trees, Vishweshwar Dutt Saklani, a small-time farmer, single-handedly regenerated once-barren land in and around Pujargaon, his remote Garhwal village about 50 kilometres from Dehra Dun.

Saklani began planting trees in 1948 after he lost his brother. Grief-stricken, Saklani used to roam the hills to seek solace. It was during this dark period that he decided to create a befitting memorial for his dearly departed and heal himself in the process.

Planting acorns on a barren patch near his house, Saklani gradually moved further afield. And over the last seventy years Saklani covered over 100 hectares of land with oak,rhododendron, cedar and walnut trees.

Saklani’s labour of love not only made him a more serene man, it brought life back in its myriad forms to his area. Hillsides, once denuded by indiscriminate timber-felling and quarrying became lush green. Thanks to the trees having taken firm roots, the soil of terraced fields stabilized and once-dry streams began to flow again. The villagers traditional sources of fodder and fuel were restored, with flora and fauna returned in abundance.

In recognition of his achievements, the government gave Saklani the prestigious Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award in 1986 and won him the title of Tree Man. Saklani’s zeal to plant trees on every barren patch of land earlier brought him in conflict with uncomprehending villagers and officious bureaucrats. But his transparent sincerity and the benefits of his work gradually won people over, inspiring other individuals and organizations in the region to take up their own tree-planting programmes.

For Saklani, a lot remained to be done. Speaking to us a few years back the Tree Man asserted, `If you don’t cover the land with trees,’ he warned, `the soil will be washed away and then there will be no more land left — for you, me, or anyone.’

Today the Tree Man lives on in beloved forest, inspiring generations to come.

Born: 2nd June 1922-Death: 18th January 2019

Uttarakhand’s R.Montz making it big in Mumbai

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Lucky Singh/Tania Saili
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Dehradun, Child prodigy R.Montz has always had a way with charming people with his inborn talent to rap. The 25 year old has his roots in Kirtinagar, close to Srinagar Garhwal,  and is now a promising musician/rap-star making his way into Bollywood.

R.Montz shot to fame when he came out with a Garhwali-Portuguese rap, the first of its kind. A mash-up of both languages which was well received by his fans. More recently, R.Montz made his presence felt on the screen with not one but two reality shows aired on Asia Net and MTV. Sharing his television debut experience, the young man fills us in, “it wasn’t a cake walk for me to come from a small town and make my presence felt on an international platform. But i dint give up hope and worked my way up.  My experience with endemol production has been enriching and enlightening.”

R.Montz, started his career working as a sound engineer in Malayalam Big Boss-3 and MTV Space, a field he would like to experiment and continue to work in the times ahead, he adds, “With my inherent gift for rapping, I am hoping to make my presence felt in Bollywood. But my first love and passion has been being a composer and sound engineer, which I want to continue.”

R.Montz talent hasn’t gone unnoticed. His songs were shared by celebrity Akanksha Sharma on her instagram page, and if everything works out, very soon we will see R. Montz work on an upcoming project with her as well.

We sign off, asking his motto to life and pat comes the reply, “there is no substitute for hard-work and determination, if you are talented and have the fire in your belly then nothing can ever stop you.” R.Montz is that one Uttarakhand born talent that we all should look out for.

One for the ladies: Makarsakranti

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Tania Saili
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Dehradun, Makarsakranti heralds the beginning of a year full of fairs and festivals all over India, and has a special reverence in the hill-state of Uttarakhand.

Today, when the young are forgetting the ways of the ancient, here in the heartland of Pauri district, ‘gendi ki kauthik’  celebrated on Makarsakranti, continues to rekindle & refresh the human spirit.

As dawn breaks over the mountains, droves of crowd can be seen from miles away,  making their way down the trails to converge at Tyodoh gaad close to Rishikesh. This traditional spot, tucked away into the forest, away from the maddening crowd, has been for decades, the venue for two days of festivities which begin on Makarsakranti.

Close to two thousand hill-folks from over twenty villages, within a 10 km radius of each other, collect at this very spot year after year. This annual fair is meant specially for daughters & daughter-in-laws who haven’t visited their maternal home off late. For young brides like Krishna, this is as close as she can get to home. A year since marriage and she has been counting days to be at the fair, smiling away waving to her friends Krishna tells us, “ I have come to meet my married sisters and friends from adjoining villages, this is our meeting point, I cant wait to sit with them and talk.“

With lines of wisdom stretched across her forehead, Bhuri Devi gets nostalgic, relishing piping-hot savouries off the pan, she says, ‘I make it a point to come to the fair every year to meet my married daughters and a daughter-in-law married in Rishikesh and then return home, where I live with my cattle and sheep.”

For hill-folks here, fairs like these are a welcome break from the mundane life they live. This is one day on the calendar, when men, women and children turn out in their fineries to shop until dusk, eat traditional sweets, meet up with friends and family whom they had met, perhaps last year, same time, same place.

Keeping the Faith @ minus 13 degrees

By
Tania Saili
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Dehradun, Continuous heavy snowfall in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand has brought life to grinding halt. At 3,553 metres, in Kedarnath valley,  outdoor reconstruction/restoration work has come to a stand-still due to sub zero temperatures and heavy snow.

In the heart of winter, frost, icy cold winds, sleet, hail and snow in the upper reaches brought mercury plummeting down with a complete white-out. Already four feet of fresh snow has carpeted Kedar valley and its surrounding area, with more snowfall predicted for the region.

When most would look for comfort and warmth of their homes, a motley of seventy men are braving it out in Kedar Valley. For the past two days, the team has been cooped up indoors carrying out restoration work. The dedicated team stationed there are praying to Lord Shiva for clear, blue skies and sunshine so that they can complete the exterior restoration work on the temple and its periphery, before the portals reopen for pilgrimage this season.

Captain, Shovan Singh Bisht, Incharge of Wood Stone Construction Company speaks for all when he says, “we have had continuous snowfall since last night. With sub-zero temperatures people stationed here for reconstruction work are facing a lot of difficulties. As it is very cold, water pipes are frozen, we are melting snow to arrange for drinking water.”

Fighting inclement weather, sub zero temperature, scarcity of drinking water, men between the age group of twenty to fifty-five are making sure the dream vision of Prime Minister Modi is fulfilled on war footing, even if it were at the cost of fighting nature’s wrath .

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