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President, Vice Presidents of corporations, commissions, committees & councils appointed

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State government has appointed Presidents and Vice Presidents of various corporations, commissions, committees and councils etc. in the state. The appointments made are as follows: Mohan Prasad Thapaliyal as President Sri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee, Kedar Joshi as President Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, Naresh Bansal as Vice President State Level 20 Point Programme Implementation Committee, Gajraj Bisht as Vice President Uttarakhand Agricultural Production Marketing Board, Gyan Singh Negi as Vice President State Rural Health Advisory Council, Shamsher Singh Satyal as President Labour Contract Advisory Board, Dr. Vinod Arya as Vice President, Animal Welfare Board, Vijay Barthwal as President Uttarakhand State Women Commission, Mahavir Singh Rangan as President Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam, Dr. RK Jain as President Minority Commission, Shamim Alam as President Uttarakhand State Haj Committee, Deepti Rawat as Vice President Higher Education Upliftment Committee, Ghananand alias Ghanna Bhai as Vice President Uttarakhand Culture Literature and Arts Council and Rajesh Kumar as President Social Welfare Monitoring Committee.

The newly nominated team met the Chief Minister Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat at CM residence and expressed their gratitude.  Extending his best wishes to everyone, Chief Minister said that, “all the Dayitvadhari’s will be able to accelerate the pace of development of the state by discharging their duties with their experience and efficiency.” Chief Minister said that, “with the appointment of Presidents and Vice Presidents of various corporations, “commissions, committees and councils, the efficiency of these institutions will increase and better work will be done in the interest of the general public.”

Trailer of Rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat to release on 24th

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Tania Saili
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Dehradun, Earlier this year, in the month of January, a film unit worked on war footing in the interiors of Uttarakhand, shooting for a movie about an unsung war-hero from the hill-state, Jaswant Singh Rawat.

Fast forward to 24th of December. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, will launch the one minute long trailer of the movie entitled ‘72 hours,’ A Martyr who never died, in Dehradun.

The trailer shows glimpses of the war scenes recreated in the hills of Jaunsar region. Shot on location in one of Uttarakhand’s most scenic  and untouched region of Bairat-khaee, the unit then moved closer to Dehradun and shot in Tapovan, Rishikesh and Forest Research Institute as well.

Made under the JSR banner, written and directed by Avinash Dhyani, Produced by JS Rawat, Tarun Rawat and Prashil Rawat, the team has been success in recreating the forgotten legend of Jaswant Singh Rawat of the 4 Garhwal Rifles who singlehandedly took on the Chinese in the 1962 Indo-China war.

Actor Virendra Saxena, Mukesh Tiwari, Alka Ameen, Girish Sehdev, Shishir Sharma, Ishtaq Khan play lead role in 72 Hours. An entourage of local artists was handpicked for smaller roles.

Dehradun’s Satish Sharma who plays the role of an Army Officer in the movie says, “though I play a small role, I feel privileged to be part of this historic movie.  I must add that I admire the fact that Avinash Dhyani put in ten years of research into this topic and has done full justice to it. The movie is well made, and I am sure the youth of India will be inspired by a legend whose untold story is being brought alive on the silver screen thanks to the efforts of Avinash Dhyani.”

With the likes of Pan Singh Tomar and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag to his credit, Avinash Dhyani hopes to recreate the same magic with his latest endeavour, set to hit the silver screen on 18th January 2019.

Beautifying the Mussoorie Mall road

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Tania Saili
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Mussoorie, If you happen to be in Mussoorie any time soon, then a pleasant surprise awaits those who come visiting.

With the Mussoorie Winterline carnival around the corner, the young and able of the hill station are coming together to do their bit for their hometown. One amongst many, is young and dynamic Sudhanshu Rawat, who is trying to get volunteers to put together, not one, but four graffiti walls situated on the Mall road.

Mussoorie born Sudhanshu Rawat and his enthusiastic motley of friends from DIT and UPES Universities in Dehradun are happy to do their bit and add colour to the otherwise dirty, mundane walls lining the heart of the town, giving them a vibrant vibe.

Vijay Rawat and Naina along with other like-minded, talented friends are helping co-ordinate to beautify the town, in time for the winter carnival.

With major monetary constraints, Sudhanshu doesn’t want his project to be a one-off stance, he plans to make this big and states, “future plans are to undertake more projects like this, but without a deadline as artists cant be rushed. Though the theme this time around has been mythical and whimsical, our future projects would be more informative with certain social messages.”

Not to let his friends down, Viplove Goel, Sudhanshu’s acquaintance and a local resident willingly contributed approximately 20 litres of paint of all hues and shades along with accessories like brushes, sandpaper, wire brushes, all free of charge. “They came to me hoping i would help, and I dint want to let them down. Its for our hometown, so why would I not say Yes!’ quips Viplove.

The coming of young energy and minds for such selfless acts of generosity and creativity is a rarity in our day and age. But if this trend were to continue, then the future of good old Mussoorie is definitely in safer hands, what say you?

CS reviews Kedarnath re-construction works

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Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh, Secretary Tourism Dilip Jawalkar and District Magistrate reviewed the ongoing reconstruction works at Kedarnath. On this occasion, Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh instructed the DDMA to construct adequate number of toilets between Gaurikund and Kedarnath temple. He also found the number of labourers inadequate for the safety works at Saraswati river given to Jindal group and found the work slow. He showed his dissatisfaction at the slow pace of work and inadequate labour force and instructed that till next inspection, the work should progress fast maintaining quality.

The Chief Secretary also instructed to construct a shed on the path connecting the replica of the temple built near the western gate of the temple, close to the Mandakini river (Astha Path) to save pilgrims from rain, snow and hail. He further instructed the building of a 60 meter bridge over river Mandakini river to connect Garudchatti, widening of a raised platform (Chabutra).

He insisted on hastening the pace of work of Shankaracharya Samadhi so that it was ready before the end of the Yatra, next year.  He reviewed the progress of houses to be built for ‘Purohits’ and repair of safety works on the river Mandakini by DDMA.

The Chief Secretary also instructed the DDMA to repair five government buildings and handing over of nine houses so  that ‘Teerath Purohits’ could be rehabilitated.

Coming January: Join ‘Where Eagles Dare’

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Tania Saili
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Pic Courtesy: Tilak Soni

Uttarkashi, Once the maddening rush for the Chardham pilgrimage comes to an end. Uttarakashi based, Tilak Soni a man who wears many caps, from being a mountaineer to an adventurist and entrepreneur gets busy. Under the banner ‘Where Eagles Dare,’ pioneers in Winter Adventure and Alternate Tourism, Tilak Soni revs up his Garud, his loyal Royal Enfield and sets out with team members to begin an adventure of a lifetime, appropriately called Snowstorm.

Pic Courtesy: Tilak Soni

Like Tilak puts it, “Riding on mountain roads in the heart of winter when all is covered under a white carpet of snow and ice, is something that only a foolhardy adventurer or a skilled traveler would dare, and that’s where we exceed.”

Come January, and Tilak rides to places where people fear to set foot in. This winter season, from 6th of January, the Badrinath tour group will flag-off from Dehradun and cover a total of 765 kms. The team will comprise of close to 25 members including mechanic, cook and support team.

The ride will take them to the highest shrine of Lord Vishnu in Uttarakhand i.e. Badrinath, then onto the last Indian village of Mana where they shall witness the confluence of Alaknanda and Saraswati at Keshav Prayag, and will culminate in Rishikesh on the 9th of January.

Pic Courtesy: Tilak Soni

The trip will include a complete on-the-job workshop and hands-on training by international trainers, with a booklet on every minor detail pertaining to biking, riding, weather reading, survival-skills that can save lives.

Soni reminiscences, “In 2017 most of my riders skidded on snow and black ice on the very first day but post the ride and training not one skidded on the way back! A great achievement for the riders, ” who at the finish line are handed over a certificate of, ‘Extreme Weather Rider,’ a well-earned feat!

So, if you too are one of those who we like to ‘live the thrill’, then Snowstorm is where you need to head in the heart of winter, coming January.

Mussoorie Winterline Carnival: Keeping it simple

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Tania Saili
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Mussoorie, The Queen of Hillsdecks up yet again to ring in 2019 on a high-note. For 6th year in a row, the five-day annual Mussoorie Winterline Carnival will be celebrated from December 25th to the 30th of the month.

With civic polls just over and budget constraints, the festival will be a mellowed version of its former past as the administration states, but promises not to disappoint those who come visiting.

Bigwigs of Bollywood have been dropped and the highlight will be on local artists and youth. “The idea was to continue the tradition of the carnival which is finally on a roll. Given the limited time span and budget, local administration is working around the constraints and trying to make it a success,” said SDM, Mussoorie Minakshi Patwal

Newly elected Chairman of Mussoorie, Anuj Gupta informed us that there would be no night events this time round, “the entire town will be lit up from Library to Mullingar. Small stages will be erected at famous landmarks of the town where artists will connect with locals and tourists during the day.”

A roaring success in the past, traditional food court on the Mall road will once again titillate your food buds.

While local authorities and organisers are leaving no stone unturned to ring in 2019. Hotels big and small are brushing up their act to welcome a host of tourists to make up for the lean winter months. As Sandeep Sawhney President, Uttarakhand Hotel Owner’s Association puts it, ‘There are lots of programmes lined up for the festive week. All major hotels in town are giving 2-3 day package with special meals along with music, dance and bonfire and the works.”

For those how are still undecided about where to head this New Year Eve, Mussoorie awaits your arrival.

‘The Swings Café’ comes to Dehradun

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Lucky Singh/Tania Saili
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Cafe, Cafe and more cafes. One better than the other, the new ones out-doing the older ones. And in the same league, we have a newer-better-unique concept, flawlessly executed by not one, but two entrepreneurs Abhishek Bhandari and Saurabh Gupta. ‘The Swings Café’  as the name suggests, has swings of all sizes and shapes for their clients to just sit back and chillax.

You could eat, drink, read, laze and just take in the positive vibes that the cafe oozes off. Situated on Rajpur road, the cafe takes you away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. You could pick up a book from the shelves and enjoy a cup of coffee or choose from an array of food items from their elaborate menu.

 

Telling us more about the Cafe, partners Abhishek and Saurabh share with us their journey,  “A lot of thinking went into the concept of the cafe that we wanted to open. These days people look for a comfortable ambience where they can unwind and relax, and we have been able to nail that to the tee.”

The duo met in 2009 and after giving up their multinational careers, started the cafe which was inaugurated on the 30th of November by newly elected Dehradun Mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama. While Abhishek has his ancestral roots in Chamoli, he was brought-up in Haldwani and then Dehradun, just like his partner Saurabh Gupta who despite being from Varanasi calls Dehradun his home-away-from-home.

The Swings Café menu has a whole lot of  food items to choose from such as Salads, Pizzas, Pastas; Rolls; Burgers; Sandwiches; Tandoori Items, Sizzlers, Chinese to name only a few.

The partners tells us, “Within a short span of time, we have got a lot of love and appreciation from our growing number of customers.” To bring in the younger crowd, the cafe also gives a 15% discount to college students from Dehradun colleges such as Graphic Era, UPIS, DIT.

With a sitting capacity of 50-60 people, this could be your next kitty, birthday or celebration venue. And for those who enjoy the outdoors, the cafe has as sit-out balcony which opens up to the lush green mountain range of Mussoorie-Dhanolti.

Next time in Dehradun, do stop by ‘The Swings Café‘ and hang loose.

Many chip in with MAD to clean Rispana

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Dehradun, Valley’s student activist group, Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) convened a massive clean up drive and awareness programme at Deepnagar today.

The drive was carried out as a part of MAD’s campaign to attract both public attention and highlight government’s inaction in the cause of rejuvenating Rispana river. Earlier in the week, MAD had convened a press conference and spoken strongly about the Government’s apathy towards the rejuvenation of Rispana, post the much-hyped plantation drive carried out in July this year.

Over a hundred and fifty volunteers  including NCC volunteers from SGRR, Graphic Era, DBS, DAV were joined by students of Government Girls Inter College, representatives from Lions Club,Agaz Foundation, Shere-e-Bhagat Singh Sansthan, assembled at Rispana bridge early morning.

Volunteers directly entered of what was left of the river. Braving stench of the pollution them embarked upon their mission and continued the cleanliness drive for three hours. Drains from surrounding colonies continued to pollute the river despite MAD’s extensive report to the civic authorities and State Government on these challenges.

MAD plans to continue their earnest attempt and it’s engagement with authorities to ensure that Rispana’s rejuvenation soon turns into a reality.

Dehradun, Valley’s student activist group, Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) convened a massive clean up drive and awareness programme at Deepnagar today at the drive were Utkarsh, Archie, Gayatri, Manzer, Shardul Rana, Abhimanyu, Khushali, Prince, Rajesh, Chetna, Rachna, Sharad among others.

MAD clean-up drive on Sunday

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Dehradun, student activist group, Making a Difference by Being the Difference (MAD) lashed out at the State Government for hollow promises on Rispana rejuvenation.
Highlighting the fact that not an inch has moved to rejuvenate Rispana since July, the students said that senseless pollution of natural resources was unacceptable to them. The group has announced that it plans to start cleaning small stretches of the river on its own. A hundred member clean-up will take place on Sunday in Deepnagar, one of the worst stretches of the river.
For the past seven years, MAD has been campaigning for the rejuvenation of Rispana and Bindal rivers. The activist group was instrumental in getting sanction from the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee which stated that Rispana showed signs of revival in 2014. Following which the Union of India declared the two rivers part of Ganga basin and marked a copy of the same to MAD in 2016.
When the State Government accepted MAD’s petition to work on Rispana rejuvenation and involved them for the planning of the same, the group claimed that they did not know that their efforts would cease post 2018 July plantation. Instead when the High Court asked the State to clear river beds, the State came forward with an anti-environment ordinance. The move has not gone unnoticed by nature lovers.
Pointing out how earlier this year the Chief Minister had publicly remarked that MAD was responsible in bringing Rispana’s renewed future up-close to city residents, MAD members stated though monthly meetings were convened on Rispana’s rejuvenation by senior bureaucrats with all departments in attendance.
Today too MAD wants to take concrete steps such as river cleaning, tapping of drains, recharge of springs, further hydrological inputs, implementation of the NIH Report Amidst.
In late November 2018, when MAD members inspected the plantation which were carried out in July, it was found that areas near Tapobhoomi Ashram were barren.
MAD member Gayatri whose message on Rispana was echoed on Prime Minister’s Mann ki Baat felt that despite the Prime Minister’s appeal the State government had not moved with the right intent to tackle the issue.
MAD now hopes that it’s renewed movement will wake the Government out of its slumber. Members also appealed to Dehradun residents to actively join efforts to rejuvenate Rispana.

Hills of Mussoorie come alive at the Goa Art & Lit Fest

By
Tania Saili
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1

The Queen of Hills Mussoorie, came alive on Friday the 7th of December at the 9th Goa Arts and Literature Fest (GALF), thanks to two of its resident authors, Stephen Alter and Ganesh Saili.

Three-day GALF saw an interesting line-up of authors; poets; artists; publishers descend upon Panaji, Goa, this season.

Mussoorie based writers Stephen Alter and Ganesh Saili spoke on the very first day of the fest and gently took their audience on a walk down memory lane.

The hour-long programme entitled, ‘Mussoorie & The Mountains’, was well attended with an audience that was engaged and attentive. The authors, who call Mussoorie home, shared personal anecdotes and interesting tales with their audience in rapt attention.

According to Saili, his hometown doesn’t stop to amaze him! Mussoorie keeps throwing up stories from the past for the author to put pen to paper. “Perhaps this is one of the reasons why so many authors find the town a treasure trove of stories from the past,” he added.

As for author Stephen Alter, his hometown and its surrounding hills provide the gist for his stories. At present, Stephen is busy penning his next book entitled, ‘Wild Himalayas,’ a book encompassing the natural history of the Himalaya.

Speaking to Newspost over the phone, Author Ganesh Saili said, “GALF was a great festival run entirely by volunteers and it was a pleasure to see so many young folks participating in the Fest.”

And about his interaction with Ganesh Saili, Stephen Alter added, “Always a pleasure to share the stage with Ganesh Saili, who knows the lore and legends of Mussoorie better than anyone.  Enjoyed speaking with him at sea level, though we usually meet at an elevation 2,000 meters closer to the clouds!”

And on that note, we wish the Goa Fest and both the authors grand success.

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