Page 107

It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves

By
Tania Saili
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0

These words by Sir Edmund Hillary ring true for our young achiever, whom we feature here. “As a young girl, I used to love trailing my mother into the forest in Salmora fetching fuel and fodder. The feel of fresh air and the solid ground beneath my feet made me feel at peace.” Narrates an excited 22-year-old Sheetal who has just claimed the coveted title of being: Youngest Woman Mountaineer in the World to summit Mount Kanchenjunga.

Her has been a journey of pure grit, determination and hard work from Salmora in Pithoragarh to Mount Kanchenjunga at 8586 mtrs above mean sea level.

An Art Graduate, Sheetal dropped a year in college to pursue her dreams. Her love for mountaineering began at the age of 18 as an NCC cadet at a Basic Mountaineering Course from Darjeeling. Since then the young lady has moved upwards and onwards.

“Actually mountaineering choose me,” she tells me. “Successfully climbing Rudragera peak in Uttarakashi, to Knock Peak in Sikkim, Dev-Tibba in Himanchal Pradesh, to Mount Trishul all in the year 2015, yet I failed to qualify for the Everest Expedition. I was very upset and disheartened but did not give up.”

The following year Sheetal signed up for an advance course in mountaineering from Pehalgaon in Jammu Kashmir and after completion of the course, she signed up as a member of the Indian Mountaineering Federation in Delhi. That she says was her turning point.

Hand picked by the ONGC for the Pre-Kanchenjunga Expedition Sheetal scaled  Satopant Peak at 7075 mtrs. Being the best amongst many, she won the ONGC scholarship for the Kanchejunga Expedition and went through rigorous training in Manali and then in Ladakh in the month of January this year. “We were trained in minus 43 degrees temperature to test us in deep snow conditions, carrying fifteen to twenty kg and walking for ten to twelve hours a day.”

Post training, the All-Women Kanchenjunga Expedition set out with a team of 15 other members on the 4th of April 2018. Inclement weather tried to play spoil sport which left Sheetal disappointed as she felt this would be a repeat of the ‘Everest Expedition,’ she failed to qualify. But that wasn’t meant to be.

20th April, around 7:30 p.m. the weather gods smiled, and with a window of clear weather the team began their climb to the formidable peak, summiting it at 3:30 am on 21st of April.

The proud Deputy Leader of the expedition, Yogesh Garbiyal tells us, “Sheetal was exceptional but we were clueless that this young girl would be creating history. Though I had an inkling that she would be the First Youngest Indian Woman to claim this feat, but to confirm the same, I sent a satellite message from Camp Four to check the status from the Himalayan Data Base and on our return, we all were pleasantly surprised, by her being not the only Indian but the Youngest Woman Mountaineer in the World to scale Mt. Kanchenjunga.”

‘I had no idea that I would be setting a new world record, for me the thrill of being sponsored and making it to the summit was good enough, but this was a blessing in disguise,” an elated Sheetal shares with us.

At present the young lady is busy searching for Sponsors for her Everest Expedition, and the way this girl is motivated and determined, am sure she wont disappoint anyone.

Mussoorie loses one of its own

By
Tania Saili
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2

Tributes poured in at the passing away of the Head of Nirankari Mission Mata Savinder Hardev. The end came at home at 5:05 pm this evening in Sant Nirankari Satsang Bhawan, Sant Nirankari Colony, in New Delhi.

A guiding light to many, the graceful Mataji as she was fondly called by those who knew her, even as she had relinquished her responsibilities, on 18th July, to her youngest daughter Sudiksha. She will henceforth be called Satguru Mata Sudiksha Savinder Hardev.

The passing away of Savinder Hardev has sent a wave of sorrow not only among the Nirankari Mission but those who knew her for her kindness. Mata Savinder had a close connect to Mussoorie, having been an alumnus of Waverley, Convent of Jesus and Mary School Mussoorie. She took the reigns of the Nirankari Mission on the tragic passing away of her husband, Nirankari Baba Hardev in a car accident in the United States two years ago in 2016.

Her love for Mussoorie knew no bounds. Her gift to the hill station was when she lent the strength of the Nirankari presence here in turning simple village boys into traffic managers in summer months; the numerous cleanliness drives and helping the all and sundry. Of course lesser known are her generous donations to the marginalised Hindi medium School. The Nirankari ambulance and hearse, that are oftener than not taken for granted now, were her contribution to the hills of home.

Hailing from Farooqabad in Uttar Pradesh she was married Hardev Singh in 1975. And ever since was seen accompanying her husband to every congregation home and abroad sitting on his right side, getting an equal love and respect from their followers.

Mata Ji’s body has been placed for Antim Darshan by devotees in Samagam Ground No.8 from 10.00 p.m. this evening and will continue day and night for followers to come and pay their respects to the dearly departed.

On Wednesday i.e. August 8th, 2018 the final farewell will be at the Nigam Bodh Ghat CNG Crematorium at 12.00 Noon. An era has passed. Mussoorie shall miss her gentle presence always.

Indian Political Action Committee I-PAC comes to Uttarakhand

By
Tania Saili
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0

Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) a platform of choice for students and young professionals to participate and make meaningful contribution to political affairs and governance of the country, without necessarily being part of any political party, has come to garner support from like-minded people of the hill-state of Uttarakhand as well.

Within a month of its launch, the National Agenda Forum (NAF) has garnered huge support from across the country. To date 28,901 youth associates, 142 distinguished personalities and 206 civil society organizations have joined the ever-growing NAF ecosystem, as it is popularly called.

Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) recently launched the National Agenda Forum (NAF) as a tribute to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary year on 29th June 2018. NAF is a pan-India initiative to resurrect, re-imagine the country’s priorities around Gandhiji’s 18-point Constructive Programme with the vision of contemporary India in mind.

I-PAC works with visionary leaders who assist in setting up a citizen-centric agenda and partners with them to conceptualize & implement the most effective methods of taking it to the public and gathering mass support.

The National Agenda Forum has already managed to garner support from a diverse group of people which includes; Gandhians, Recipients of civilian honors, Eminent public servants; Sports personalities; Entertainment personalities and many more.

Presently – 28,901 youth associates from 4,219 colleges, 142 distinguished personalities from 6 countries and 20 states, and 206 civil society organizations spread across 346 districts have joined the NAF ecosystem.

Over the next couple of weeks, I-PAC plans to reach out to students in 750 colleges and 320 civil society organizations across 21 states, during our field visits.

To be a part of this unique initiative, aware citizens can become a part of NAF by logging on to:

http://www.indianpac.com/naf/

To vote on the agenda and the leader from the list, click on the given link:

https://res.cloudinary.com/indianpac/image/upload/v1532624966/naf/support_for_naf.pdf

CS for completion of project in Champawat & Pithoragarh

By
newspost
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0

The development schemes of the border districts of Champawat and Pithoragarh which touches Nepal should be completed in a given time frame. No slackness would be tolerated in these top priority schemes. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh was reviewing the progress of these projects through video conferencing. Chief Secretary instructed the Forest department to give permission of RVM clearance by tomorrow.

It was informed that for the 1.3 kilometer long road to be built from Tanakpur barrage to Nepal on the banks of Sharda river in the Indian territory, 30 thousand cubic meter ( earth and RBM) material was required by the PWD, PIU, Tanakpur. The permission for 20 thousand cubic meter of material extracted during the building of All Weather road has been granted. The permission to get remaining 11 thousand cubic meter material from Batangad ( Tanakpur) has been sought from the administration.  Chief Secretary Instructed to speed up the work on the 1.3 kilometer long Tanakpur to Brahmadev ( Nepal) connecting road  and the 1.2 kilometer long road from Tanakpur Barrage to Nepal and the canals and roads.

The District Magistrate informed that work on the project worth Rs.807 lakh has started by the working agency PIU, Thuligad, after sanctioning of the forest land and completion of the tender process.  The project is slated to be completed by October 2018 and is being financed by NHPC, Banbassa.

 The District Magistrate informed that the proposal of the 400 meter long bridge on Kali river connecting Khaldunga to Sirsa (Nepal) from Tanakpur to Jauljibi road  to be built at an estimated cost of Rs. 1145.40 lakh has been sent to the state government. For selecting the place of the bridge, the Indian engineers along with their Nepali counterparts have selected the site after joint inspection on May 29. After the joint inspection, the estimates were sent to the government. The Chief Secretary asked the Forest Secretary to sent the letter to the government of India to allocate the money.

The NHPC has applied to the Mechanical Mines to construct the 1.2 kilometer long canal from Tanakpur Barrage to Nepal to be built at a cost of Rs.75 crore. The District Magistrate informed that the working agency require 12 hectares of land for canal construction for which compensatory land has been selected at Champawat. The project has to be completed in 18 months for which tender process is going on and the NHPC has deposited the money for compensatory afforestation as required under the Forest Conservation Act.

Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta to wed in Triyuginarayan?

By
Tania Saili
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0

Shloka Mehta, daughter of diamond merchant Russel Mehta and Mukesh Ambani’s older son, Akash Ambani’s much talked about high profile wedding in the offing,  has been making headlines all over India, but more in the hill-state. It is rumoured that the numero- uno couple might tie the knot in Uttarakhand’s lesser-known destination of Triyuginarayan, in Rudraprayag District.

If only stones could tell tales, you would find that the temple, a smaller replica of the shrine at Kedarnath, is where Vishnu, is said to have witnessed the divine wedding of Shiv and Parvati. Since times immemorial, the hill-state of Uttarakhand has been like a lodestone attracting spiritual tourists from all over the world. Triyuginarayan, off the beaten pilgrim track, is all set to change into a wedding destination. Of recent actor, actresses, sportspersons and other celebrities have chosen its pristine precincts to tie the knot. The temple is also known as Akhand Dhuni temple, with the courtyard being the source of a water stream, which fills four sacred bathing ponds nearby. It is here that the celestial fires have kept burning ever since the gods chose the spot to get married. Pilgrims to the temple add an offering of wood to the never-dying flames, which have been afire since the beginning of Time.

Tourism Secretary, Dilip Jawalkar, talking to Newspost said, “high-profile marriages in Triyuginarayan means a lot owing to the all-out efforts of the State Administration to bring such off beat places onto the tourism map. The State government has been working relentlessly in promoting off the beaten track destinations as well.“

The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand declared Triyuginarayan Temple as a ‘Wedding Destination’ on the 19th of March this year, little did they know then, hat the country’s most high-profile wedding could be held in its auspicious ground, giving their efforts the much required impetus.

Bhawanipur football club to host trials in Doon on 9-10 Aug

By
newspost
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0
Dehradun; Kolkata’s leading football club, Bhawanipur FC, will be hosting U-18 trials in Dehradun coming 9-10th of August, after a gap of close to four decades,  a football club from India’s Soccer Capital will be coming to the valley for sifting new talent, is a pat on the back for many who have been promoting the game in Dehradun.
The Bhawanipur Football Club is keen on selecting talent for its U-19 team from the hill-state which will then go on to participate in the I-League (Under 19) this season. An established name in Kolkata football, Bhawanipur has joined hands with Dehradun based Garhwal Sporting for the trials for which  footballers born on and after 1-1-2000 are eligible to participate for the trials that will be conducted at the Pavilion Ground, Dehradun.
Raju Gosain, senior journalist and an expert in football tells us, “this is pure nostalgia. Upto the 60’s and 70’s Dehradun was a hunting ground for football clubs from all over India to pick up young talent from the State, but then there was a sudden dip in quality and sportsmen who played the sport of football. After a gap of three to four decades a reputed club is coming all the way from Kolkotta to Dehradun to sift through the talent again, says a lot about the return of the sport to the valley.“
Bhawanipur FC talent spotter and coach Aditya Chatterjee will be visiting Uttarakhand in a move to select talented footballers. Recently Chandigarh Football Academy, Minerva football club (Chandigarh) and IMG Reliance were in Dehradun for a similar talent hunt as well.
Established in 1910, the Bhawanipur FC is keen on giving an impressive performance in the I-League U-19 this time. For this the club is going in travelling to every nook and corner of the country to select members for its prestigious.

Women to Uttarakhand’s rescue once again

By
Lucky Singh/Tania Saili
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0

To say that women are the backbone of Uttarakhand is to state the obvious. Though the truth is that women in the hills have led every revolution that has happened here. Perhaps one could begin with Gaura Devi who began the hugging of trees that gave birth to the Chipko Movement. Then they took on the liquor mafia and finally they threw their weight behind struggle for the creation of a separate State. Once they have made up their minds, they are like the submontane rivers of the hills – nothing will stop them.

Take for instance the post-Kedarnath rehabilitation. It would have been incomplete if it did not have women power backing it up. Of recent, the excessive rainfall has wreaked havoc: landslips, landslides, mudslides and roadblocks. While most of us sit back safe and sound in our homes, there are others who stand up to the many challenges born to those who work at over 11000 feet above mean sea level.  This time around, thirteen dauntless women have taken up the cudgels to literally move heaven and earth with earth-moving machines. You will find them handling JCBs, Poklands and Hydra to keep the road open for tourists, pilgrims and locals alike.

A typical day in their lives begins at 8:30 in the morning as they ready to handle the behemoths of the modern age. They can and will give the best that they can through the day, come thunder, lightning or rain. Taking to Newspost, Media Manager for NIM Nayab Subedar Manoj Semwal briefs us, “While Youth Foundation is training a lot of the girls to qualify in the Army, some of them have been taken aboard for Kedarnath rehabilitation as well.” Manoj happily adds. “When Colonel Kotiyal put forward the proposal for women to help in the rehabilitation of the region, the girls were happy to volunteer. Keeping the inclement weather in mind, we short-listed thirteen able girls. For the past four years now, NIM and Youth Foundation has been working in the reconstruction of Kedarnath for which men and women are working as one to make it all happen.”

Selected thirteen women candidates work on various jobs like stone cutting, wire-lacing etc. Out of the thirteen, three or four have completed their basic training from National Institute of Mountaineering, and recently their training was put to test when a temporary ropeway built on the Mandakini river which was first used by the girls on a trial basis.

The thirteen women team is as under:

  • Vineeta Panwar: Stone cutting machine
  • Mumta Rawat : Mechanical Section
  • Ganga: Hydra Operator
  • Neema Negi: JCB Operator
  • Gunjan Rawat: Mechanical Section
  • Kanchan Gaur: Mechanical Section
  • Vandana: Electrician
  • Vandana Rana: Quarter Master
  • Amrita Rana: Office co-ordinator
  • Puja Tindudi, Kiran, Shalini, Rachna Nautiyal Wire Mesh, Lacing and Painting

Talking to Newspost, one of the thirteen girls Vineeta says,”I learnt stone cutting in just two days. Though it’s cold up here, yet this doesn’t hamper our work. We work from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00p.m and enjoy what we do.”

Kudos to women-power from team Newspost.

Click to see the video:

CS for clearing pending cases of forest rights

By
newspost
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0

Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh chaired a meeting of State Surveillance Committee held at Secretariat. The Chief Secretary instructed to clear the pending cases within two years in the meeting of recognition of forest rights. He said that the meeting should be held regularly as per the schedule.

It was informed in the meeting that a total of 6594  claims of forest rights have been disposed off and 79 cases of claims are pending. The pending claims are from Pauri Garhwal, Haridwar and Pithoragarh. As per the Forest Rights Act, those belonging to Scheduled Tribes and Tribals who are in possession of the forest land prior to December 13, 2005 are entitled to forest rights.

Other forest dwellers, before December 13, 2005 should have been in possession of forest land for three generations ( 75 years) to claim forest rights. After getting the forest rights, they get the personal right to do agriculture and community rights of collecting small forest produce.

Secretary Rural Development Dr. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, secretary Revenue Vinod Prasad Raturi, Additional Secretary Social Welfare  B.R.Tamta and other officers were present in the meeting.

Abhinay Bisht: Latest Punjabi song in the offing

By
Tania Saili
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0

Born and brought up in Uttarakashi, Abhinay Bisht is not new to the world of music. Following close on the heels of Jubin Nautiyal from Uttarkashi, this young talented lad has already made a mark with his previous songs being well-received by his growing number of fans.

A student of Mass Communication from Srinagar Garhwal, Abhinay was bitten by the music bug at an early age, and has been putting forward his talent on social media with original and cover songs on his Facebook Page for the past three years and counting.

His first song Kho jata hu mai an original composition in Hindi was followed by Deewana hu tera again an Hindi original composition and then his cover song Tum hi ho got Abhinay an instant fan following. Abhinay’s maiden Garhwali cover song ‘Tu dikhyandi jani junyali‘ which was well received too, encouraged the self-trained singer/composer to dream big.

For the past few months, Abhinay has been working hard to put together a soulful song for his friends and fans. Fondly called AB by those who know him well, tells us that his new punjabi song, “KITTIYAN,” is a 3 minute 24 second punjabi song composed by famous Bollywood Music Director Manan Bhardwaj, presented by White Coffee Records, Namyoho studio. The song is very close to my heart and am sure this slow number will break old records and set new ones.“

The latest poster of the song which was shared by the singer this Sunday, featuring AB has been well-received by his fans, and the video is all set to be launched in the month of August.

A few weeks from now, Abhinay and his fans eagerly await the success of ‘Kittiyan‘ a song which AB hopes will bring him more closer to realising his dream of making it to the music industry of Bollywood.

Priyanka Nautiyal: A leading woman entrepreneur

By
Lucky Singh/Tania Saili
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0

Rewind. A year ago, Priyanka Nautiyal is a successful microbiologist working in Quality Check Department in a well-paid job in Dehradun’s multinational company. Fast Forward to present, Priyanka is a leading woman entrepreneur bringing smiles on the faces of women folks living in the interiors of Garhwal.

With over six hundred mushroom and vegetable plantation training camps ticked against her name, Priyanka has painstakingly transformed the lives of over women who now earn anywhere between 10,000/- to 12,000/- monthly.

Born and brought up in Rudraprayag District Priyanka did her initial education from Okhimath Vidya Mandir School. She moved to the State Capital for her further studies and did her Bio-tech from Graphic Era University which landed her with a lucrative job within months.

“I always wanted to return to my roots and do something for the people that I grew up with,” and that thought made young Priyanka give up her promising job and return to the hills. Talking about her journey, she tells us, “It was an uphill task trying to motivate women folk. There was no awareness, setting-up a small mushroom unit wasnt easy, but now everything is on a roll.”  Within a month of setting up her unit in Rudraprayag, Priyanka had a bumper crop of ninety kilos of mushroom produce which sold like hot-cakes within a short span.

Priyanka believes that Mushroom is an ideal crop to grow in the hills as,  “women in the hills cant take off enough time from their daily chores for farming, so keeping that in mind, I knew mushroom would be easier to grow and the cash crop would bring instant returns with low investment, so the response to grow mushrooms was very positive.”

With a core team of fifteen to twenty members, Priyanka has held training camps in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Tehri districts. Today she is planning on setting up a lab for quality mushroom spawn as she feels that this is one major drawback i.e. the lack of quality mushroom spawn. Her previous job experience  as a QC microbiologist will definitely come handy in making sure that there is no compromise when it comes to quality.

With dreams in the eyes and determination to make a difference in the lives of those who matter, there is no stopping this young woman who has set her goals high.

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