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Aug 2004 Cleanliness drive begins along Amarnath route Baltal
(J and K): Several voluntary groups have begun a cleanliness drive
along the Amarnath Yatra route after the pilgrimage came to an end yesterday.
As many as 229 youths from six different states began the 10-day long
camp in Baltal region, one of the starting points of the pilgrimage.
The one-and-a-half month long pilgrimage had concluded on Monday. The
volunteers will clean the route covered with heaps of plastic and other
non-degradable waste lying enroute the cave shrine. "Earlier the pilgrimage
used to go for one month but this time it was for over a longer period.
And when over 350,000 pilgrims come, it is quite possible that there
will be waste. I also saw polythene bags lying near the lake. The locals
felt that this garbage was making this heavenly place dirty. Now that
Nehru Yuva has undertaken this cleanliness drive programme, I think
it is very nice," said Ghulam Mohammad Mir, Jammu and Kashmir Public
Works Department Minister, said. More than four lakh Hindu pilgrims
had taken the Amarnath Yatra this year. Lahore-Delhi bus terminal lack facilities Lahore:
The new terminal for the Lahore-Delhi bus service is inadequate
as far as meeting the requirements of the passengers is concerned. Quoting
some passengers, The Dawn reported on Monday that seating arrangements
in the bus terminal were not adequate. There was also no parking space.
The relatives who come to see off around 50 passengers of the Delhi-bound
bus have to park their vehicles on a distant road. They complained that
there were no security personnel for ensuring safety at the terminal.
The passengers are required to reach the terminal between 4 and 4:30
a.m. for security checks and other formalities. The bus leaves the terminal
at 6 a.m. More security checks are carried out at the Wagah Border.
The passengers also complained that there was only one washroom at the
rented terminal, which was supposed to be used by both men and women.
The manager of the bus service manager, Iftikhar Satti, also admitted
that at present the facilities were inadequate. "Here we are tenants,
and this makes a great difference," he said referring to the location
of the bus terminal at a rented commercial building on the Empress Road.
Hyderabad hosts travel and tourism fair (Go to Top) Hyderabad:
The 38th Travel and Tourism Fair has begun here. Fourteen states
and three countries (Thailand, Indonesia and Nepal) are participating
in the fair. S.P. Singh, Tourism Secretary of Andhra Pradesh, said he
was hopeful about the fair boosting the tourism industry in the region.
Hidayat Atjeh, the Indonesian representative, said both India and Indonesia
shared similar cultures and the exchange of products is the best way
to improve tourism. "One of the reason, we have come here is to establish
the packages that Indonesian travel agents sells. We offer it to the
travel agents of India. You cannot sell your product if you do not have
the party or the viable product," he said. Saranya Charuvastr from Thailand
said: "We have safari parks of all the animals. We specialise in animal
shows so that would be a source of strength for the Safari world." Manali holyman arrested on charges of raping foreigner (Go to Top) Manali:
The local police have arrested a self- styled holyman on charges
of raping a foreign tourist. Surinder was nabbed from Leh. Schedier
Nadia (34), a French national, said Swami Surinder molested her on the
pretext of teaching her yoga at a guesthouse here. "The team which went
to Leh found this man. He was brought in for interrogation and then
was identified by the victim," said Kushal Sharma, Deputy Superintendent
of Police, Manali. Nadia's friend, an eyewitness in the case, has accused
Surinder of first hypnotising and then raping her. Surinder refuted
the charges of wrongdoing and said except for teaching yoga he had nothing
to do with Nadia. "It was rumoured that I have done something with the
French woman. I have not done anything, I have been teaching 10 more
people and everybody knows that yoga classes are held in the open. This
lady learnt yoga along with her boyfriend. I have not done anything,"
he said. Exotic dancers from Ukraine enthral Goa tourists (Go to Top) Goa:
Ukranian fur dancers are the latest hit in tourist state Goa. More
and more hoteliers in the land of sun, sand and surf organise international
dance troupes to get more tourists. The troupe "Impulse" from Keiv has
been busy showcasing `Latin Explosion', `Cabret Around the World' and
`Classic Collections of Ukraine'. The dances, which brought Ukraine
on the dance map, help their dancers earn hugely when employed by international
fashion and entertainment houses to perform at special occasions. Spectators
say they were enthralled by the performance. "They were very flexible
with their bodies and very nice," said Apoorva Shah, a tourist. Apart
from the breathtaking dancing, the troupe also presents items like the
hula hoop, where a dancer deftly twists inside 25 hoops. Olga, a troupe
member, said they performed different varieties from around the world.
"We have 21 dances from different countries. Spanish Tango, Arabic,
Cha Cha and from latin America and others," she said. Pilgrims depart for final phase of 'Chari Mubarak' pilgrimage (Go to Top) Srinagar:
Hundreds of Hindu pilgrims left for the last stage of their pilgrimage
- "Chari Mubarak" - before setting off on foot to a cave shrine deep
in Kashmir on Wednesday. The pilgrims will carry the mace to the 12,500-feet
high Amarnath shrine. The holy mace will reach the cave shrine on Monday
to coincide with Raksha Bandhan, a festival of bonding between brothers
and sisters. Mahant Deependra Giri, head priest of the cave temple and
also custodian of the holy mace, said the people of Kashmir have always
supported the pilgrimage. "Despite adverse situation in Kashmir, people
out here have supported the yatra. And I am hopeful they would continue
doing this," Giri said. Amritsar-Lahore-Nankana
Sahib Bus from September 1 (Go
to Top) Amritsar: The Rashtriya Raksha Dal (RRD), Punjab, and the Defence Services Officers Association (DSOA), Amritsar, have demanded that the proposed Amritsar-Lahore shuttle bus service be extended to Nankana Sahib on the Sept 1, the day of 400th anniversary of installation of Guru Granth Sahib. Nankana Sahib is the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Jee. On this day, President APJ Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, three former premiers Chandareshekhar, IK Gujral, and AB Vajpayee, besides other dignitaries, are likely to come to Amritsar to offer their prayers. The event would be attended by several lakh devotees, and spiritual leader Dalai Lama will also grace the occasion. RRD president Col. (Retd.) JS Bal said, "we felt that Sept 1 is the most suitable and auspicious day for launching Amritsar- Lahore shuttle bus service with extension to Nankana Sahib. It will go a long way in fulfilling religious sentiments of people believing in teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Jee and in establishing people to people relationships between Indian and well meaning Pakistanis. People from Punjab those who wants to go to Pakistan via bus they have to go perforce to Delhi to board Delhi-Lahore bus for their short journey from Amritsar to Lahore over a distance of 60kms. RRD had been raising its voice regularly against Central Governments' discriminatory action without any favourable results so far." - Aug 24, 2004 Stray cattle a risk to motorists in Goa (Go to Top) Panaji:
Stray cattle are proving to be the worst nightmare of drivers here.
With hundreds of illegal dairies flourishing in the state, local residents
are bearing the brunt of stray cattle on the roads, and many say driving
through a number of localities is nothing short of treacherous. Authorities
said that the only solution to the problem would be to confine stray
cattle to pounds. "My appeal would be to municipality and panchayats
to take urgent steps to impound the cattle and put them in cattle pound
and take appropiate action, because a lot of cattle do have owners.
And their owners are responsible for this. That means they are not stray
cattle but are not under the care and protection of their owners. So,
this should be the primary responsibility of the local bodies and the
cattle owners. But we will be looking into this and using our energies
and manpower to see that these cattle are not sitting on roads," A.V.
Deshpande, SSP, said. Hordes of bovines left loose on roads are not
only causing traffic snarls, but also result in spiralling accident
rates in the idyllic, quiet state. "There are so many cattle on the
roads and it is a nuisance for all of us. It is a big problem for all
of us, especially at night," Rajiv, a commuter, said. "First of all
the roads are very narrow and then there are no signboards...it is a
big problem to have all the cattle and stray dogs on the road," Louis,
another commuter added. 300 pilgrims stranded by landslides in Uttaranchal (Go to Top) Dehradun:
At least 300 pilgrims were left stranded by landslides in Uttaranchal
as they were making their way to the famous shrines at Gangotri, Badrinath,
Yamnotri and Kedarnath. Officials said that heavy landslides at Dabrani
and Nalupani in Uttaranchal had cut off the whole off Gangotri. They
even apprehended the formation of an artificial lake as a result of
instances of rising water levels in the Bhagirathi river due to the
stones and boulders falling in the river. Reports indicate that following
the blocking of the Joshimath- Badrinath highway at Baldara, the pilgrimage
to Badrinath was stopped. Similar was the case at Hasnol and Devaldhar
in Rudraprayag district, which disrupted the pilgrimage to Yamnotri
and Kedarnath shrines, respectively. Personnel from the Border Road
Organisation are reportedly working round the clock to clear the debris
from the highway. The state government has also asked the district administrations
of the respective areas to make contingency plans to deal with the situation.
The Superintendent of Police, Uttarkashi, G S Martolia, said that the
district administration has sounded a red alert in the area keeping
in view the situation in and around Gangotri. |
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