By Vipul Goel
Nainital, Oct.9 (ANI)

Uttarakhand’’s Herakhan Temple, which is located at the foothills of Mount Kailash and along the banks of River Gautama Ganga, is today a major attraction for devotees.
Tourists visiting India from different parts of the world attend the special Puja performed on the occasion of Dussera here at this famous temple.

This place of worship gained popularity after Herakhan Baba, an ascetic, had it renovated several decades ago. The temple has been named after him.

The temple is situated almost within a cave where Baba is said to have meditated after arriving from the Kailash Mountain. Devotees today remember him as an incarnation Lord Shiva. He passed away in 1984.
Muniraj, the Herakhan temple priest, said: “Presently, people from 30 countries have come here. Because of the devotees from all over the world coming here, this place is also known as Vishwadham (the universal place) also. We all live together, eat together and worship together Navaratri, in particular, is very special.”

Herakhan Baba’’s teachings have been consistent with the essence of all religions propagating message of truth, love and simplicity. He also advocated Karma Yoga ( belief in hard work) for the ultimate enlightenment which mankind seeks.

A special attraction is the convergence of a large number of religious-minded foreigners, who find this place irresistibly overwhelming.

Many of these tourists also perform various Hindu rituals during the Puja at the temple.
Italian Russela is one such ardent devotee. She is regular visitor and has even changed her name to Radha, to establish her identity with Hinduism.

“It’’s been six months when came here to Babaji shrine. I feel very good. I am completely touched by the divine power of BabajiI come here every year. People in my country told me about this place,” said Russela, an Italian tourist

Many of the foreign devotees tonsure their heads with the belief that it will give them a peace of mind. “The feeling to come over this place isit’’s a very special place and I think when I return to my country, I will never forget this place,” said Jayanti, a devotee from Spain.
Almost all the foreigners visiting River Gautama Ganga and Herakhan temple have taken a fancy to this place and proposed to settle down here.

“The foreigners have been visiting this place sine the time Baba was alive here. They have so much faith in Babaji that once anyone visits this place, they don”t want to leave this place. At present 400-500 foreigners are staying here. They come here for worship in Navaratri, Shivaratri, Makar Sankranti and to worship Lord Shiva,” said Savitri, a regular visitor. (ANI)

Dehradun, 9 Oct 2008

In a move to give a major boost to the infrastructure sector in Uttarakhand, the Indian Railways is planning to take trains from Rishikesh to the hilly town of Karanprayag, and also to Kalsi area, bordering Himachal Pradesh from Dehra Dun city.

For this purpose, the department is undertaking fresh surveys, which are in final stages, officials said.

For the 126-km long Rishikesh-Karanprayag route in Garhwal region, 60 to 70 per cent of the survey has already been completed. The total cost of the project is Rs 1,372 crore.

The remaining survey is expected to be completed in two months time. The rail route will be Rishikesh-Devprayag-Srinagar-Karanprayag, along the rivers Ganga and Alaknanda. The department intends to take a broad-gauge line to Karanprayag from Rishikesh.

Top officials described the move by the Railways as a major decision, which will help in boosting the local infrastructure of the hill state, which is plagued by bad road conditions, especially during the monsoon. “This will also give a flip to the tourism in the hills,” the official said.

On the Dehra Dun-Kalsi route, the survey is expected to be completed in one-month time. In this route, the total distance would be 50 km and the cost of the project is being assessed.

Besides this, the Railways will also make arrangements for the double-line track on the Luxor-Haridwar-Dehra Dun route. The department would also construct over-bridges on this route.

News Source: http://www.business-standard.com

Dehradun, 7 Oct 2008

Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri today said ‘limited production’ of the world’s cheapest car will take place in Pantnagar.

The statement coincides with Tatas’ decision to relocate their Rs 1-lakh car, Nano, plant to Gujarat from Singur in West Bengal in the face of stiff political resistance.

“Tata Motors officials have conveyed to the state government that limited production of Nano will be held in Pantnagar despite their decision to take the mother plant to Gujarat,” said state media advisory committee Chairman Devendra Bhasin quoting Khanduri.

When asked to elaborate ‘limited production’, Khanduri said Nano would be produced in limited numbers in Pantnagar, where the company is already manufacturing Ace mini trucks.

Khanduri further said the state government officials were in constant touch with Tata Motors officials as the company had evinced keen interest in setting up Nano plant in Uttarakhand following the Singur episode, “but due to unavailability of required land, the plant could not be shifted here.”

News Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

6 Oct 2008

India’s world famous Jim Corbett National Park reopened for public on Sunday (October 05) after a nearly three-month monsoon break.

However, the park will be initially open only for the day visit and authorities said the night camping would be made available from the usual November 15 only. “The park has been re-opened for visitors and on the first day we took a group of 50 school children for a trip around the park,” said D.S. Rawat, Warden at Jim Corbett.

Locals and tourists thronged the park, one of the major tourist attractions in India’s northern Uttarakhand state, and said they were happy at the park’s opening. For the children visiting the park, the trip was a refreshing experience after the grueling school work. Jim National Corbett Park named after the hunter and naturalist Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment in 1936-is the oldest national park in India.

Having sub-Himalayan belt geographical and ecological characteristics, the Park contains 488 different species of plants and a diverse variety of fauna. “We have come here from very far and it’s a new experience for us. It’s an educational trip and it’s a kind of refreshing experience for us. We saw many different animals here and it’s a very beautiful place,” said Riya, a tourist.

Situated on the foothills of the Himalayas, the Corbett Park is well-known for its tigers, leopards and elephants.

Famous as a tiger reserve with a count of 92 tigers, the park is also home to leopards, jungle cat, fishing cat, Himalayan Palm civet, tuskers, crocodiles and gharials. Thick jungle, the Ramganga river, and plentiful prey make this reserve an ideal habitat for the critically endangered Bengal tiger of India, to secure survival of which is the main objective of Project Tiger, an Indian wildlife protection initiative.

The place is known as the best place in northern India to observe magnificent Asian elephants at a fairly close range.

News Source: http://www.timesnow.tv

Dehradun, 6 Oct 2008

Almost a week after the Union Cabinet granted the Central University status to the Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Uttarakhand Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri has sought a similar status for the Kumaon University.

In a letter to written to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Khanduri thanked him for his extended support to the state.

He said that looking at the regional aspirations of the Kumaon area, a Central varsity status was essential for Kumaon University.

In his letter to the PM, Khanduri said, “Kumaon and Garhwal are the two distinct regions of Uttarakhand. The grant of a Central University status only to the Garhwal University would deprive the Kumaon region of the spin-off benefits that a central university brings for higher education.”

News Source: http://www.indiaedunews.net

Dehradun, 6 Oct 2008

The Naini Saini airport in the hilly Pithoragarh district has hit yet another roadblock, after the Uttarakhand government cancelled the tender process for hiring a private design consultancy firm on technical grounds.

“There were some technical reasons due to which we cancelled the tender process,” said Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Indu Kumar Pande. The government intends to invest Rs 45 crore for the upgradation and modernisation of the Naini Saini airport in the picturesque Pithoragarh for promoting tourism.

Official sources said the government is now likely to handover the upgradation and modernisation work of the airport to its own newly formed company — Uttarakhand Infrastructure Corporation Ltd. A decision in this regard is likely to be taken shortly.

“As of now, it looks like that the government would like to keep private players out of the airport expansion programme,’ said an official source.

The Civil Aviation department had invited tenders from various companies to suggest designing of the Naini Saini airport. After the evaluation process, the government was zeroing on engineer consultant and project manager RITES.

But the Airport Planner and Design, a private company, raised objections over the tender procedure saying it quoted lower rates than RITES and threatened to move the court.

Sensing trouble, the government cancelled the entire tender process. This has also put a question mark on whether private players would be allowed to develop the infrastructure of the airport.

Early this year, the department shortlisted five Expressions of Interest (EIs) for building the infrastructure of Pithoragarh airport despite the objections raised by the Finance ministry. The Finance ministry wanted Nani Saini airport to be developed under the PPP mode.

Setting aside the objections of the Finance ministry, the department asked all the five companies to send their technical and financial bids. But so far, the civil aviation department is yet to take a final decision in this regard.

The government has so far spent Rs 22-24 crore for acquiring 17.8 hectare of land for the Pithoragarh airport, where 85 people were given compensation at the rate of Rs 1200-1300 per nali.

Under the modernisation plan, the airport is being upgraded to facilitate the landing of 70-72 ATR aircraft. The airstrip of the airport would be made 1,650 meter long and 60 meter wide. A separate terminal building will also be constructed.

News Source: http://www.business-standard.com