News

Bageshwar
Nanda Devi’s prayers: After Almora, people of Bageshwar have now sought forgiveness from Nanda Devi for not being able to carry her sedan this year. This was the 12th year of the Rajjat yatra. “We have sought pardon from the Goddess in a special worship organised at Numaiskhet ground on Saturday. We prayed to the Goddess to bless us so that we could organise the pilgrimage next year,” said Anil Shah, president of the Nanda Devi Rajjat Samiti in Bageshwar district.

Bhawali
Labourer killed in landslide: One labourer was killed and three others were seriously injured when heavy debris of a landslide fell on them while they were working on a road near Bhawali on Saturday. According to sources, the labourers were working on a retaining wall of a road under MNREGA when the debris of a landslide fell on them. The dead labourer, Harish Sahni, is a resident of Sant Kabir Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh while the injured labourers belong to Maharajganj district. “A post-mortem has been conducted on the body. The injured labourers have been referred to a Haldwani hospital,” said Radhe Singh Rana, Patwari of the area.

Haldwani
Kunjwal to visit S. Africa: Speaker of the Uttarakhand Assembly Govind Singh Kunjwal will take part in a conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association to be held in South Africa on September 1. The conference will discuss improvement in the parliamentary democracy system in the Commonwealth countries, besides improvement in ecology and agricultural methods and socio-economic changes. The Speaker will also visit Hong Kong, Singapore, and Mauritius, thereafter.

Kashipur
Turf wickets in stadium sought: Cricketers of Kashipur town have demanded laying of turf wickets in the local stadium, besides a drainage system of international standards. “We have also sent a proposal to the Sports Ministry for buying a roller and automatic grass cutting machine,” said Nirma Pant, Deputy Sports Officer of Kashipur.

Ranibag
30 tins of resin seized: Forest officials have seized 30 tins of resin from a truck being carried from Almora and Nainital. The 30 tins of resin, which were being carried from the Dwarahat region of Almora district, have been seized and the driver arrested. “We stopped the truck for checking on a tip-off that resin was being illegally transported from Almora district in connivance with some turpentine factories of Haldwani. We seized the illegally transported consignment of resin,” said Dr Modular Thakate, DFO.

the tribune

Haldwani

About Haldwani

Haldwani is gateway to Kumaon, a city in Uttarakhand, an important Business Centre, which along with its twin township of Kathgodam forms the Haldwani-Kathgodam municipal board in Nainital District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand.

It is one of the most populous towns in Uttarakhand, and is known as the "Gateway to Kumaon". In Kumaoni, the local dialect, the place is called "Halduvani", after the tree named "Haldu" (Haldina cordifolia), which was found in abundance prior to deforestation for agriculture and settlement.

In 1816, after the British defeated Gorkhas, Gardner was appointed the Commissioner of Kumaon. Later George William Trail took over as Commissioner and renamed Halduvani as Haldwani in 1834. Though British records suggest that the place was established in 1834, as mart for hill people who visited the Bhabhar (Himalayan foothills) region, during the cold season

"The Gateway of Kumaon". It is one of the biggest business center of Uttarakhand, Haldwani (distt. Nainital ) is the last edge of the plains and Kathgodam is the last stop for rail travel.

Ealier, Haldwani was known as Haldu-Vani, the name was derived after the tree name "Haldu".The State Uttarakhand is carved out of Uttar Pradesh on 8th (Midnight 12:15) November 2000. Since then Haldwani (under district Nainital) is one of the major city of Uttarakhand. First Chief Minister was Shri Nityanand Swami in November 2001. Because of the increase in population, Haldwani is spreading through some sub-urban areas like Kusumkhera, Uncha Pul, Bithoria, Damuadhunga, Bhotia Parao, Kathgaria etc. The Gaula river that passes nearby is the major source of drinking water for the area. Haldwani at Ranibagh is Chitrashila Ghat, the venerable Hindu cremation ground.


The area is also notable through university of agriculture and technology called GB Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Sidcul (Pantnagar), and a newely made medical college Sushila Tiwari Memorial Hospital (Uttarakhand Forest Hospital Trust - UFHT). Haldwani is home to the schools which provide an exceptionally high standard of pre-college education, without the elitism and expenses associated with the residential hill schools of Uttarakhand.

Haldwani is a city, which along with its twin township of Kathgodam forms the Haldwani-Kathgodam municipal board in Nainital District.

Haldwani is the second most populous city in Uttarakhand, and is known as the "Gateway of Kumaon". In Kumaoni, the local dialect, the place is called "Halduvani", literally "forest (vana) of Haldu", after the tree named "Haldu", often referred to as "Kadamb" (Haldina cordifolia), which was found in abundance prior to deforestation for agriculture and settlement.

In 1816, after the British defeated Gorkhas, Gardner was appointed the Commissioner of Kumaon. Later George William Trail took over as Commissioner and renamed Halduvani as Haldwani in 1834.Though British records suggest that the place was established in 1834, as a mart for hill people who visited the Bhabhar (Himalayan foothills) region, during the cold season.Mughal historians mention that in 14th century, a local ruler, Gyan Chand of Chand Dynasty, visited Delhi Sultanate and received the regions of Bhabhar- Terai up to the Ganga as a grant from then Sultan. Later, the Mughals tried to take over the hills, but their attempts received set back due to the difficult terrain.

In 1856, Sir Henry Ramsay took over as the Commissioner of Kumaon. During the Indian Rebellion of 1857, it was briefly seized by the rebels of Rohilkhand, soon martial law was declared in the region by Sir Henry Ramsay, and by 1858, the region was cleared of the rebels.[3]

Later, Ramsay connected Nainital with Kathgodam by road in 1882. In 1883-84, the railway track was laid between Bareilly and Kathgodam. The first train arrived at Haldwani from Lucknow on 24 April 1884.Later, the railway line was extended to Kathgodam.

In 1901, with a population of 6,624, Haldwani was the headquarters of the Bhabhar region of Nainital District, in the United Province, and it also used to become the winter headquarters of the officers of the Kumaun Division and of Nainital District.The Arya Samaj Bhavan was built in 1901 and Sanatan Dharm Sabha in 1902. The Tehsil office was opened here in 1899, when it became the tehsil headquarters of the Bhabhar, one of four division of Nainital district and included 4 towns and 511 villages; and had a combined population of 93,445 (1901), spread over 1,279 sq. miles.[5] Though before the formation of Nainital district in 1891, it was part of the Kumaon District, which was later called Almora district.

In 1904, it was consitituted as a 'notified area' and in 1907 Haldwani got the status of town area.

Gora Padao, 4 km south of Haldwani was named after a British camp/post at that location in the mid 1800s, Gora being a slang for the British.

Haldwani-Kathgodam Municipal Council was established on 21 September 1942. Currently it is the second largest Municipal Council in the state of Uttarakhand after Haridwar.

Uttarakhand Open University Launches Executive MBA & BBA, Partners with University18

Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, today announced the launch of multiple Management Degree Programs, in collaboration with Online Education provider University18.

On the 26th of April, 2010, UOU signed an MOU with University18, to launch three Management Programs - a One year Executive MBA for Working Professionals, a General MBA, and a Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA).

To be launched from the academic year 20010-11 in July 2010, these programs will make extensive use of ICT technology to bridge current gaps in Distance Education. To be taught using an Online Virtual Classroom Platform, the technology would let students login to, attend and interact in live classes, from any PC using a broadband Internet connection.

The Virtual Classroom platform is highly scalable, capable of having upto 50 live hosted �virtual classrooms� at one time, with each classroom having upto 250 students attending, giving it the capability of having a total of 12500 students logged in at the same time.

With the increasing spread of internet and broadband connectivity, this will enable students from distant places and smaller towns, to gain access to quality higher education. The facility to conduct the personal contact program classes online would also add to the acceptance and accessibility of such courses by working professionals.

This would be the first of many steps by UOU and University18 towards democratizing quality in Higher Education over Distance Learning.

Present on the occasion of the MOU signing were UOU VC Dr.Vinay Kumar Pathak, Raunak Singh, Director, University18, B.R Pant, Registrar, UOU and Prof K K Pande, UOU.

University18 (http://www.university18.edu.in) is India�s leading mainstream eEducation Provider, and has partnerships with other State University�s and Institutions across the Nation.

Uttarakhand Open University, Haldwani, was established by an Act Of Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly on 31st October 2005 with a view to democratize education, so that it covers large segments of population, vocations and professions. Uttarakhand Open University is the only Open University (www.uou.org.in)

A school in Uttarakhand imparts vocational training to visually challenged children

Haldwani (Uttarakhand), Dec 15: The National Association for Blind (NAB) in Haldwani imparts vocational training and education to the visually challenged children. It is done through the Braille system.

The school also provides vocational training programmes like singing and playing musical instruments.

The teachers spend quality time with the children and study their personalities to tap their talent. They also encourage the students to take part in games to inculcate competitiveness.

General Secretary of the school, Shyam Dhanak, said the school aims at enabling the children to be part of the mainstream of the society.

"We provide basic training to them. We teach them how to perform their day-to-day activities like eating, sleeping, bathing, etc, as these children know nothing before coming here from their homes. We also provide them mobility orientation and personality development programmes," Dhanak added.

Students have also shown exceptional courage to overcome their handicap.

"I learn Braille literature over here and study subjects including English, Hindi and Maths. I didn't know anything before coming here," said Dheeraj, a student.

At present the school is taking care of 17 such children.

Statistics of Uttarkhand State

Statistics State symbols
State animal - Musk Deer
State bird - Monal
State tree - Rhododendron
State flower - Brahma Kamal
Total Geographical area: 51,125 km²
Hill Area: 92.57%
Plain Area: 7.43%
Area Covered By Forest: 63%
Location
Longitude 77° 34' 27" East to 81° 02' 22" E
Latitude 28° 53' 24" North to 31° 27' 50" N
Total Population: 8,479,562 (2001 Census)
Male to Female Ratio: 1000 : 964
Male: % 50.9
Female: % 49.1
Literacy Rate: 72%
Villages: 15620
Cities and Urban Areas: 81
Railway Stations:
Kotdwara, Dehradun, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Haldwani, Lalkuan, Kathgodam, Ramnagar, Roorkee, Tanakpur, Laksar
Airports: Jolly Grant, Pantnagar, Nainisain, Gauchar (Helipad)
Major Peaks: (height in metres above sea level) Nanda Devi (7816), Kamet (7756), Badrinath (7140), Chaukhamba (7138), Trishul (7120), Dunagiri (7066), Panchchuli (6910), Nanda Kot (6861), Gangotri (6614), Gauri Parvat (6590) Major Passes Mana La (5450), Niti La (5070), Lipu Lekh pass (5122), Lumpia Dhura (5650)
Industry
Tourism, Hydroelectric Power, Dairy, Agriculture, Horticulture, Floriculture, Sugar, Manufacturing, and other small scale industries.
Famous Temples in Uttarakhand
Bheem Shankar Mahadev Mandir (Shringar View), KashipurRudreshwar Mahadev Temple near Sanara, Golu Devta Temple, Nanda Devi Mandir, Binsar Mahadev Temple, Bhoomiya Devta Temple, Badri Kedar, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedar Temple near Masi, Bheem Shankar (Moteshwar)Mahadev, (Kashipur), Purnagiri(Tanakpur), Jageswar(Almora), Devidhura temple(barahi mata) Champawat
Festivals
Uttarani, Nanda Devi Mela, Holi, Diwali, Dasara, Kandali, Hilljatra, Bikhoti, Bagwal, Harela, Ghugutee, Khirsu Gwarh (Mela) Events Sardotsav, Basantotsav, Nanda Devi Raj Jat, Chipla Kedar Jaat, Kedarnath Yatra, Badrinath Yatra, Kumbh Mela, Ardh Kumbh Mela, Ramleela, Uttarakhand Mahotsav (Dehradun), Mahashivatri Fair at Rudreshwar Mahadev Temple
Trade Centers
Haldwani, Rudrapur, Roorkee, Tanakpur, Dehradun, Haridwar, Kotdwara, Rishikesh, Kashipur
source: wikipedia.org