Lots of Enthusiasm seen in Uttarakhand Civic Body Polls

About 70 per cent voters exercised their franchise in Uttarakhand civic body elections which were held peacefully today.

Till the conclusion of polling at 5 pm, 70 per cent people had cast their votes, State Election Commissioner Harish Chandra Joshi said.

No untoward incident was reported from anywhere, he said.

Large queues of voters were witnessed outside polling booths throughout the state including Dehradun, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Almora and Uttarkashi in the polls which will decide the fate of 3,7523 candidates, he said.

Polling has been held to six municipal corporations in Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee, Haldwani, Kashipur and Udham Singh Nagar besides 28 municipal boards and 38 nagar panchayats throughout the state.

Narendra Modi inaugurates Baba Ramdev's Acharyakulam School in Haridwar

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated Yoga guru Baba Ramdev's Acharyakulam School in Haridwar in presence of influential spiritual leaders like Morari Bapu and Rameshji Oza.

A school based on Vedic-cum-modern education, Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust’s Acharyakulam Shikshan Sansthanam is affiliated to CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education). It will offer education to students from grades 5th to 12th.

DehraDun born Vir Das stars in film Santa Banta

Born in Dehradun and raised in Africa, Vir’s father is a farmer, mother a wildlife enthusiast and sister was a documentary maker. Finding Nigeria unsafe to live in, Vir went to the US, where he started pursuing a degree in economics from Knox College, Illinois.

With Delhi residents warming up to Vir’s jokes, his India return in 2003 earned him name. But, it was clearly his debut in 2011 Hindi film Delhi Belly that brought him a horde of work and a lot more fame.

Coca Cola invests immensely in bottling plant in Dehradun, to hire 750 - 1000 employees

Giving a 'boost' to industrial growth in Uttarakhand, beverages giant Coca Cola has decided to investment Rs. 600 crore in a bottling plant in Dehradun district. Under the agreement, the  state will provide 60 acres land to the bottling plant. Coca Cola, on the other hand, will phase wise invest Rs. 600 crores in the project. The plant will come up in Vikasnagar, 25kms from the state capital.

Flights Schedule for the new route DehraDun - Lucknow

Air India will flag off its first flight between Dehradun and Lucknow from Dehradun's Jollygrant Airport on May 2.

This will be the first flight between Dehradun and Lucknow after Uttarakhand was created on November 9, 2000. The flight will be available four days in a week on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. He said a 70 to 90-seater flight will leave at 12.50 pm from Dehradun and reach Lucknow at 1.35 pm. It will leave Lucknow at 2.05 pm and reach Dehradun at 2.50 pm.

Kudos! After IIT in Uttarakhand, now its turn for IIM Campus in our own Uttarakhand!

Land has been identified for the Dehradun campus of IIM, Kashipur.

Lauding the progress made by IIM, Kashipur, the Chief Minister said its campus in Dehradun would make it easier for working people in the city and adjoining areas to get a degree in MBA.

Bahuguna also gave his approval for construction of an auditorium and a hostel at IIM, Kashipur, saying a plan of action had been prepared to develop institutions of higher and technical education in the state.

He directed the Principal Secretary (Power) to provide a power feeder to IIM, Kashipur.

Bahuguna assured IIM authorities that he would write to the Railway Minister requesting him to launch a Jan Shatabdi express on Delhi-Moradabad-Ramnagar-Kashipur route for better connectivity.

Nanda Devi Raj Jaat Yatra to be telecast live on television

Devotees across the country and abroad can watch the famous Nanda Devi Raj Jaat Yatra live on television, as the Uttarakhand government has given the direct telecast rights for the pilgrimage to Indian Space Research Organisation.

The 19-day long Yatra scheduled to be held in August this year for the first time after the creation of Uttarakhand, will be telecast live by ISRO.

The yatra, a 19-day-long trek through some of the most tough terrains of the hill state, is being held for the first time after Uttarakhand became a separate state in November 2000 after the bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh.

Covering a distance of 280 km, the yatra symbolises the departure of Nanda Devi, an incarnation of Goddess Parvati, to her in-law’s place or the abode of Lord Shiva who is believed to be residing in the Himalayas.

The pilgrimage begins, led by a four-horned ram (male sheep), from Nauti village near Karnaprayag in Chamoli district at an altitude of 1,500 metres and concludes on the 19th day at Hemkund located at a height of 4,950 metres.

DehraDun: Anna Hazare's Jantantra Yatra is headed to our city, soon!

Social activist Anna Hazare will arrive here on April 16 in the first phase of his Jantantra Yatra "to awaken people" against corruption and misrule. The anti-corruption activist will address a public meeting both in Roorkee and Dehradun on April 16 and issue an appeal to people to cleanse the political system of its ills.

After launching the Jantantra Morcha in Patna last month, Hazare kicked off his Jantantra Yatra (march for democracy) from the martyrs' memorial at Amritsar's Jallianwala Bagh on March 31.

Connectivity between Gurgaon and DehraDun to improve with luxury Wi-Fi buses

With lot of people from DehraDun working in NCR, especially Gurgaon, a good news!

The construction of a state-of-the-art bus depot in Sector 29 is on in full swing and the facility is expected to be functional by August this year.

The new facility which is being constructed near the Huda City Centre Metro station will be the first bus terminal in New Gurgaon.

The new luxury buses, which will ferry passengers from Gurgaon to Chandigarh, Jaipur, Dehradun, Agra, and Haridwar, will be equipped with Wi-Fi internet connectivity and CCTV cameras.

"Zone by the Park" Hotel in Dehra Dun

Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, which runs boutique hotel chain Park Hotels in the country, has launched a new brand, ‘Zone by the Park’.

The group will launch four hotels under the new brand, with the first one expected to open at Raipur by the end of this year. Other three locations that have been identified for the brand include Coimbatore, Dehradun and New Delhi. It will largely be run through management contracts with developers

Vijay Dewan, Managing Director of the hotel chain, added, “After much deliberation, we closed on the brand ‘Zone by The Park’. Zone will cater to the gap in the Indian hotel market for the burgeoning Indian middle class and international traveller looking for budget travel. The hotels will be priced around the $80-100 (daily tariff) mark.”

Rishikesh gaining popularity in bollywood for film shoots

Another Karan Johar film - "Shuddhi" is going to be based majorly in Rishikesh. And in all probability, Hrithik might also also be headed to the spiritual destination.

When contacted, producer Karan Johar confirms that Rishikesh has an important role to play in the film. He says, “Ekta has been working on the script relentlessly for the past year. And both (Ekta and Karan) have researched it extensively and made several research-based trips to Rishikesh. That’s one of the prominent locations for Shuddhi.”

The film, in all likelihood, will hit the floors around November once Hrithik is through with the release of his father Rakesh Roshan’s superhero flick, Krrish 3 that releases during Diwali.

The famous Jhanda fair begins in Dehradun

Lakhs of devotees thronged the Jhandeji Gurdwara in Dehradun to witness the beginning of Doon's historic Jhanda fair.

The one month long event, which started after unfurling of Sikh flag on a 92 feet pole here, is organised by Sikhs annually to celebrate the arrival of Guru Ram Das in the Doon valley in 16th century.

Round the clock community kitchens and a colourful fair with kiosks selling bangles and other ornaments are part of the event attended by about three lakh Sikh devotees from Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab and Haryana.