रैणी गांव चमोली जिले की नीती घाटी में स्थित है। चिपको आंदोलन की शुरुआत इसी गांव से हुई थी। गौरा देवी की सखी उखा देवी, पोती जूठी देवी, तुलसी देवी और उमा देवी का कहना है कि आज भी उनमें जंगलों को बचाने की वही पुरानी चाहत और जिम्मेदारी बरकरार है. जंगल उनके जीवन और आजीविका का एक महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा हैं। आने वाली पीढ़ियों के लिए वन संपदा को बचाना जरूरी है।

गौरा देवी के नेतृत्व में महिलाएं पेड़ों से चिपक गईं

26 मार्च 1973 को साइमन एण्ड कमीशन के कार्यकर्ता 2500 पेड़ काटने रैनी गाँव पहुँचे। उसी दिन गांव के पुरुष जमीन के मुआवजे के लिए चमोली तहसील गये थे. मजदूर आरी और कुल्हाड़ी लेकर आगे बढ़े। महिलाएं चिल्लाने लगीं लेकिन मजदूरों ने उनकी बात अनसुनी कर दी और पेड़ काटना शुरू कर दिया। जिस पर गौरा देवी के नेतृत्व में क्षेत्र की महिलाएं पेड़ों से चिपक गईं और कहा कि पेड़ काटने से पहले वे खुद कट जाएंगी। इसके बाद महिलाओं के विरोध ने जन आंदोलन का रूप ले लिया और ठेकेदारों को वापस लौटना पड़ा.

ये भी पढ़ें…डॉक्टर ने की आत्महत्या: बूंद-बूंद बहती रहती है जिंदगी; कार में बोतल लटकाकर भरा इंजेक्शन, वह परिवार की इकलौती बेटी थी।

गौरा देवी के लिए भारत रत्न की मांग उठ रही है

गौरा देवी पर्यावरण एवं सामाजिक विकास समिति के अध्यक्ष सोहन सिंह राणा और संरक्षक पुष्कर सिंह राणा ने गौरा देवी के संघर्ष के लिए मरणोपरांत भारत रत्न देने की मांग की। उन्होंने बताया कि गौरा देवी का रैणी गांव में बन रहा स्मारक भी उचित बजट के अभाव में अटका हुआ है।

Hyderabad: Amid panic buying by consumers, petrol and diesel dealers in Hyderabad on Wednesday blamed the credit standoff with oil companies for fuel shortage at several pumps. Dealers claim that despite assurances from IOCL, HPCL and BPCL about adequate fuel stocks, 40% of the pumps in the city went dry.He alleged that the disruption was not due to fuel shortage but due to financial constraints faced by dealers in making payments to the companies. Panic buying made the situation worse. However, oil companies said that credit facilities were never uniform and were extended selectively based on the dealer’s financial credibility and transaction history. He also indicated that the disruption was temporary and fuel supplies were expected to stabilize by Thursday evening. According to dealers, oil companies had stopped supplying fuel to outlets that were unable to make payment either on the same day or in advance.

“Earlier, dealers were given a credit window of up to two days, but now they have to pay in advance before sending the fuel. Even when we are ready to make advance payments, supplies are not being sent for unknown reasons,” said M Amarender Reddy of Telangana Petroleum Dealers Association. times of India . Telangana Petroleum Tank Truck Owners Association president K Rajasekhara Reddy said that till recently, dealers were allowed credit facility of up to ₹1 crore, but this has been stopped due to supply stoppage for the last two days.

The situation worsened due to frequent bank holidays. “Typically, dealers require Rs 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh to purchase a fuel load. Due to limited access to funds, payments are being delayed, leading to supply shortage,” said Rajeev Amram, joint secretary (south), Consortium of Indian Petroleum Dealers.“Given the financial pressures and high crude sourcing costs, extension of multi-day credit is not feasible. Payments need to be made almost on a daily basis,” said a state coordinator representing oil companies and an HPCL official.“All petroleum terminals and supply points are fully stocked, and fuel supplies continue to operate smoothly. Panic buying has led to an unusual increase in fuel purchases, temporarily impacting availability at some retail outlets,” the three oil companies said in a joint statement.

PC: Griffino Forest District

In north-western Poland lies the Crooked Forest (Krzyża Las), a protected grove of about 400 Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris) that grow in a way that is not in harmony with nature. The trees were planted around 1930, and have a sharp 90-degree turn at the base of each tree, all of which face directly north, with most of them then turning skyward. Local folklore attributes the shape of the trees to ice storms or the passing of World War II tanks, but researchers at the Griffino Forest District and the University of Pennsylvania point to human intervention as the cause of the trees’ curvature and/or design. A leading theory among scientists is that local foresters systematically manipulated the plants to produce wood with ‘natural curves’ for shipbuilding or furniture. This industrial use of the trees was probably abandoned when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939; However, leaving this ‘J-shaped’ mystery behind.

Why has nature been denied for these 400 trees?

According to the Griffino Forest District, natural forces such as wind or soil sliding will cause chaotic and irregular bends in different directions and not all trees will bend in the same direction. The complete uniformity of this northward direction in the 0.3-hectare grove points to deliberate mechanical intervention rather than random environmental factors, meaning that systematic mechanical intervention has occurred throughout the 0.3-hectare grove.According to an analysis by the Center for Russian and East European Studies (REES) at the University of Pennsylvania, the characteristic ‘J’ shape of the trees indicates that they were being pressed down by either man-made stakes or weights over many years while growing horizontally to 1–3 meters tall before turning back towards the sky.

Why was the mystery of the crooked forest lost?

According to the prevailing scientific hypothesis, these trees were created through the use of turned wood techniques for use as part of an industrial system rather than as a result of nature.Before the development of synthetic materials and products, foresters manipulated trees to give them a predetermined curvature as they reached maturity (i.e. size). This ‘bentwood’ wood had extreme structural integrity for the manufacture of ship’s ribs, runners for sleds, barrels and curved furniture such as rocking chairs.A historical spotlight published by the University of Pennsylvania regarding this area of ​​the forest indicates that as a result of the invasion of Poland in 1939, the project was likely abandoned. When the local population of Griffino was displaced or killed during World War II, the specific knowledge and tools used to shape this grove disappeared with them.

Why didn’t nature and war shape the crooked forest?

A popular urban legend states that World War II tanks tore down young saplings during the battle, but the Griffino Forest District indicates that no evidence of traumatic bark marks exists and there is no sign of mechanical damage to the trees, leading one to believe that tanks broke the trunks of the trees. Additionally, the tanks would not have left 400 trees alive and all would fall to the north.As far as the snow theory is concerned, while heavy snow can ‘bend’ young trees, it usually results in a ‘corkscrew’ or chaotic pattern. It cannot account for an entire grove of trees uniformly inclined at 90 degrees from top to bottom, consistent with natural phenomena, and cannot simultaneously account for an entire grove reaching the same developmental milestone (7–10 years) to produce such synchronous curvature.

biology of survival, gravitropism

Scientists study how these Scots pines use gravity. During periods of physical repression, they produced ‘compression wood’ on the bottom of their trunks, reorienting themselves vertically through phototropism after each restraint was removed or decayed.The entire grove is now protected as a natural monument, and the Griffino Forest District has initiated a reforestation program to re-establish a ‘new’ Crooked Forest in an area adjacent to the original Crooked Forest to continue studying this phenomenon.

रुदौली में आयोजित मां कामाख्या धाम महोत्सव में आज का दिन बेहद खास माना जा रहा है. भोजपुरी फिल्म सुपरस्टार दिनेश लाल यादव निरहुआ के आगमन को लेकर पूरे क्षेत्र में जबरदस्त उत्साह है. युवा हो या बुजुर्ग हर वर्ग के लोग इस कार्यक्रम का बेसब्री से इंतजार कर रहे हैं. कार्यक्रम को भव्य बनाने के लिए आयोजकों ने पूरी तैयारी कर ली है. साथ ही भीड़ को देखते हुए सुरक्षा के भी कड़े इंतजाम किये गये हैं. माना जा रहा है कि आज महोत्सव में बड़ी संख्या में लोग शामिल हो सकते हैं.

कार्यक्रम दोपहर से शुरू होगा
महोत्सव ट्रस्ट के अध्यक्ष रविकांत तिवारी ने बताया कि कार्यक्रम दोपहर तीन बजे शुरू होगा। इस दौरान दर्शकों के लिए मनोरंजन के कई खास इंतजाम किए गए हैं, ताकि हर उम्र के लोग इस कार्यक्रम का लुत्फ उठा सकें.

मनोरंजन की शुरुआत कॉमेडी से होगी
कार्यक्रम की शुरुआत सोशल मीडिया इन्फ्लुएंसर विश्वराजन (जतिन शुक्ला) की कॉमेडी परफॉर्मेंस से होगी। वह अपने मजाकिया अंदाज से दर्शकों को हंसाएंगे और माहौल को खुशनुमा बना देंगे.

शाम को निरहुआ मंच संभालेंगे
शाम 5 बजे से 8 बजे तक भोजपुरी सुपरस्टार दिनेश लाल यादव निरहुआ मंच संभालेंगे. वह अपने लोकप्रिय गानों और खास अंदाज से दर्शकों का मनोरंजन करेंगे. उनके कार्यक्रम को लेकर लोगों में काफी उत्साह है और भारी भीड़ जुटने की उम्मीद है.

भीड़ को लेकर सुरक्षा के कड़े इंतजाम
आयोजकों ने बताया कि महोत्सव स्थल पर सभी आवश्यक तैयारियां पूरी कर ली गई हैं. संभावित भीड़ को देखते हुए सुरक्षा के कड़े इंतजाम किये गये हैं. कार्यक्रम को सफल बनाने के लिए प्रशासन और आयोजन समिति मिलकर काम कर रही है.

उत्साह और भक्ति का संगम
कुल मिलाकर आज का दिन त्योहार में भक्ति और मनोरंजन का खास संगम लेकर आया है. आयोजकों ने क्षेत्रवासियों से समय पर पहुंचकर कार्यक्रम का आनंद लेने की अपील की है।

(रिपोर्ट:अनूप कुमार अयोध्या)

Guwahati: While the Congress-led opposition alliance has pledged to oust the Assam Chief Minister and the BJP-led NDA government from power in the state, Himanta Biswa Sarma claimed that the opposition has no agenda and the people of the state are completely with the ruling party except “Bangladeshi infiltrators”. The Assam Chief Minister on Wednesday said they (Congress-led opposition alliance) have no agenda as people have seen what they have provided in the last 60 years. “We have completely transformed Assam. Today, people are seeing a new Assam based on our strong culture and heritage. People are completely with Assam.” BJP,except Bangladeshi infiltrators. No local Indian will vote for the Congress,” Sarma said. He further said, “Who wants to go to Congress? Congress cannot form its government in India, they can form it in Pakistan. Then how can I go to Congress? Congress can never form a government in India. When Congress government is formed, it will be formed in Pakistan or Bangladesh.” On the other hand, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, who leads the opposition alliance, said there is tremendous enthusiasm among the people as they can see that they are getting a historic opportunity to oust the 10-year-old BJP government. Gaurav Gogoi said, “Here the government practices the politics of fear and an opportunity is being provided to be free from it and we stand with the people. The enthusiasm is for change. People are, in a way, imagining a new Assam.” As per the announcement by the Election Commission of India (ECI), voting for all 126 constituencies in Assam will take place on April 9, and counting of votes will take place on May 4. In the 2021 assembly elections, the NDA, comprising the BJP, AGP and United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL), won 75 seats, with the BJP alone winning 60 seats. The Congress and AIUDF had formed a grand alliance with the BPF and communist parties, but the alliance performed poorly with just 16 seats out of 126. In 2021, voting percentage was up to 86.2 percent with over 2.2 crore registered voters.