Dehradun diary

Express News Service
Miss Asia runner-up does 12-hour treadmill walkAkanksha Singh, who was third runner up at Miss Asia 2017, performed 12-hour non-stop treadmill walk on Saturday to promote awareness about mental health. Commencing her walk, Singh stepped on the treadmill at 9 in the morning and walked continuously for 12 hours before concluding the challenge at 9 in the evening. Sharing her experience Singh said, “Issues such as anxiety and depression have become way too common over time, especially among youngsters.” Singh is a Mumbai-based professional model, actor and fitness enthusiast. She was born and brought up in her hometown Dehradun. 

Forest fires could accelerate snow meltingWith forest fires raging Uttarakhand, air quality is poised to worsen and more than 900 glaciers are going to be affected, causing faster melting, warn scientists. Kirit Kumar, a scientist from the Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Almora said, “In this season of raging wildfires, black carbon content in the air reaches up to 4.62 cubic micrograms, especially from April to June.  In normal circumstances, the glaciers act as the mirrors reflecting most of the light and heat. This phenomenon is known as ‘albedo’. But when black carbon gets deposited on glaciers, it starts absorbing more light and heat. This fastens the melting of glaciers. However, Kumar pointed out that more research is needed to say anything conclusively on the matter. 

Occupancy in jails beyond 200 per centSeveral jails in Uttarakhand, including the district jail in Dehradun, are housing inmates beyond 200 per cent occupancy even as more than 30 per cent of the posts in the jail department are lying vacant, revealed a report submitted in the Uttarakhand High Court by the government. The report was filed by AP Anshuman, IG (Prisons) during the hearing of a PIL concerning the release of inmates who have been languishing in jails even after serving more than 14 years. The data from the report reveals that district jail of Dehradun, with a  capacity to house 580 inmates, has over 1,400 prisoners. 

Rlys urged to not run spl trains for KumbhThe state government has requested the railways to not run any special trains from April 11 to 14 for Mahakumbh 2021. A highly placed official said, “We have requested the railways to not run any trains for Mahakumbh from April 11 to 14. While the Centre warned that the religious event could become a ‘super spreader’, the incumbent CM has promised to make it ‘Divya Bhavya’. Over 2 crore pilgrims are expected to arrive in the city to take part in the auspicious Royal Bath on April 14. The Centre has urged the state government to implement the SOPs for Mahakumbh strictly.

vineet upadhyayOur correspondent in Dehradun [email protected]