By OUR STAFF REPORTER
DEHRADUN, 16 Jul: Uttaranchal University celebrated a grand Harela Festival–2020 today with much fanfare and enthusiasm. Faculty of the university assembled at Kotara Santaur village of Sahaspur Block and tree planting activity was held at the venue. The programme, organised under the auspices of the National Service Scheme of the university, witnessed spirited participation by university faculty, particularly women faculty, of the different institutions of the university.
On this occasion, officiating Vice-Chancellor Prof (Dr) Rajesh Bahuguna explained the significance and rationale behind the Harela Festival. “Harela is a unique festival related to nature worship. This festival is part of the diverse traditions and customs of Uttarakhand, which have been instrumental in controlling human behaviour and preservation of the environment,” he observed. He further maintained that as responsible human beings, people must ensure protection and sustenance of the environment by resorting to planting of at least one tree every year.
Those chiefly present on the occasion were Director Dr Abhishek Joshi, Jagdish Joshi, Dr Poonam Rawat, Dr Shreya Goyal, Dr Sonal Sharma, Smriti Uniyal, Ved Prakash, Dr VK Srivastava, Kanik Rajput, Dr Manoj Sharma, Dr Babita, Dr Avadh Pal, Rakesh Semwal, Dr Khaliq Ahmad, Kanchan Anand, Mayurakhi Sonowal and Dr Rachna Sharma.
