Dehradun, November 1
Three inmates of Nari Niketan at Kedarpuram, Tamanna, Savitri and Pushpa, escaped from the premises early this morning. A case was also registered by Bal Vinita Ashram against 11-year-old Nandita, who has been missing from the premises for the past few days.

It was early in the morning that the guard of Nari Niketan found the back door of the bathroom open and a washing machine pushed close to the wall. When he checked inside, he found three girls missing. A dupatta was found hanging on the other side of the wall.

Tamanna, 19, belonged to Bangladesh. She had come from Bangladesh to stay with her maternal aunt in Delhi but her aunt sold her to a middle-aged man. Tamanna slipped away from his clutches and was found by the CBI. She was then handed over to Nari Niketan in September last year.

Warden Tripta Rani said Tamanna was desperate to go out of the Nari Niketan premises. On knowing about her mother’s illness, she became more restless. She had also threatened Rani of committing suicide if she was not allowed to leave soon.

Savitri, 20, a married woman from Kirti Nagar, Tehri Garhwal, came to Nari Niketan last month. She was not happy with her handicapped husband and left home. She was found strolling alone in the city. When the police asked her about her house, she said she did not want to go back. She was then sent to Nari Niketan. Yesterday, she met the warden and expressed her willingness to go back to her home.

Pushpa, 20, resident of Haridwar, ran away from her house when her brother did not approve of her relationship with other boy whom she wanted to get married. Her brother had begun preparations to get her married somewhere else.

The warden said the inmates were insisting on going back home and one inmate wrote a letter to the City Magistrate in this regard.

The warden has lodged a complaint with the Nehru Colony police station in the matter. Station Officer DS Rawat suspected connivance of employees inside the premises in helping the girls in fleeing.

The wall of the premises is so high that it cannot be climbed and crossed over.

The warden said it was the fault of the guard and caretaker who were deputed for security purposes. She said, “We do not have police personnel for the security of the premises. We have only an old guard and a caretaker for the security purpose. It seemed that the girls might have taken out key from the pillow of the caretaker when she was either sleeping or went out of the room. I have written to the District Magistrate in this regard and strict action will be taken against the guard and the caretaker.”

Dehradun, November 1
A delegation of the Uttarakhand Rajya Andolankari Manch called on Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna in the Secretariat here today and submitted a charter of demands to him.

Chief Minister Bahuguna said the officers concerned had been directed to ensure the implementation of a Government Order issued for the welfare of statehood agitationists. He said the state government could not be a party to the Muzaffarnagar episode owing to legal reasons but could provide legal assistance to advocates.

Bahuguna said with the available limited financial resources, the state government was trying for overall development of the state.

With the intention of development in the hilly areas, a Cabinet meeting would be organised at Gairsain in Chamoli district on November 3.

He said the Cabinet meeting at Gairsain should not be given political colour. He announced that decisions pertaining to the development of the hill areas would be taken in the proposed Cabinet meeting.

Office-bearers of the Uttarakhand Rajya Andolankari Manch apprised Chief Minister Bahuguna of various problems relating to the statehood agitationists.

They hoped that the state government would take appropriate action to resolve their demands.

The delegation included Ranjit Singh Verma, Ravindra Jugran, Jagmohan Singh Negi and Pradeep Kukreti among others.

Dehradun November 1
The Nehru Colony police today arrested four accused, Ghanshyam, Neelu, Govind Singh Thapa and Pradeep Raturi, all local boys of early 20s with 12 two-wheelers. Out of these, five two-wheelers belong to Dehradun and rest from other cities of the state.

Two of the accused, Ghanshyam and Neelu, were arrested earlier also for stealing bikes.

The police is tracing the criminal records of Govind and Pradeep. Govind worked as middleman in the Regional Transport Office.

A team of the Anti-Burglary Cell swung into action on getting information about four boys standing near Himalyan Institute of Technology to sell two stolen motorbikes in the morning today. While taking all precautions, the police arrested these boys from the spot.

Later after getting further information from the accused, the police recovered the remaining bikes from a jungle area near Apar Badrish Colony.

The accused told the police that they would steal the bikes to spend money on luxuries.

Senior Superintendent of Police Neeru Garg said the accused would open the lock of the parked vehicle with a master key.

Later, they would change the number plate and prepare fake documents pertaining to the bikes and sell them to the buyers. 

Dehradun, November 1
The Civil Services Institute will start functioning from January. The first phase of construction works are complete and furnishing work will be completed within two months. This was informed at a meeting held in this connection chaired by Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain at the Secretariat here today.

The officers discussed the bylaws of the CSI with the Chief Secretary. The discussions were also held regarding membership of the CSI, annual fee, governing body and the president of the executive committee, monthly expenditure on house keeping, catering staff, commercial and other utilities of the institute that will have a library, reception, dinning hall, kitchen, lounge, gymnasium and lawn.

The second phase of construction work will be completed by March. The institute building, which covers the area of nine acre at Mussoorie Road, will bear touch of hill architecture.

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Industry, Rakesh Sharma, Principal Secretary, Agriculture, Omprakash, Secretary, Urban Development, Umakant Panwar, Additional Secretaries RK Sudhanshu, Ajay Pradhyot, Amit Nagi and MC Joshi among others.

Mussoorie, November 1
The Writers’ Festival based on the theme of mountains and titled “Experience the Himalaya: A Mountain Festival” opened at the media centre at Woodstock School today. Rekha Bhardwaj mesmerised the audience through her melodious voice at the concert.

Rekha, wife of ace music composer-film director Vishal, sang several Sufi songs “Tere Ishq Mein”, “Ranjha-Ranjha…”, and “Palkein Kholo Jara” and “Dalring Darling” from “Sat Khoon Maaf”. She also sang a new number composed and recorded at their studio in Mussoorie.

The audience swayed on the Bollywood numbers sung by Rekha from the film “Isqhiya” such as “Ab Mujhe Koi Intezaar Kahan”. She also sang the hit number “Namak Ishq Ka” from film “Omkara” and Aditya Chopra’s film “Laga Chunri mein Daag”, “Genda Phool” etc. The famous writer and film director Gulzar, who was also present on the occasion, praised Rekha for her superb performance.

Rekha while addressing the audience said for her music was like a prayer and she felt nervous while singing in front of her husband Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzarji.

She also said it was an altogether different experience for her to perform in front of a young audience at Woodstock School. “Although there are singers who learn songs in an hour and record them the same day, I prefer not to be one of them,” added Rekha. Singing has been her childhood passion and she started striking the high notes soon. Initially, her sister tutored her and then she trained under Pandit Amarnath. She is influenced by the reputed musicians such as Kumar Gandharva, Pandit Rasikal Andharia and Jitendar Abhisek.

Besides, a photography exhibition titled “Ladakh in winter,” by Sankar Sridhar was also held at Parker Hall on the occasion. Sridhar is an award winning photographer and travel writer who specialises in documenting remote regions of the Himalayas. Rare photographs showcasing the beauty of Ladakh were much appreciated by visiting guests here.

Steve Alter, one of the organizers, said the festival would go on for four days in which other participants would include Steve Swenson, one of America’s most accomplished climbers known for pioneering difficult routes and testing the boundaries of endurance. He was currently writing a memoir about his career as a climber and would show his film, “The Old Breed”.

Viraf Mehta, an anthropologist who has made it his mission in life to locate and preserve prehistoric rock art in Ladakh, would showcase his compilation of a photographic book that records this little-known example of the Himalayan art. Susan Hunt is an Australian adventurer and sportswoman, who first came to the Himalayas to accomplish her dream of climbing Mount Everest. She would share her experience on the ways to set goals and the step by step approach to fitness and acclimatisation needed for climbing Everest. Dr Charles Clarke, a British neurologist who had a longstanding interest in high altitude medicine and cold injury, would be speaking during the festival. He had climbed several Himalayan peaks and had contributed to the understanding of the cerebral effects of chronic hypoxia and high-altitude cerebral oedema.

Grammy award-winning poet, songwriter and lyricist Gulzar and Tetseo Sisters, would also grace the occasion.

Dehradun, November 1
Lodging a strong protest against the Uttarakhand government's order repealing the ex-cadre posts, members of the Uttarakhand SC and ST Karamchari Sangathan today took out a march in the city.

The march began from the city which culminated at the Secretariat where a memorandum, demanding the protection of the interests of the SC and ST employees, addressed to the Chief Minister was submitted.

"We will hold a similar rally in Gairsain where the Cabinet meeting will be held on November 3 to lodge our protest. The government has failed to protect the interests of the SC and ST employees," said Madan Kumar Shilpkar, president, Uttarakhand SC and ST Federation.

The ex-cadre posts were created by the Uttarakhand government as an interim arrangement for giving benefits of reservation in promotion to the employees in the aftermath of the anti-reservation agitation.

After the one-man commission headed by Justice Irshad Hussain (retd) in its report questioned the legality of the creation of ex-cadre posts, the government was forced to withdraw it. This is being resented by the SC and ST Karamchari Sangathan. The commission is yet to submit its report on the issue of quota in promotion.

Dehradun, November 1
Folk dancers from Goa performed at Virasat 2012 here last evening. The traditional dance of Goa gave a picture of the mindset and lifestyle of Goans, reflecting their rich historical and cultural legacy. Goa has a unique amalgamation of different cultures and Goan dances portrayed this blend beautifully.

The Goa troupe troop performed two dances in the evening. They started off with ‘dekhni’, which is basically the traditional dance of those Christians who converted to Christianity from Hinduism during the Portugal rule. The dance also involved singing.

Next in the line was ‘dhangari’, which is a well-known Goan dance form.

The second performance of the evening was by renowned traditional Punjabi qawwali singer Shaukat Ali Matoi and his group from Malerkotla in Punjab.

Matoi and his group sang some well-loved qawwalis with some memorable compositions of Bulleh Shah. 

Dehradun, November 1
The football trainees of Maharana Pratap Sports College were thrilled to have two French football coaches on their campus here today. The two coaches from Football Club Metz Academy of France, who are currently conducting camp in Mussoorie, took some time to provide some basic tips to college boys.

Denis Schaeffer, Director of the FC Metz Academy, who is renowned for developing players like Robert Pires, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cisse and Louis Saha, accompanied by his under-17 chief coach Sebastian, were impressed with the local talent. The tour was made possible by Eric Benny, ex-Indian football team manager and Football Club Doon. The coaches especially praised Nitin Jayal, who is an India under-16 player and has recently returned from Tehran.

The college has groomed players like Manish Maithani, Raja Rawat and Nitin Jayal to create a name for itself in the Indian football. At present, over 40 students are taking football training at the college.

On the difference between India and France junior football, Denis Schaeffer said, “Our kids play about a hundred match per year. They are trained to see and act fast. Indian players are a bit slow. But we were impressed by the talent of the college. They are good and better training can help them develop their skills.”

The FC Metz Academy is considered one of the best academies in French. Most of its trainees get selected in the FC Metz Club. Founded in 1932, the club plays in the Championnat National, the third-level in the French football league system.

The tour provided the French coaches an idea of the football talent in the state, their training module and infrastructure. The coaches are on their first-ever visit to India and they agreed to provide the college videos of football training for the development of the sport.

Sebastian gave a motivational speech to the trainees and said, “You can play better football if you can enjoy it.” Eric Benny has established a local football club in Dehradun.

The Football Club Doon finished fifth in the recently concluded District Football League (Bisht group). A former manager of the Indian national football team, Benny continues to make efforts for the promotion and development of football in the country.

On the tour, Benny said, “The college holds special place in our hearts. We aim at making FC Doon an I-League club to provide local youngsters a platform to prove their talent.”