Haridwar, November 12
Two sisters, residents of Kaithwada colony, Jwalapur, have been missing since November 6. The girls, identified as Reshma (18) and Nagma (17), work in a soap factory at SIDCUL.

Accusing the police of inaction, their parents alleged that although their younger daughter had called them up from an unknown cellphone number four days ago, police officials were yet to put the number on surveillance.

The duo had reportedly gone to the Majare sharif in their locality on November 6, from where they did not return. Later, their parents lodged a missing person report at the Jwalapur police station and a case under Section 365 of the IPC was registered in this regard.

Younis, father of the missing girls, said Nagma had called them up from an unknown number four days and disconnected the phone saying they had been " kidnapped" and kept in a dark room, where a woman was keeping tabs on them.

He said they immediately informed the police about the phone call, which called back at the same number and had a talk with the woman.

The woman reportedly told a policeman that it was futile to investigate the matter, as now no one could save the girls from her. He alleged that the police asked them to come after a few days and let it investigate the matter. However, when they went to the police station this morning, they got no satisfactory answer.

Tanveer Ali, a social activist, alleged as the girls belonged to a poor family, police officials were not taking the case seriously.

On the other hand, SP (city) Surjeet Singh Pawar said since the case had been brought to his notice, he would seek a report from the police official concerned.

The SP said a worker identification drive would also be carried out in all industrial units.

Dehradun, November 12
Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar directed the concerned officials that the work on the flyover to be built in the city should start within ten days.

He reviewed the work of the flyover with the officials of the implementing agency.

No land would be acquired for the construction of the flyover near ISBT. The cost of the construction project was Rs 47 crore.

The flyover would be constructed toward Saharanpur road and it would be extended toward Haridwar road.

Tenders would also be invited soon for the work on Balliwala Chowk.

The Balliwala flyover would be constructed by the PWD on the land identified for the four-way crossing.

The sanction for the Bhandaribagh underpass would be taken from the Railway Department within ten days.

Subhash Kumar, Chief Secretary, gave directions to the PWD and the EPIL employees and the implementing agency to submit the progress report after a meeting with District Magistrate Dr BVRC Purushottam.

He said any delay or neglect in the work was unacceptable and strict action would be taken against any defaulter.

Rakesh Sharma, Additional Chief Secretary; SS Sandhu, Principal Secretary, PWD; Amit Negi, Secretary In charge; Dilip Jawalkar, Additional Secretary; District Magistrate Dr BVRC Purushottam; and SSP Kewal Khurana were also present.

Dehradun, November 12
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Garhwal, Amit Sinha gave directions to the police heads of seven districts regarding security arrangements on the occasion of Muharram, which will be observed on Thursday.

SSPs and SPs of the seven districts in Garhwal range have been directed to hold a meeting with their ASPs, DSPs and the heads of the police station and brief them about the security arrangements.

The district police officials have also been directed to hold meetings with the two sects of the Muslim community to ensure that they remain on amicable terms on the occasion of Muharram.

The DIG also directed the police to take all preventive measures before Thursday and tighten the security especially around the sensitive places.

Special security plan would be chalked out for the day and tear gas squad would be stationed. Fire tenders would also be deployed at all sensitive places for ensuring prompt response in case of any untoward incident.

The police officials have also been directed to keep a close vigil on all the anti-social elements of the society who could cause disruption during Muharram.

Districts bordering Uttar Pradesh are the sensitive areas due to the recently held communal tensions and the police are taking extra measures for the safety.

Mussoorie, November 12
Residents of Uttarkashi district, who lost their houses and hotels situated between Gangori and Joshiyara due to the natural disaster in mid-June, are still awaiting adequate help from the government.

Dinesh Upal, whose Devlok Hotel at Uttarkashi was damaged due to the fury of the Bhagirathi, rued the fact that for his 20-room hotel he had received Rs 1 lakh only as compensation. The owner of Akashganga Hotel was fortunate as he had insured his building and thus received a handsome amount. Speaking to The Tribune, he said it would take more than what he had received as insurance claim to rebuild the building and his business.

H. Aswal, whose house in Uttarkashi market was damaged in the disaster, said the government had announced several relief packages but he had got nothing.

Pradeep Negi, students’ youth leader, it was due to the lackadaisical approach of the government that the Gangori to Joshyara area was completely washed away. The government had not been able to build protection walls even after five months.

Farmers of potatoes and apples in Dharali and Harsil areas said the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), which was assigned the task of buying their produce, did not do so in time, resulting in rotting of the crops and heavy losses to farmers.

Residents of Bhatu ki Saud village on the way to the Gangotri shrine, who had not received any compensation, had to resort to sit in protest in front of their houses demanding adequate compensation. They were provided some relief only after the intervention of the leader of the opposition Ajay Bhatt and local MLA from Congress Vijaypal Sajwan.

Former vice-president of the Char Dham Vikas Parishad Surat Ram Nautiyal said potato and apple farmers of Gorsali, Wadi, Nated, Didsari, Salang, Sukhi and Jhala villages had been forced to live in extreme poverty as most of their produce was not lifted by the government despite assurances to do so. The farmers also alleged that the GMVN only bought the produce from local contractors but ignored their produce. Most of the bridges and link roads on the route to the Gangotri highway are yet to be repaired.

Nauityal said the work of building protection walls in the Joshyara area should have been completed by now when the water level in the river was low, but it seems that the government was inviting another disaster by not starting the work.

He added that the government had promised to waive loans and electricity bills of the farmers and the disaster-affected people but had done nothing so far. Congress MLA from Gangotri Vijay Pal Sajwan refuted the charges and said his government had changed the procedure for compensation and much more relief had been provided this year to the people affected by the disaster.

Speaking about the work of building protection walls from the Joshyara barrage to the market, he said tenders of Rs 232 crore had been sanctioned and of which projects of Rs 132 crore had been assigned to the Jal Vidyut Nigam and the work would begin soon. Some works in the Triloth Bridge area had been given to the Irrigation Department.

Sajwan said the rehabilitation work had been started in villages like Bhatwadi and Matli and pre-fabricated houses were being provided to the people without delay. He added the apple and potato farmers were out of reach due to damaged roads but now everyone had been given adequate compensation for their produce.

Sajwan said the repair work on the Rishikesh to Uttarkashi national highway had been taken away from the Border Roads Organisation and given to the National Highway Authority of India. The BRO has been left with the work of repairing roads from Uttarkashi to border areas and funds have also been assigned for the purpose.

Dehradun, November 12
Congress MLA from Khanpur Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion today accused the media of tarnishing his image.

Addressing a press conference here, he said as a committed Congressman, he had been raising public issues, but the media had been constantly portraying him of a poor image.

The MLA said he stood with the ongoing agitation of BPED and MPED unemployed and there was no question of backing out from the pro-public issues. He said he had been working for strengthening the party in Haridwar andtrying to check the growing influence of the BSP in the district.

Champion said he had cordial relations with CM Vijay Bahuguna and kept no animosity towards anyone. 

Dehradun, November 12
BJP councillors yesterday met Mayor Vinod Chamoli over the deteriorating sanitary condition in the city. Councillor Neeraj Sethi said neither SPML Company, which is tasked with picking garbage door to door as well as clearing garbage bins kept on roadsides, nor the employees of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation were doing their duty.

He added the councillors had complained to Mukhya Nagar Adhikari (MNA) Ashok Kumar and Urban Development Minister Pritam Singh Panwar about the poor sanitary condition umpteen times, but to no avail.

Councillor Satish Kashyap said the residents of his ward had begun fighting with him over the issue as he had not been able to do much to improve the sanitary condition. He added garbage was not being cleared regularly and he had to follow sanitary supervisors, company officials and DMC officials to get the job done.

The Mayor said the company officials were not cooperating as the DMC was not paying them regularly. He accused the MNA of failure to handle the situation efficiently by straining relations with the company. He, however, assured the councillors that he would soon hold a meeting with the officials concerned to resolve the issue.

Mussoorie, November 12
The SSP, Dehradun, Kewal Khurana, was felicitated for his exemplary service and controlling the crime rate in the district in a better way at a function held in Mussoorie yesterday night.

The members presented a shawl and a citation to SSP Kewal Khurana on the occasion.

The speakers addressing the gathering said that Khurana since taking over the charge of the district has brought some normalcy in the traffic situation in Dehradun and has been able to control the increasing graph of crime in the district.

Khurana speaking on the occasion thanked Punjabi Mahasabha for the award and said that he would continue to work with integrity and honesty in the future too.

He also said that in order to streamline the traffic arrangements in Mussoorie and especially in tourist season, more than a dozen CCTV cameras will be installed and the control room will be at Dehradun.

He also said that the police band will be entertaining the tourists on weekends in the season. The MC president, Manmohan Singh Mall, secretary of the Sabha, Subodh Kapoor, president of the sabha, MPS Khurana, and others were present on the occasion.

However, some members of the Punjabi Mahasabha in Mussoorie stayed away from the function and speaking under anonymity said that the sabha had diverted from its objectives of helping the community members and was only indulging in felicitating the officials and politicians due to vested interests.

When contacted the president of the Punjabi Mahasabha, Mussoorie, MPS Khurana, said that the sabha was functioning according to the policy laid down by the members and if some members are raking the issue, it is only due to their own ulterior motives. 

Dehradun, November 12
St Thomas won the ongoing Senior Council Twenty-20 Cricket Tournament played at St. Joseph's Academy (SJA)here today. St Thomas defeated St. Joseph Academy by six wickets.

Batting first, SJA scored 133 runs in the allotted overs. Anup scored the highest 40 runs. In reply, St Thomas easily achieved the target. They lost five wickets during the match, thereby ensuring itself a six wicket win. Risab scored the highest 57 runs for St Thomas.

Dehradun, November 12
Welham Girls' school team won the Dehradun Council Schools' Association (DDCSA) Senior Girls' Basketball Tournament by defeating Aryan School in the final match played at Aryan School here today.

The final match was inaugurated by B. Gill , Principal of The Heritage School, who was the chief guest on the occasion. Both the teams were introduced to the chief guest. The Welham Girls' School team defeated Aryan School by the score 37-12.

Sunny Gupta, vice - chairman and Alok Virmani, principal were present on the occasion. 

Dehradun, November 12
An excise team here today arrested two persons and seized 56 cartons of Indian made foreign liquor from their possession.

Acting on a tip-off, the team, led by excise inspector Alok Shah, today set up a naka on the main Chakrata road and intercepted a utility van (UA 07 T 1532). On checking, it recovered 56 cartons of Indian made foreign liquor from the van and arrested Jagjeet (40) and Gurbinder (30) in this regard.

Both hail from Rajpura in Punjab. The duo was taking the liquor to Garhwal hills.