Dehradun, February 11
The police today claimed to has arrested Salim Khan and Javed Khan who allegedly murdered a Dalit youth Sanjay on Tuesday.

SHO, Dalanwala police station, Santosh Kumar Jaiswal said they got information that Salim and Javed were going to surrender in the court. “At 2.45 pm, we arrested the duo from Doon Hospital Chowk”, he said, adding that both accused were produced in the court and had been sent to 14-day judicial custody.

Meanwhile, the police administration also issued orders to send incharge of the Karanpur police picket Hemendra Singh Negi and two other cops - Chanderpal and Rishipal to Police Lines. Notably, alleged murder of Sanjay had sparked off protests with the Dalit community accusing the police administration of shielding the accused.

The protesters had given an ultimatum to arrest the accused by Wednesday 6 pm.

Earlier in the morning, after the postmortem the body was taken to his home in the Karanpur area. At 11.30 am, relatives of the deceased and a large number of the Dalits, along with Sanjay’s body, proceeded towards DAV College. Spotting the cops near the college, the protesters pelted stone on the police personnel.

Thereafter, the mob headed towards Survey Chowk and for the second day in a row, the protesters blocked the traffic. On account of the tension prevailing in the areas, Karanpur and Survey Chowk markets were also closed.

Besides SDM Ajay Arora, circle officer (Sadar) GC Tamta and senior officials of the police administration, Incharge of the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) Suryakant Dhasmana immediately reached the Survey Chowk and tried to pacify the protesters.

Speaking to The Tribune, leader of the Dalit community and municipal councillor Arun Valmiki said their main demands had been conceded and now they would try to get the compensation money increased from one lakh to 1.5 lakh.

“A delegation of the Dalit community leaders would be meeting Chief Minister BC Khanduri in this regard on Thursday”, he said. 

Dehradun, February 11
Suspense over the fate of former Uttarakhand Congress chief and former Rajya Sabha member Harish Rawat ended today as his name was sent in the list of ticket seekers from Nainital Lok Sabha seat by the state parliamentary board at its meeting held here today. The meeting was chaired by Uttarakhand Congress chief Yashpal Arya.

There was suspense over the candidature of Harish Rawat who had been publicly saying that he would not contest any election till 2010. But speculations were rife that he was interested in fighting from Haridwar Lok Sabha seat since his home constituency of Almora in Kumaon region has been reserved.

However, according to party sources, senior state party leader and former minister Indira Hariydesh said that Harish Rawat was interested in seeking ticket from Nainital. His name was included in the list of the probable candidates for the seat.

Harish Rawat was not present in the meeting. Sitting Congress MP from the seat KC Singh Baba, Harish Rawat, sitting Congress legislator from Rudrapur Tilak Raj Behad and Indira Hariydesh were among those whose names were forwarded for Nainital.

Interestingly, the name of veteran Congress man and Andhra Pradesh Governor ND Tiwari was not sent from Nainital. “The decision about his contesting elections will be taken by him and Soniaji,” said state Congress chief Yashpal Arya.

The names of Yashpal Arya and his son Sanjeev Arya figure among ticket seekers from Almora (reserve) seat along with Pardeep Tamta, and Ram Parsad Tamta, a former state minister.

Former minister Satpal Maharaj, his wife Amrita Rawat and Congress Legislature Party chief Harak Singh Rawat are the prominent names for Pauri Garhwal seat.

From Tehri, besides the sitting MP Vijay Bahuguna, the name of former state minister Shoorveer Sajwan has also been sent. From Haridwar, the names of Brahmswarup Brahmchari, Parnav Singh and Vijay Sarswat were forwarded.

“The state board has finalised the names of more than 40 probable candidates with a resolution authorising Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to nominate the candidate for the five seats of the state,” said Uttarakhand Congress spokesperson Suryakant Dhasmana.

It was believed that by sending the name of Harish Rawat, Yashpal Arya has tried to bridge the differences with him. If Yashpal Arya or his son get the party nomination from Almora, the support of Harish Rawat would be crucial.

State Congress chief Yashpal Arya and Harish Rawat are bitter rivals as Yashpal belongs to the Tiwari camp. Harish Rawat had been opposing Tiwari for the past two decades in Congress politics. 

Dehradun, February 11
For Uttarakhand, today was a welcome Wednesday morning. People woke to a wintry day as rain and snow brought the dry spell in the state to an end.

Mussoorie experienced the season’s first snowfall and the higher reaches of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Madmaheshwar received another spell of snowfall.

The Dhanolti area experienced as much as two feet of snow.

According to director, Meteorological Department, Dehradun, Dr Anand Sharma, another Westerly disturbance was in the offing and the next spell of snow and rain could be experienced after a few days of clear sky.

Met officials today recorded moderate rainfall in the plains. The state capital received 40 mm rain during the past 24 hours. Tehri, Mukteshwar in Kumaon and Pantanagar recorded 19 mm, 19 mm and 12 mm of rainfall respectively.

The lake city of Nainital in the Kumaon region too experienced the season’s first snowfall.

Significantly, the rains helped quench forest fires that had been reported from Pauri and Chamoli districts. The dry spell in the hill districts had led to forest fires which seldom take place on first week of February.

Dehradun, February 11
The District Magistrate (DM) has instructed all Subdivisional Magistrates to ensure that the destitute in their areas do not succumb to cold weather.

Rain and thunderstorm were reported from many areas in the state and Mussoorie experienced the season’s first snowfall this morning.

Even as no death due to cold has been reported so far from any part of the district, the administration has got into a proactive mode by putting in place all arrangements to ensure that normal life is not disturbed due to the sudden change in weather conditions which has taken the residents by surprise.

Doctors have warned of various illnesses induced by cold.

According to director, Meteorological Department, Dr Anand Sharma, about 40 mm rainfall was recorded till 11.30 am on Wednesday.

DM Amit Singh Negi said the SDMs of Mussoorie, Chakrata, Tuni and Kalsi were issued instructions today in the morning to distribute blankets to the destitute.

Since landslides may occur in such weather, the officials of the Public Works Department in Chakrata and Mussoorie were asked to keep recovery vans ready.

Such measures are required especially because tourists throng these areas due to snowfall.

The directions have also been given to the municipal committees as well as Dehradun Municipal Corporation, in case the cold conditions persist, to arrange wood for fire at different places in areas under them to enable the shelter-less or poor people to keep themselves warm. 

Roorkee, February 11
"Uttarakhand politics is altogether different from Uttar Pradesh. All major political parties, especially the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) should understand this", said BJP district president (Haridwar) Mayank Gupta today.

Gupta was taunting the opposition parties for spreading rumours about the postponement of the Chief Minister BC Khanduri's rally which is scheduled to take place in Roorkee tomorrow.

Many leaders of the Congress and BSP had reportedly stated that the rally had been 'cancelled' as the party had no issue to talk about. They even reportedly stated that the party leaders would find it hard to attract a big crowd for the rally.

"Our rally has just been postponed, not cancelled. Since the Chief Minister was not well and doctors have advised him rest, the rally has been postponed. The rally will take place before February 26," said the BJP leader.

Lashing out the leaders for spreading rumours, Gupta said, “This is Uttarakhand where the BJP has worked a lot for development during the current regime. Who says we are short of issues. In fact, we have hundreds of achievements to share with our public".

Besides here, Khanduri was scheduled to address five public rallies at different venues. All these programmes have been postponed, said Gupta.

The dates for the rallies would be announced soon, he added.

Dehradun, February 11
The man-eater tiger that killed a woman in the buffer area of Corbett Tiger Reserve on February 4 was captured on the wee hours of Wednesday. The wild cat was then taken to Nainital Zoo for rehabilitation.

“The tiger was tranquilised and caged at around 3 am,” Corbett sources said. Acting on National Tiger Conservation Authority guidelines, the tiger was taken to Nainital zoo under the guidance of Wildlife Institute officials.

Earlier, Uttarakhand forest officials had a tough time handling the villagers, who sought shooting down of the man-eater. The agitated villagers led by a local leader Rakesh Kumar Nainwal had also gheraoed the forest officials.

Tiger conservationists and ecological organisations have sought a better deal for the animal. While applauding the Wildlife Institute of India for carrying out the rescue operation effectively, Dr Hem Singh Gehlot, WWF of Nature Studies, stressed on the creation of enclosures within forest areas for the rehabilitation of leopards and tigers that get involved in man-animal conflict.

The Wildlife Protection Society of India too has strongly objected to the tiger being taken to Nainital. “There have been instances when the tiger, which has earlier killed a human, has been left in some other territory after capture. There is no justification in taking this tiger to Nainital zoo,” Rajendra Aggarwal, Uttarakhand head of WPSI argued.

Haridwar, February 11
Despite claims by Uttarakhand Food and Supplies Minister Diwakar Bhatt that LPG cylinders would be available at the consumer’s doorstep in Haridwar, the scenario is quite different.

Despite repeated complaints to gas agencies, the cylinders are not being delivered on time. Residents prefer to go to gas godowns to get refilled cylinders.

Residents allege that LPG gas agencies are distributing cylinders whose seal is broken and some cylinders were found to be filled with water.

Consumers in Kankhal blocked the Kankhal-Jwalapur road after finding cylinders supplied by Bharat Gas Agency without seal and weighing less than the prescribed weight last week.

The consumers alleged that they have to wait for hours in long queues for the cylinders despite booking them under the home delivery scheme.

After the consumers held a protest, the owner of the gas agency took back the cylinders with broken seals.

“What is the use of lessening the price when we get cylinders with broken seals and having less weight? The gas agency owners are flouting rules and the administration is behaving like a spectator,” said Dipak Sharma, a consumer in Kankhal area.

An official of Bharat Gas Agency, Kankhal, said that if any seal was found broken they would look into the matter and would replace the cylinder.

District supply officer PS Pangti said that administration is looking into such cases.

The lack of supply of gas cylinders is also being attributed to the illegal use of domestic LPG cylinders. Though the administration has conducted raids on commercial establishments in the past, yet it has not had much effect.

Haridwar, February 11
In a span of four days, the police has seized another illegal liquor casket being driven into the city from Haryana. Last week, the police had seized 238 bottles of English wine from Bahadrabad, while today at Shivalik Nagar Barrier the police seized 200 bottles of English liquor from Vijay, a resident of Nagal village and Rohit of Anjala village, Haryana.

On a tip off the police laid a trap at Shivalik barrier No.-6 and stopped a Wagon-R (HR 0 7L 6472). The driver tried to give a slip off to the police, but they nabbed him on the barrier. Both confessed of transporting the illegal liquor into the city.

On February 8, two youths Navin and Tribhuvan were caught while carrying illegal liquor in an Innova car worth of lakhs of rupees. In 12-km range of the Haridwar Municipal Committee the sale and consumption of the liquor is banned, which make the liquor mafia use such methods to maximise their gains as the liquors are sold in double the price here.

Inspector Girish Joshi, head constable Sanjay Kamboj, Prakash Bhatt and Jagmohan Shetty were in the police team. With Lok Sabha elections nearing such incidents are on rise and according to the police officials checking at major entry points will be tightened up.

Roorkee, February 11
Amidst the threats, it seems that the love-struck couples would not celebrate the forthcoming Valentine’s Day openly with fervour and enthusiasm.

Many Hinduvadi groups, including the Shiv Sena, have issued threats to the youngsters, hotel and restaurants owners, gift-gallary owners and flower-sellers to stay away from the celebrations of the day.

“No obscenity would be tolerated in the name of the celebrations of the ‘lovers day’. This is just against our culture, traditions and values,” is the warning from these self-styled moral police.

During their recent meeting, the local unit of the Shiv Sena also echoed the same threat.

The police has also girded its loins to deal sternly with the members of such groups, especially after the Manglore episode, where the members of a Hinduvadi group had beat up many youngsters, including some girls, while partying in a pub.

SP (Rural) Ajay Joshi asserted that no repetition of the Manglore episode would be allowed here in any case.

“We are here to protect everyone against any kind of hooliganism. On Valentine’s day, the vigil would be intensified, especially in the parks, gardens, educational institutes, hotels, restaurants and gift galleries so that no one can disturb anyone on the pretext of moral policing,” said the police officer, adding that who would be found disturbing law and order in the name of culture or traditions, would be dealt sternly.

The assurance has come as a respite to the love-struck couples and the businessmen, who are looking forward to make it big on the day.

“Being an educational hub, the city houses thousands of students across the country. With them, the metro culture has also arrived here. We should accept it and respect the sentiments of everyone,” said Dr Vinod Kumar, IIT professor.

It is to be noted that many couples celebrating the day in parks, hotels and other places were beaten up by the members of these groups last year. Besides, these hooligans also vandalised many flower shops and gift galleries on the day. 

Dehradun, February 11
To make education market driven, Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNU) has started a degree and certificate course in Business Processing Outsourcing Service (BPO) for which two centres have been activated at Dehradun and Haldwani.

The entrance test would be held on Februray 13 and 15 at the selected centers. “IGNOU has tied up with Accenture, a leading BPO arm in the country, for preparing the guidelines of the course, while Meritac, a Bengaluru-based company will conduct entrance tests,” said Dr AK Dimri, regional director, IGNOU.

The one-year degree and six-month certificate courses would be helpful in providing gainful employment. The course comprises IT skills, English speaking course, introduction to finance accounts and fundamentals of accounting.

“The demand for skilled employees is growing, with a course from IGNOU under their belt, the youth can hope to get assimilated at any top-notch BPO company in the country,” said Dr Anil Dimri.

Dr Dimri said the all centers had been performing exceptionally well in the state. “The results at Gopeshwar, Dehradun and Haldwani centres have been quite good,” said Dr Dimri.

The Dehradun Regional Centre had been given the additional responsibility of Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Bijnor learning centres that have been attached with Dehradun. The step has been taken in order to provide better learning facilities for the students attached to these centers. Earlier, the students had to approach Lucknow, which was quite far, now it will be easier for them, informed Dimri.

In Uttarakhand, IGNOU is running 39 learner support centres and has an enrolment of 9,000 students in all programmes. The most sought courses are MBA and MCA. 

Dehradun, February 11
With a few days to go for Valentine’s Day, orders for special cakes have started pouring in at various confectionary shops of the town. The week’s first biggest order has been placed with Ellora’s in the form of a 25 pound, heart-shaped cake.

Heart-shaped cakes are lovers’ delight. Every V-Day sees cake lovers flooding bakeries and placing orders for heart cakes in pineapple and chocolate flavour.

Dehradun’s oldest and most popular bakery owner, Sunny Gulati, said they had started receiving orders which were bound to go up by February 14. The bakery offers beautiful one pound cakes, which are much in demand. But it caters to demand for big hearts too.

But shop owners are avoiding decorations to escape attention of fundamentalists who have come openly against Valentine Day revelry.

Owner of another bakery, Melting Moments, said they for going in for innovations to make Valentine’s cakes more attractive but they contemplating certain safeguards to ensure they were not targeted by vandals.

However bakery owner DK Gulati takes Valentine’s Day like any other day. He, however, opposes curbs on Valentine celebrations. He says he never decorates his shop for the V-Day as this could make the shop more vulnerable to attacks from fundamentalists.

Undoubtedly, the fear of hooligans is weighing heavy on the minds of most bakery owners of the town.