Dehradun, August 12
The Dehradun police made the first arrest in Yudhbir Singh Rawat alleged murder case here today. After three days of Yudhbir's mysterious death on last Friday, the police arrested Sudha Patwal, whose name was making rounds for the last three days in the case, from Dehradun and was presented to the court from where she was sent to judicial custody today.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Dehradun, Kewal Khuranna, Sudha Patwal was the main conspirator behind the murder of Yudhbir Singh Rawat and she took the help of two Meerut-based contract killers to kill Yudhbir.

The police is claiming that Sudha took Rs 14 lakh from Yudhbir, who was the former close aide of Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat, for one MBBS admission. After the non-fulfilment of the commitment, Yudhbir was asking her to return the money but Sudha was failing to do so, according to the police.

According to the police theory, on last Thursday evening, Sudha promised Yudhbir to return his money and called him at Rajpur Road. She then took him to Old Mussoorie Road where the two contract assailants were waiting. Taking advantage of the darkness, both assailants hit Yudhbir with a rod on his head and then strangulated him to death, claims the police.

According to the SSP, the two contract killers, one of them has been identified as Hari Om Vashist, resident of Meerut, has been absconding and the Dehradun police along with the Special Operation Group (SOG) are carrying out raids in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to nab the killers.

SP, City, Jagdish Chandra, told The Tribune: '' We are very close to nabbing the two contract killers, who came down to Dehradun from Meerut to kill Yudhbir, and in the next couple of days, they will be in our custody.''

It is to be noted that the police zeroed in on Sudha Patwal on the basis of the call list of Yudhbir's mobile and statements made by Praveen Chauhan, who was a close associate of Yudhbir and was in the thick of things related to admissions.

On the other hand, Sudha Patwal made some sensational allegations against the police in front of the media in the SSP's office. She said that Dehradun police arrested her from the house of the Uttarakhand Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat on Sunday evening contrary to the police claim that she was arrested from Lovely Market in Vasant Vihar Area.

She also claimed that she knew Harak Singh Rawat very well and visited his house frequently. The claims made by her are more shocking because Yudhbir Singh Rawat was the former Public Relations Officer (PRO) of Harak Singh Rawat and was said to be quite close to him.

Dehradun, August 12
Several places in Uttarakhand received moderate to light rains today, following which various rivers were in spate in the state.

Chamoli, Dehradun, Almora, Champawat, Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi have been receiving light to moderate rains since last night, the state Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC) said today.

Chamoli received the highest rainfall in the past 24 hours at 75 mm, it said, adding that more rains are expected in the state as almost all the places are overcast.

The rains have led to a rise in the water level of various rivers in the state.

Sharda river at Tanakpur in Champawat crossed the danger level yesterday, after which the movement of vehicles on the Sharda barrage was stopped, official sources said.

Also, the water level of the Alaknanda in Rudraprayag and Chamoli rose yesterday, they added.

Further, in Uttarkashi, the flow of the Indrawati turned towards the city last night, leading to a rise in the level of the Baghirathi, due to which some portions of a lodge were washed away, the sources said.

A house also collapsed in the Nauba area of Almora. However, no one was injured, official sources said.

In the Narayanbagar area of Chamoli, water entered several houses and 28 families had to be shifted to safer places. Also, the mud released due to landslides has got accumulated on the Rishikesh-Badrinath and Rishikesh-Kedarnath national highways, causing disturbance in the movement of traffic on the roads. — PTI 

Haridwar, August 12
The tall claims of the Haridwar Municipal Corporation of having made all preparations to check waterlogging and the choking of nullahs and drains in the monsoon this year have fallen flat. Choked drains and blocked sewerage pipes is a common sight whenever it rains in the city.

SORRY STATE OF AFFAIRS: A waterlogged road in Haridwar on Monday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur

Prior to the onset of the monsoon, the administration had carried out a drive to clear drains so that the problem of water logging could be prevented in the monsoon months. However, these cleared areas get flooded during every rain.

Chandracharya Chowk (Ranipur Mod), the city’s business hub, faces the problem of waterlogging whenever it rains, bringing the trade as well as the normal life to a standstill.

Bhagat Singh Chowk, the gateway to the BHEL area, also turns into a rivulet. Commuters are the worst hit as their vehicles remain stuck in the water for hours. Pedestrians are forced to take longer routes via Jwalapur or through the Tibdi bypass.

In the old part of the city near Har-ki-Pauri, nullah water gets collected in the congested markets of Moti Bazaar, Upper Bazaar, Gau Ghat and Tibetan Market. Pilgrims and tourists throng these areas in a large number to buy religious items. But during rains, these areas wear a deserted look. The posh colonies of Jwalpaur, Ahbab Nagar, Kotaran, Kassaban, Maidaniyan, Shastri Nagar, Khanna Nagar, Model Colony and Gobindpuri also witness waterlogging.

On the other hand, Mayor Manoj Garg said despite having limited resources, they were trying their best to keep the situation under control. Garg said since he had taken the charge of Haridwar Mayor only a few months ago, he would try his best to improve the situation by next monsoon. He said they needed both time and budget to check the problem of waterlogging in the city and on its periphery.

Dehradun, August 12
The sacked police personnel, whose services were terminated by the department over the issue of filling in application forms for the post of constable from two places in 2010, held a protest march towards the police headquarters and secretariat here today.

The police stopped them by putting barricades at the police headquarters and were asked to return. The aggrieved police personnel are now threatening to march towards the Chief Minister's residence on Tuesday. The services of almost 250 constables were terminated in 2012 when it was found that the candidates filled the application forms in 2010 from more than one place. According to the rules, one person can apply for the post from only one district.

Dehradun, August 12
Demanding the fulfilment of their eight-point charter of demands, nurses of the Doon Group of Hospitals comprising Doon Hospital, District Female Hospital and Coronation Hospital, today boycotted the afternoon duties.

The nurses, owing allegiance to the Uttarakhand Nurses' Associatio, are demanding the filling of two posts of Joint Director, one post of Additional Director and the posts of Assistant Director in the Kumaon and Garhwal divisions, the appointment of chief nursing officer in all 13 districts, the posts of Sister in the state be declared a gazetted one, the implementation of the 5th and 6th pay recommendations, a hike in conveyance allowance , nurses having the MSc and post-basic nursing degrees be given two increments and those having the degrees of MSc and BSc be given weightage in seniority.

President of the Uttarakhand Nurses' Association Anjana Bhowmick said: "If the authorities failed to give in writing about accepting our demands, we will intensify our stir from August 18," said Bhowmick.

Meanwhile, Principal Superintendent, Doon Hospital, Dr RS, Aswal said the hospital has made temporary alternative arrangements to tackle the situation. "The interns would be taking up duties during the agitation period. They will be under the supervision of medical officers," he said.

In other hospitals too, the authorities have made alternative arrangements.

Laxmi Punetha, PRO of the association, said talks between the office-bearers of the nurses’ association and government representatives would be held again to solve the issue. 

Dehradun, August 12
Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) has formally started the process to recognise the travel agencies in North India which will book travel packages for government employees under LTC scheme throughout the country and give a fixed commission to GMVN for it. The department is hoping to earn a revenue around Rs 5 crore annually from this scheme.

Revenue generation has become imminent need for the department as now even Managing Director (MD), General Manager (GM) and all the officials have stopped taking their salaries from this month until they are in a position to pay salaries to all their staff members. MD Rajesh Kumar said:''As it is necessary for the travel agencies to be recognised from any state government in order to book LTC tours of government employees, we have taken initiative in this direction. We will give recognition to the selected travel agencies which will book LTC tours for any destination or state of the country and give us a fixed commission, say 10 per cent, of the total amount of the bookings made. As per the assessment made, we can earn around Rs 5 crore in a year from it. This amount will be sufficient for us to draw our salaries, as none of the staff members, be regular or daily wagers, have been able to get their salaries for the past two months.

The officials, too, including me, have refused to take salaries unless we provide for the rest.'' GM, HD Pandey, said: ''T'he agreement signed with travel agencies across North India will be for fixed duration for three to four years. These agencies cannot cheat us as the government employees travelling through their package tours can get their amounts reimbursed only through us. However, caution will be taken to pick only those companies which have good reputation in the field.''

The department has begun with Rao Travels based in Delhi. Managing Director, Rao Travels, Shrinivasan Rao, said:''It is a very difficult phase for tourism as a whole across the country. Religious tourism is completely down with Char Dham coming to a halt in Uttarakhand and Amarnath pilgrimage in Jammu. J&K is on the boil while Telangana issue has made Andhara Pardesh unstable. Himachal Pardesh, too, passed through a natural calamity. People are wary about their safety. It is not easy to convince people for taking to travelling but September onward, we will certainly do better than what we are doing now.''

Dehradun, August 12
Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar here today held a meeting with senior state government officials to discuss preparations for the proposed visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Dehradun on August 26.

The President will attend the annual convocation of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies. He asked the officials to make all required arrangements at the Jolly Grant Airport, the UPES and the IIP in accordance with the established protocol.

The Chief Secretary has asked the departments concerned to inspect the condition of the roads, the provision of helipads at the venues, security measures and also directed them to prepare a comprehensive plan for the President's visit.

He asked the District Magistrate, the SSP and officials of the UPES and the IIP to coordinate in all important arrangements.

Present at the meeting were Secretary, Estates and Protocol, MH Khan, Secretary to the Chief Minister SS Rawat, Secretary to the Governor Arun Dhaundiyal, Commissioner (Garhwal) Subardhan, DIG (Garhwal) Amit Sinha, Dehradun DM R Meenakshi Sundaram, SSP Kewal Khurana, Estates Officer Vinay Shankar, PWD Executive Engineer SC Vinwal, the CMO, Dr Gurupal Singh and Director, Petroleum university, AK Dhand.

Meanwhile, District Magistrate RM Sundaram visited the UPES, Bidholi, in the wake of the proposed President’s visit. He sked the Director of the university, to undertake the videography of the place, where the President is to stay and also the venue for the award ceremony. He asked him to provide the entire details with regard to the number of seats in the hall and people attending the ceremony. The details will be sent to the President's office for approval. He also passed instructions to make proper arrangements for the parking of vehicles. With regard to the helipad, he directed Executive Engineer, PWD, CM Pandey, to prepare a report about building the helipad, which must be at distance from the buildings in the vicinity and tall trees. 

Mussoorie, August 12
RP Badoni was elected president of the Hotel Workers' Union unanimously during the annual convention held in Mussoorie today.

The officials read out the annual report and highlighted the achievements of the past executive committee in the year. The members of the union also raised the issues related to the welfare of the workers and resolved to fight against hotel owners who had leased out their hotels on contractual basis.

The newly elected president RP Badoni said that the contractual policy of the hoteliers was harming the interests of the workers and they would begin a tirade against such hotel owners in near future.

He also demanded that the government should prepare a list of all those workers who had been affected by the natural disaster that struck the state over a month ago and provide adequate relief to the families without any delay.

Dehradun, August 12
Eight matches were played during the 29th Carbery Sub-Junior Football Tournament here today. In the first match, Wynberg Allen School defeated Moravian School 2-0.

In the second match, Delhi Public School beat Raja Ram Mohan Rai Academy 1-0. Oak Grove School beat Tibetan Homes School 3-1, Aryan School trounced Shiwalik International 3-0 score and St Joseph's Academy and NDS Rishikesh also emerged winners in their matches.

The tournament will conclude on August 17. As many as 32 teams from Dehradun and Mussoorie are participating in it. 

Dehradun, August 12
DAV Defence Colony and Welham Boys won the finals of the CBSE Sahodaya School Complex inter-school football tournament played at Scholars' Home School here today in the junior and senior category, respectively.

In the first finals played between DAV Defence Colony and Kasiga School in the junior category, DAV won the tournament with a 5-1 thumping win over Kasiga. Mridul Gusain from DAV Defense Colony scored three goals at 17th, 21st and 42nd minutes and sealed the victory for his team.

In the senior category, Welham Boys won the title by defeating Asian School with a score of 1-0. Both teams played brilliantly, but due to the self-goal scored by one of the players of Asian School, the team lost the match.

Vishal Singh of Welham Boys was adjudged the best player of the tournament in the senior category and Manish Gorkhali in the junior category.

In the senior category, Faizal from Welham Boys remained the top scorer of the tournament, whereas Shiv Sabarwal scored the maximum number of goals in the junior category. The Principal of Scholars Home School, Chhaya Khanna, where the tournament was being played, distributed the trophies to the winning teams in the presence of other distinguished guests. 

Dehradun, August 12
Members of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar) have failed to restrict the entry of members of the rival group led by Kashi Singh Aeri to the party office. The Aeri faction had filed complaints against members of the Panwar group that they indulged in violence on the party premises on July 25 but the police did not take action against them.

The District Magistrate had advised both factions to approach court to resolve the issue of control over the party office. A dharna by members of the Panwar faction too did not have the desired result.

President of the UKD (Panwar) faction Trivender Singh Panwar said, “The administration and the police are helping the Aeri faction. This is why despite all our appeals members of the Aeri faction have not been thrown out of the party premises while we cannot enter there.” However, Kashi Singh Aeri denied the allegation saying he or his party activists had never stopped any member or leader of the Panwar group from entering the office. He said the Panwar group members deliberately created a ruckus on July 25 to take over the control of the party office.

Asked which group is the real UKD, Aeri said he was sending related documents to the Election Commission of India to decide the matter

He was part of the Dogra Regiment and was on duty at the Bhagat Battalion dormitory in the academy when he committed suicide. He was rushed to the military hospital in Dehradun where he succumbed to his injuries. — TNS