CM directs officials to help people hit by rains, floods
Water level in Bhagirathi above danger mark z 200 families shifted to safer places in Uttarkashi
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has instructed the district administrations to provide basic amenities to the people affected by heavy rains and floods in the state. The Chief Minister has been personally monitoring the damages caused by heavy rain at Uttarkashi district and other places in the state.

He reviewed the conditions in those places with Disaster Management Minister Yashpal Arya and gave the necessary directions to the administrative officers. Bahuguna instructed them to shift the affected people to safe places and provide basic amenities like food, water, milk, clothes and medicines.

Addressing media persons here today, Bahuguna said that the water level in the river Bhagirathi had crossed the danger mark due to heavy rain in Uttarkashi. He said that the Uttarkashi district adminsitration had taken taken prompt action to shift 200 families from the danger area to safer places and had made proper arrangements for their shelter. Owing to landslides in Gangotri and Kedarnath national highways, the Char Dham Yatra had been stalled till the condition improved. Along with the district administration and disaster management teams, the jawans of the ITBP and the PAC had also been deployed for rescue and relief work. He disclosed that three fire fighters, too, were swept away during search and rescue operations in Gangotri near Uttarkashi.

Furnishing details about the damage caused by the natural disasters, Bahguna said that there were reports according to which 5 persons at Gangotri and two in Dunda were swept away in the deluge. The floods had washed away Gangotri bridge, while the wall of Tilod bridge connecting Kedarnath had been badly damaged, due to which it had been closed. Chief Minister Bahuguna said that massive damage had been caused to Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Maneri Bhali Hydropower Project in Uttarkashi and dozens of houses and vehicles were swept away. A large area of agricultural land had been washed away in floods, while there were reports of a suspension bridge getting swept away at Bhatwari and Mori.

Chief Minister Bahuguna said that the total focus of the adminsitration at present was on the rescue and relief operations. He said that the damage caused in the deluge would be estimated and appropriate compensation provided to the affected people. If needed Central assistance would also be sought, he said. Quoting Weather Department forecast regarding possibility of heavy rains in the next 48 hours, Bahuguna appealed to the people residing near river banks to remain alert and cooperate with the adminsitration in rescue and relief operations. He said that as the government was working with full commitment for their safety, they need not panic.

According to the State Emergency Operations Centre, a total of 26 people were swept away and 200 houses had collapsed in the flood triggered by a cloudburst and heavy rains in the state. 

Relief works on in Uttarkashi and Chamoli

Dehradun, August 4
The district administration, along with ITBP, disaster management and firefighting teams, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and volunteers of self-help groups, is engaged in rescue and relief works in Uttarkashi and Chamoli following heavy rain and flood in the Bhagirathi and its tributaries.

Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain reviewed a meeting of the Disaster Management Department at the Secretariat here today and issued necessary directives to the officials concerned. Jain said the state headquarters was in regular contact with officials of the State Emergency Operations Centre, Char Dham Yatra Monitoring Cell and administrative officials of Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts. He said the IG (ITBP) and the Chief Engineer, BRO, had been asked to depute their units for rescue works. The district administration has already disbursed immediate relief amount to the affected families. He said the BRO's bridge had been swept away in Gangotri, snapping its link with other places. The Chief Engineer, BRO, had reached Uttarkashi and a bailley bridge was being constructed.

Jain said the DMs of Haridwar, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi had been alerted and being contacted regularly to take stock of the situation. He said seven persons, including three firefighters, had been reportedly swept away in the flood. Meanwhile, 19 labourers working in underconstruction hydropower project at Assi on the Ganga also swept away in the deluge.

Jain said 200 affected families had been shifted to Government Girls Inter-College, Joshiyada, the Chief Development Officer's Office, the Nagar Palika Parishad, Birla Dharmshala and the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam building.

Showers in Doon

Dehradun, August 4
Dehradun experienced heavy rains today, disrupting normal life in the city. The downpour that started last night continued throughout the day today. Most of the residents of the city kept indoors.

Fortunately, while the Central government offices were already closed today being Saturday, even state government offices recorded thin attendance at work. Water got accumulated in low-lying areas of the city like Clement Town and Manjara. Boundary walls of various houses in the region also collapsed due to the accumulated water. All the roads of the city witnessed heavy waterlogging, affecting the flow of traffic.

Meanwhile, Meteorological Department has predicted that the rains will continue in Uttarakhand in the next 24 hours. — TNS

Hydropower projects shut down due to increased silt
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
Incessant rain and floods in the Bhagirathi has resulted in a major power crisis as all hydropower projects in the state were shut down due to increased silt. There has been a huge gap between the demand and supply of power in the state. The state power corporation had to shut power for up to eight hours in various cities and towns of the state to cope with the situation.

A spokesperson for Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited said the production of power in the state had dropped to 13 million units which was far below the demand of power of the state.

The rural areas of the state will face power cuts for more than 11 hours while cuts up to nine hours will be imposed in urban areas.

The unavailability of power has adversely affected the pumping of water in the urban areas and major cities of the state.

Kali river swells due to cloudburst, alert sounded
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, August 4
The Pithoragarh district administration has alerted officials at the Banbasa barrage situated on the Kali river in Tanakpur subdivision of Champawat district as the water level in the river has reached around the danger mark due to a cloudburst in its basin in Nepal.

The District Disaster Management Officer, Pithoragarh, RS Rana, said the water level in the river was recorded at 890 metres, one metre below the danger mark, yesterday due to heavy rain in the upper reaches of Dharchula subdivision. The water level in the river rose suddenly near Garbiyang village in Dharchula subdivision due to a cloudburst in Nepal.

“We face no danger from the Kali river to our villages, which are situated near its banks, during the monsoon when it swells to its highest point,” said Rana.

The district has received 70 mm more rainfall in July this year. The average rainfall in the district has crossed 550 mm with Dharchula subdivision crossing 750 mm during July, said Rana.

He added more than 17 roads were still closed in the district with the main highway to Munsiyari town remaining closed for the last 15 days.

“We are trying to continue the transshipment facility to the locals on the closed roads, including the one to Munsiyari,” said Rana. 

Prakash Pant plans stir against Cong govt
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, August 4
Former Cabinet Minister and Pithoragarh MLA Prakash Pant today announced to launch a long-term agitation against the state Congress government at the local level, as, according to him, the Congress Party had turned down the proposals of five main projects, which he had sanctioned for the people of Pithoragarh.

Briefing mediapersons here, the former high profile minister in the Khanduri cabinet said that the achievement of the local Congress MLA in the border town was that it had set aside the Rs 75.70 crore drinking water reorganisation scheme for the town of Pithoragarh, which would have given the people of the town adequate water. “Besides this main project, the local representative of the Congress had stopped the follow up on 17 other drinking water and hospital projects in the district only on the pretext that these people-oriented projects were drafted under BJP rule,” said Pant.

The BJP leader, who had fought the recently-concluded Sitarganj byelection against the Chief Minister of the state, said that besides that in Pithoragarh town, the Congress government had stopped working on the projects sanctioned by Asian Development Bank (ADB) during the BJP regime to make the supply of drinking water available to the citizens up to the national standard. “ The tendering process for these projects, which had to take place in October, had now been stopped as the Congress government even wanted to alter the process of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the credit agency,” said Pant.

Pant also alleged that the Congress government had suspended work on the base hospital, which was sanctioned by him for the district of Pithoragarh, as out of three main districts of Kumaon region, only Pithoragarh had been denied this facility. “After spending a sum of Rs 1 crore on the initial work on this hospital, the local Congress MLA now talks of changing the site from the sanctioned spot to the place which had no land available for the project,” said Pant.

He reiterated his stand that he will become fully active in Pithoragarh Assembly seat and fight against the injustice being done by the Congress regime to the local people by misleading them. “Pithoragarh is my birth place as well as my political alma mater. I cannot see injustice being inflicted by anyone on the people here,” said Pant. 

The local Congress MLA in the border town has set aside the Rs 75.70 crore drinking water reorganisation scheme for Pithoragarh town, which would have given the people adequate water. Besides, he has stopped the follow-up process of 17 other drinking water and hospital projects in the district on the pretext that these projects were drafted by the former BJP government.

— Prakash Pant, former Cabinet minister

MLA Panwar takes stock of situation
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has ordered relief and rescue operations in Uttarkashi where a cloudburst has taken place. Urban Development Minister Pritam Panwar, who is an MLA from Uttarkashi, has rushed to the district to take stock of the situation.

The Chief Minister today directed the authorities to start relief and rescue operations in Uttarakashi and other areas affected by the cloudburst and landslides. He also gave directions for the immediate reopening of blocked roads to facilitate the movement of Char Dham pilgrims and proper arrangements of food, water and other facilities for them.

He told the Char Dham cell in Dehradun to inform him on daily basis about the situation in the Garhwal region.

On the other hand, Panwar expressed concern at the loss of human lives and property in the cloudburst. He directed the district administration to immediately send a report about destruction caused by the cloudburst to the government.

The minister cancelled all his engagements in Dehradun and rushed to Uttarkashi to take stock of the situation.

Panwar asked the Chief Secretary and the Disaster Management Secretary to immediately release funds to help in dealing with exigencies in Uttarkashi.

He directed the Uttarkashi administration to provide medical help to the injured and immediate assistance to those who had been rendered homeless. 

Minister orders adverse entries against 2 officials
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
Dissatisfied with the works being carried under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in Nainital, Urban Development Minister Pritam Singh Panwar has ordered adverse entries and action against Executive Engineer VK Pant and Assistant Engineer SK Verma.

At a review meeting yesterday, Panwar asked the officials concerned to initiate action against the duo in the matter. After receiving complaints about the poor quality of work, the minister had asked Pejyal Nigam and Jal Sansthan officials to inspect the work six months ago, but no action was undertaken.

The minister yesterday examined the work underway under the JNNURM in Nainital, Dehradun and Haridwar and fixed deadlines for 49 projects.

The minister was informed that in Dehradun, against the sanctioned work comprising the construction of 30 tubewells, 37 overhead tanks, 26.15 km rising main, 25 tubewells have been constructed, land selection process is on for the construction of four overhead tanks and 16.50 km rising main has been constructed.

Evaluating the progress on the Solid Waste Management Project underway in Dehradun, the minister asked the department to bring left out 30 remaining wards under door-to-door collection of waste.

The minister also asked the officials to initiate work on Globe Chowk. He was informed that work on the broadening of eight chowks was complete and on Ballupur Chowk it would be completed by December.

The minister was also informed that 30 per cent of the work on the construction of the Sewerage Treatment Plant at Vijay Nagar, Salawala colony and Indira Nagar was complete.

PVC awardee addresses RIMC cadets
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
It was an important day for the cadets at Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) here today as they were addressed by Havildar Sanjay Kumar, a recipient of Param Vir Chakra (PVC).

Sanjay is a veteran of the Kargil war of 1999 and is at present posted in the 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in Dehradun. Sanjay belongs to a small village in Himachal Pradesh. He was commissioned in the Army in April 1997. Two years later when Pakistan soldiers occupied some vital peaks in the Kargil region, the Army declared a war and retaliated by sending some of its best infantry battalions, including the 13 JAK Rifles.

Sanjay showed great courage in fulfilling the first objective of his unit to capture Peak 5140 on July 5, 1999. The unit was tasked with capturing another peak, Peak 4180. He volunteered to join the advance group and played a major role in the destruction of enemy bunkers in the region. He suffered numerous bullet wounds but kept going on in spite of danger. He killed seven infiltrators. He was awarded Param Vir Chakra by the then President KR Narayanan on January 26, 2000.

Sanjay had the honour of fighting alongside another PVC award winner Capt Vikram Batra, PVC (posthumously). He gave a presentation on the Kargil war and educated the cadets on the conditions they faced while confronting the enemy. It was an inspiring event for the cadets that motivated them to prove their mettle in face of the enemy.

The presentation was well received and the cadets asked numerous questions. Col Pankaj K. Kumaria, Commandant of RIMC, thanked Sanjay for sparing valuable time to address the cadets. Other dignitaries present were Lt Col Ambarish Tiwari, Major R Richardson, Wing Commander SK Thapliyal, Lt Pinku Haiekam, CS Vishwakarma and PK Sharma. 

Maharaj grieved over loss of life, property
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
Uttarakhand Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj has expressed deep concern over loss of life and property in rain-linked incidents in the state.

Maharaj has expressed grief over the death of two children in a house at Karanprayag, that falls in his Garhwal constituency. He said the water levels in Alaknanda, Mandakini and Pindar rivers were rising, which was alarming.

He directed the District Magistrate, Chamoli, to provide food and medicines to the affected.

He also gave directions for shifting of the affected families. 

Film fest at district jail
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
The Dehradun edition of the CMS Vatavaran Biodiversity Film Festival held an innovative film screening session at the district jail here. An event of this kind has been organised for the first time on the premises of any prison of the state.

The event portrayed environmentally relevant issues on celluloid aimed at increasing the knowledge and creating awareness about the biodiversity surrounding human beings.

Around 500 inmates, including women, attended the session. Ramdev’s aide Balkrishan currently lodged in the Dehradun jail was also among the audience.

Inaugurating the session, chief guest on the occasion Narendra Singh Rawat, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar) leader, appreciated the noble idea and said, “Such kind of events will spread awareness among inmates and encourage them to contribute to the environment.”

Festival coordinator Avinash Ujjwal said it was a noble opportunity for the inmates to be part of such an event which would increase their knowledge and encourage them to contribute to the environment.

Also present on the occasion were District Jail Superintendent B Pandey, Deputy Jailor SK Sukhija and Conservator of Forest SS Rasaily.

The screening session at the district jail marked the concluding ceremony of the six-day long film festival which was being organised at 25 venues across the city.

Nitika, Shikha win ‘shlok’ recitation contest
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 4
A one-day ‘shlok’ recitation competition was organised at Bal Mandir Senior Secondary School BHEL, sector-1, here today.

Kumari Nikita, a Class IX student of the Saksham house, won the competition in the senior category while Shikha Pal of the Sanksar house secured the second position.

In the devotional song category, Nishta Chaudhari of Class VIII (Samarpan house) won the event followed by Radhikar of Class VIII and Vanshika Sankalp of Class VIII of the Sanskar and Sankalp houses, respectively.

School Principal KN Pandey gave away the prizes and lauded the participation of students.

The competition was inaugurated by the secretary, Educational Management Board, Anil Jain, who emphasised the need of inculcating moral, spiritual and cultural values among youth.

Bhuvanya, Shubhankar best speakers
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
The fourth edition of Brother ET Dunne Memorial Inter-House Debate competition was held at the St Josephs’ Academy today.

The lighting of the ceremonial lamp by Rev Bro AJ George was followed by the reading of the rules by the chairperson, Utsav Thapliyal.

This year the debate was in the prepared speech format and not extempore. The debaters spoke on the issue “The education system today is producing youth with high percentages but low morals”.

The judges on the occasion were Veena Kalia, Poonam Sood and Vinita Sood.

The English debate was followed by a well-contested Hindi debate. The chairperson on the occasion was Aditya Singh Bisht. After a fierce battle of wit and oratory, the following participants emerged as winners in different categories.

Inter-house English debate — Best speaker: Bhuvanya Vijay (Bergin house)

First runner-up: Shalvi Garima Negi (Bergin house)

Best rebuttal: Bhuvayaa Vijay (Bergin house)

Inter-house Hindi debate

Best speaker: Shubhankar Gaur (Dooley house)

First runner-up: Shubhankar Mittal (Bergin house)

Best rebuttal: Shubhankar Gaur (Dooley house)

The best team in the Hindi Debate was from the Donovan house. The Bergin house won the overall trophy.

Brother AJ George applauded the students for their zealous participation and proposed a vote to thanks to all.

Wynberg Allen wins football tourney
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 4
The Wynberg Allen team won the Second Brother Keogh Memorial Inter School Football Tournament being organised at the St Josephs’ Academy (SJA) here today. It defeated the SJA team in a tough final match.

Adwait Deo and Tenzin Lodo from Wynberg Allen and Shubhang Balodi from the SJA scored one goal each. The SJA Alumni Association gave a reward of Rs 5,000 to the winning team and Rs 2,000 to the runners up.

The tournament was inaugurated by Principal Rev Bro AJ George. Ten teams from various prestigious schools of Dehradun and Mussoorie participated in the event. The schools included St. George’s and Wynberg Allen, Mussoorie, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Carman School and Doon International, besides the host St. Joseph’s Academy team.

Bro AJ George proposed a vote of thanks and congratulated the winners. He said such events promoted sportsmanship in students. 

Community Centre team win basketball tournament
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, August 4
The Community Centre team today won the inter-basketball championship organised by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited at the Sector 1 stadium here today.

The Community Centre team defeated Delhi Public School 38-37.

Presenting the trophy to the winning team, Additional General Manager (HR) Arun Kumar lauded the performance shown by the finalist teams.

Organising committee members KS Rana, Subash Chand, Sunit Chauhan, Indra Mohan Barthwal, DC Nautiyal and Harbhajan Singh coordinated the championship.