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Rituals performed at Ganga ghats for safety of pilgrims
3 more bodies found in Ganga
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We will never forget the
catastrophe: Survivors
Shinde hopeful that all stranded people will be rescued by today
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde along with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna seeks the blessings of Guru Shankaracharya Swaroopanand Saraswati at his Kankhal-based ashram in Haridwar on Saturday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
BJP lauds Army efforts
Army jawans load water in a helicopter at Gauchar in Rudraprayag on Saturday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir
Help pours in from all quarters for victims
Hospital offers treatment to injured
Governor enquires about tigers at park
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Rituals performed at Ganga ghats for safety of pilgrims
Haridwar, June 22 At Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, and other Ganga ghats, local people, pilgrims and activists associated with various social organisations are praying during morning and evening Ganga aarti. Women and children at Shravan Nath Nagar lighted candles and prayed for peace of the deceased souls of the pilgrims at Birla Ghat. They also wished for the safe return of the stranded people in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib, Gauri Kund, Phata , Rudraprayag, Uttarkashi, Karanprayag and other regions of the calamity-affected Garhwal division. Rashtra Sevak Samiti activists, prior to Ganga aarti at Braham Kund, Har-ki-Pauri, observed silent prayers in memory of the deceased people. Chief of the Rashtriya Sevak Samiti Anndanam Sitaji said that samiti activists in different parts of Uttarakhand and western Uttar Pradesh observed similar prayers at the same time. A condolence meeting was organised by Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department office in Mayapur Barrage camp in which Executive Engineer VK Singh urged people to cooperate in the relief works and aid being carried in the affected areas. Samajwadi party state leader Vinod Barthwal performed rites at VIP ghats along with local party activists. Barthwal told mediapersons that he held telephonic conversation with party national chief Mulayam Singh Yadav ,who will soon be making a tour of the affected regions of the Uttarakhand. He also thanked Yadav for UP government's decision of granting relief aid of Rs 25 crore to Uttarakhand. Congress activists also held at similar meetings, in which an appeal was made to all and sundry to contribute for relief aid material. Irshad Khan and Mohammed Haroon, among others, were present at the occasion. Several other political and social organisation also organised prayer meetings, offering tributes to the pilgrims and local residents of the hill state killed in the last week's natural calamity.
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3 more bodies found in Ganga
Haridwar, June 22 Police personnel spotted two bodies at Lakshar, while one was found at Shyampur. All these bodies were in mutilated condition and identification was not possible till the filing of the report. Later these bodies were sent for postmortem with photography, finger prints and DNA samples. The bodies will be preserved as was being done in the case of other bodies found in the river for the past few days since the natural tragedy struck the Himalayan region early this week. District Magistrate of Haridwar Nidhi Pandey said that the information about these bodies was being put in the official website of the district administration. The bodies were being preserved at Rishikul Medical Ayurvedic College. After 36 hours, these bodies will be cremated , for which a social organisation involved in the cremation of unknown bodies has extended support to the administration.
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We will never forget the
catastrophe: Survivors
Pithoragarh, June 22 The pilgrims from Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab shared their experiences of the rain fury of the day at Ramnagar railway station with local journalists. They said that what they have seen at Gobind Ghat and Joshimath would remain with them throughout their lives. “The day our 17-member batch reached Gobind Ghat and Hemkunt, the rains and subsequent water flow created havoc and when we reached Joshimath, almost all shops, hotels and vehicles were submerged in the river there. We left the place in a hurry to save ourselves and in this hurry our driver got swept away in the river,” said Kuldeep Kaur, a resident of Hari Nagar, Delhi. Ajit Sahni, a professional photographer from Ramnagar, who had gone to Badrinath town for a professional assignment, said over 20,000 people were present at Badrinath on the day of the catastrophe. They are still trapped these and the estimate of volumes could not made clearly by the administration. “The two nearby villages of Phulna and Bhyudhar of Badrinath town were destroyed totally that night. The water also swept away 15 Nepali families along with their huts,” said Ajit. Horseman Navin Singh Danu from Karmi village of Bageshwar who safely returned home from Gaurikund after trekking 180 km on foot, has horrifying stories of the day. Danu returned with three of his companions. He said in Kapkot, he saw 30-odd pilgrims swaying in the Alaknanda river on June 18, when he was returning with the help of local villagers. “While crossing a makeshift bridge on the Alaknanda, 30 pilgrims were swept away by the river. Only those who fled towards Triyuginarayan could save themselves,” said Danu. Similar tales have surfaced from the Darma valley of Pithoragarh district which also got heavy rains from June 12 to 18. A bank employee, who had gone to visit Narayan Ashram, experienced the rain fury. “ When our six-member team reached Narayan Ashram on June18, we saw the destruction incurred by the night-long rain in the area. The bridges through which we reached the ashram were totally swept away and local rivulet Kanchoti was swollen. The rain caused destruction in the Darma valley also, where the villages were cut off from mainstream routes of the Dharchula market and subdivisional office,” said Mukesh Kumar, a survivor. The 27 pilgrims who had gone to Char Dham from Kiccha town of Udham Singh Naga also bore the rain havoc at Kedarnath. They were safe as they had begun their pilgrimage early -- on June 9. “When we reached Kedarnath on June 16, we could seen widespread devastation as entire area was submerged under water and the routes toward Rambara and Gaurikund had been fully swept away by the rains. We took shelter in a remote village of Uttarkashi and spent the next four nights there,” said Vinod Singh, leader of the pilgrims' batch.
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Shinde hopeful that all stranded people will be rescued by today
Haridwar, June 22 With the rescue operations intensified, the Home Minister hoped that by tomorrow all stranded people would get evacuated from the disaster-affected hill region. Shinde said relief operations were being done on a war scale, with round-the-clock monitoring of the current situation being done by Home and Defence ministries. The Home Minister stated this while meeting Jagad Guru Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopananad Saraswati of Jyotisha Peeth today at his Kankhal-based Haridwar ashram. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was accompanying the Home Minister. He said that state government was trying its best to ensure safe evacuation of each and every pilgrim as well as local person stranded in the region. The CM said that government was providing Rs 2 lakh to the kin of deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured as ex gratia payment. He said that some people were trying to malign the image of local people by reporting false tales of misconduct and he said this was wrong. He also refuted claims of Opposition parties of laxity by the Uttarakhand government in failing to analyse the scale of the natural disaster and improper relief operations. “Everyone needs to cooperate in this time of distress. Allegations won’t provide relief to the affected people. I am monitoring the situation and with full help from the central government, Indian army and with relief aid being received from across the country, we will overcome this testing time,” said Bahuguna. Both Shinde and Bahuguna sought the blessings of the revered spiritual guru Shankarcharya Swaroopanand Saraswati, who demanded offering of religious rituals at ‘samadhi sthal’ of Adi Guru Shankaracharya, just adjacent to the Kedarnath shrine. Swaroopanand Saraswati said it was not a good omen that disaster had stuck the shrine and ‘samadhi sthal’.
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BJP lauds Army efforts
Dehradun, June 22 The Uttarkahnd BJP appointed senior party leaders to organise relief camps in the affected areas. It was also decided to provide food, medicines and other essential commodities to the affected people in the state. The meeting chaired by state BJP chief Teerath Singh Rawat appealed to the state government step up rescue and relief operations.
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Help pours in from all quarters for victims
Haridwar, June 22 Saints, ashrams, religious and other organisations are providing relief to the pilgrims, who are being brought to Rishikesh and Haridwar in helicopters and buses. They are also being provided free accommodation with food, water bottles and medical aid in various ashrams. The Ganga Sabha has started a relief camp at the Roadways bus station for the affected pilgrims and providing them food and medical kits. Office-bearers of the Ganga Sabha Om Prakash Sharma and Virendra Shri Kunj are monitoring the working of the relief camp. The Jagadguru Ashram, Kankhal, and the Jay Ram Ashram Bhoopatwala, are offering free accommodation and food to the affected people. The pilgrims reaching Rishikesh are also being brought to Haridwar by buses provided by the Jay Ram Ashram free of cost. Public sector power major BHEL has flagged off its first consignment of relief aid for the calamity-hit Uttarkashi district. The Chinmay Ashram, Uttarkashi, and BHEL volunteers will distribute the aid. Sant Mahendra Singh of the Nirmal Santpura Ashram has donated Rs 51,000 to District Magistrate, Haridwar, Nidhi Pandey for relief work. Nirdhan Niketan Ashram chief Rishi Ram Krishan has provided 150 quintals of food material to the District Magistrate, which has been sent to the affected districts. Members of the Tehri Dam Rehabilitation Welfare Committee are collecting blankets and medicines while the Vaishya Bandhu Samaj, the Shiv Sena, the Varisth Kalyan Samiti, Shivalik Nagar, and the SIDCUL Manufacturers Association have provided Rs 3.50 lakh worth relief material to the district administration. A Mahindra Group firm has also provided Rs 1 crore to the state government towards relief work.
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Hospital offers treatment to injured
Dehradun, June 22 The hospital authorities have deployed an ambulance to bring the patients from Jollygrant Airport to the hospital. The hospital authorities also sent relief material and medicines for the victims of the natural disaster to Gopeshwar in Chamoli district. A camp has also been set up to accept contributions for relief material by the students and general public. Bhupender Raturi, spokesperson of the hospital, said students have enthusiastically responded to the call and 71 cartoons of food material have been collected, which would be dispatched to the affected areas. Free medicines distributed
The Max India Foundation through Max Super Specialty Hospital, Dehradun, has extended their support to the victims of the natural calamity in Uttarakhand by providing free medical treatment and medicines. The hospital has also created a special ward for the victims where a dedicated team of doctors are providing treatment free of cost. The Max India Foundation is providing free medicines to these patients. It is also providing requisite medicines to the state government distribution amongst people who can't be brought to the hospital.
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Governor enquires about tigers at park
Dehradun, June 22 During his tour of Ramnagar yesterday, the Governor met Sinha, who gave him detailed information regarding the efforts being made for the protection of tigers. The Governor expressed concern at the recent tiger deaths in the western forest division. He directed the Director of the park to prepare a proposal to get necessary resources for strengthening the security system. The Governor also enquired about the neighbouring areas of the park. Sinha presented the Governor with an album containing 140 photographs of tigers. Gives one month’s salary
Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi has decided to give his one month’s salary for the disaster-affected people in the state. He said till the time the rescue and relief work continues he would give 10 per cent of his salary every month for the purpose. The Governor appealed to the people of the state to come forward and help the affected people.
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the natural calamity in Uttarakhand and also for the safe evacuation of the stranded pilgrims, people are offering prayers and rituals at Ganga ghats on a regular basis.
Survivors of the rain catastrophe at Kedarnath and Gaurikund, who reached their homes in the Kumaon region with the help of defence forces or on their own, narrate horrifying tales.
Union Minister for Home Affairs Sushil Kumar Shinde has expressed confidence that relief operations being carried out in the disaster-stuck regions of Garhwal will soon evacuate all stranded pilgrims and local people.
Senior BJP leaders, including organisational secretary Ram Lal and Uttarakhand state in charge Radha Mohan Singh, today criticised the state government for it's laxity in dealing with the natural disaster in the state. At a meeting held here today, BJP leaders lauded the efforts of the Army and paramilitary forces in the rescue and relief operations.
