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Far-flung areas still deprived of relief
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Aid material lying unused in Haridwar
342 still stranded in Johar, Darma valleys
CM assures victims of all
help in Joshiyara
Floods in Alaknanda hit varsity water supply
14,000 additional houses sanctioned for rain-hit
Power generation suffers a setback
Rescued persons given relief
Govt, temple committee will reconstruct
Kedarnath: CM
Fourteen policemen have died in Kedarnath catastrophe
Declare calamity as national disaster: CPM
Dehradun
diary
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Two embankments will be made, minister assures villagers
Haridwar, June 30 On a tour of the flood ravaged areas of Lakshar, Khanpur and Raiyasi, Arya took stock of the situation and assured villagers of prompt safety measures like building of
embankments. Arya also announced building of two new embankments from Dumanpuri till Indrishpur and Chandrapur till the Uttar Pradesh border. Owing to flood threat, people of Gang Daspur village are taking shelter in their relatives’ houses. On the directions of the district administration, more than 20 families have already left with their cattle and pets for the
nearby villages. Sukhpal, a villager, said at the Raiyasi relief camp, a shelter has been made by the administration, but it still lacks facilities. Due to this, villagers are finding it better to move to their relatives’ places rather
than putting up at ill-equipped camps. Tehsildar Sohan Singh said Gangdaspur village was one of the most affected villages in the area during the monsoon. Due to heavy rainfall earlier this month, embankment at Purani Kundi on the Ganga had got damaged. Village chief Chaman Lal said the 5-km embankment from Bishapur Kundi till Purani Kundi has got damaged at various points and the Irrigation Department was looking into the repair work. He said recently Haridwar District Magistrate Nidhi Pandey local rural legislator Swami Yatishwaranand had inspected the damaged embankment. The District Magistrate had directed the officials to expedite the repair work on
embankment. |
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Far-flung areas still deprived of relief
Dehradun, June 30 Talking to The Tribune, RDF team member Chandrakala said they visited several villages in Tilwara, Augustmuni, Rudraprayag and other disaster-hit areas. She said the people are going without food in villages like Derubagad, Chandrapuri, Ganganagar, Jawaharnagar, Vijaynagar in the Augustmuni region. She said biscuit packets are the sole solace that have been airdropped while on the contrary they desperately need raw ration like rice, floor and pulses. She said the situation in disaster-struck districts was getting from bad to worse due to the disruption of connecting roads. “Many villages are still cut off and thus are totally deprived off basic relief,” she said. According to Jeewan Singh, another team member, the distribution of relief has not been proper so far. “While villages close to the road head are getting relief in abundance, distant villages have been left out,” he said it was more important to ensure that relief first reachs far-flung areas. truckloads of aid not moving
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Aid material lying unused in Haridwar
Haridwar, June 30 The district administration does not even have the details of the trucks and vehicles entering Haridwar for the past two weeks. District Panchayat Raj Officer M. Zafar said the details were not recorded initially, but now they were trying to maintain a record of the vehicles entering Haridwar. He said 40 trucks had been dispatched. Around the CCR tower, where the aid material has been stored, one can see open packets of biscuits, juices and other items in abundance. This indicates laxity on part of the officials and employees at the CCR. Disaster cell spokesperson Uttam Singh Chauhan said, “The roads He said they had dispatched relief material to the nine affected regions. Many relief trucks coming from New Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab have been asked to station near the highway. Due to the laxity of the administration, the relief material for the Garhwal region is being forced to get distributed in Haridwar.
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342 still stranded in Johar, Darma valleys
Pithoragarh, June 30 ITBP officer BS Martolia, who is deputed at Naini Saini airstrip to look after the rescue operation, said Army and Air Force choppers rescued 85 persons on Saturday, but due to bad weather sorties could not take place on Sunday. “Sixty eight persons are still stranded in Johar valley and 250 in Darma. Twenty four Chota Kailas pilgrims are also yet to be rescued from Gunji at Byans valley,” said Martola. He said ample food items were distributed in 20 locations of all three valleys and the Dharchula area. However, some locations were still awaiting relief as due to bad weather, choppers could not reach that areas. “In Ralam, Mapa, Gandhar and Panchu villages in Johar valley, 61 persons of 42 families are yet to be evacuated,” said the ITBP officer. According to the ITBP officer, a high frequency weather station has been installed at the airstrip to get an accurate information. |
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CM assures victims of all
help in Joshiyara
Dehradun, June 30 A lot of houses, shops and agricultural lands were washed away in the flood waters of Bhagirathi river. The Chief Minister said that a special package would be given to the affected people. He said the first priority of his government was to evacuate the stranded pilgrims and that task had been accomplished. He said now the state government was focussing on the areas and villages cut off due to damage to roads. “We will provide all essential commodities to these villagers soon,” he announced. He also said that every effort was being made to reopen the damaged roads and the Border Roads Organisation had been given the deadline of August 31 to do the task in the state. He also went to Matli and met the victims of the floods and rains. He assured them that every effort would be made by the state government to rebuild their devastated lives. |
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Floods in Alaknanda hit varsity water supply
Dehradun, June 30 The floods have dismantled the drinking water pipelines leading to the drinking water crisis. There are 150 residences of teachers apart a large number of accommodations for non-teaching employees. The disruption of water supply is causing a lot of inconveniences to the people. The university’s under-construction guest house is also facing threat due to caving of land by furious Alaknanda river. The guest house is coming up at a cost of Rs 11 crore. According to HNB University sources, the university authorities have informed the matter to Tehri district authorities, University Grants Commission and Union HRD Ministry about the growing threat of Alaknanda river to the University’s Chauras campus.
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14,000 additional houses sanctioned for rain-hit
Dehradun, June 30 “All these announcements have been made to provide relief to the affected families in the rain-hit state of Uttarakhand by the Ministry of Rural Development,” said Subash Kumar. He said the relief work had been started in Uttarakhand and food packets and ration were dropped in five villages by choppers in five villages of Pithoragarh and 15 villages of Rudraprayag. Besides, around 204 small and big trucks carrying relief material had been dispatched. All major roads had been restored for vehicular movement. The road between Badrinath and Rambara had been repaired. A small stretch of road at Lambagar needed to be repaired, he added. The Joshimath-Gobind Ghat road had been opened for traffic and the road between Kund and Chamoli via Okhimath and Chopta repaired. Roads between Guptakashi and Gaurikund, Uttarkashi and Gangotri are yet to be opened. The Army, DGBR and the state engineering departments have been directed to make the highways motorable and make mule tracks or footpaths, wherever necessary. The government has been assured that at least mule tracks and foot paths would become operational soon.
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Power generation suffers a setback
Dehradun, June 30 Ten power projects have been completely shut in the state. “Due to silt deposition, it will take at least two to three days to start the Maneri Bhali-I and Maneri Bhali-II power projects,” said Chief Secretary
Subash Kumar. Against the total power generation of 1,300 MW, only 400 MW is being
generated. The water situation has improved considerably and water connections have to be restored in 189 hamlets. “The problem is in
Kedarnath and it will take some time to restore the water supply in that region,” said
Subash Kumar. He said electricity had been restored in 475 villages. |
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Rescued persons given relief
Dehradun, June 30 They were given Rs 40,000 as relief. Tehsildar, Hargiri said, a woman with foot injury was evacuated from Batwadi,
Uttarkashi and dropped at Sahastardhara helipad. She was then admitted in CMI Hospital. One truck with relief material was sent from Jolly Grant Airport to affected areas of Guptkashi. 25 small vehicles carrying relief material was sent from the
Disaster Storage Center at Maharana Pratap Sports College for the disaster-affected areas.
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Govt, temple committee will reconstruct Kedarnath: CM
Dehradun, June 30 However, he said anyone was welcome to contribute funds for the reconstruction of the 8th century shrine that withstood the ravage of the cloudbursts and floods that swept away its neighbourhood and much of the town. "I have made it clear that it will be constructed by the state government and the temple committee. Anybody who is coming forward to make donation is most welcome," he told PTI in an interview. "I am not joining any issue on this with any other state or any other leader or party. Any state, leader and party in India or abroad who want to help in the reconstruction of the entire Kedarnath shrine is welcome. This place is a nagar panchayat. So anyone who supports us to reconstruct and rebuild the entire Kedarnath shrine is welcome. What we require is financial aid. We have manpower and engineers to do this," he said. Bahuguna said the state government and the temple committee were open to suggestions, but the final decision in this regard would be taken by them. On a visit to Uttarakhand last week, Modi had said the Gujarat government would take the responsibility of reconstructing the Kedarnath temple. — PTI |
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Fourteen policemen have died in Kedarnath catastrophe
Dehradun,June 30 This includes eight jawans of Provincial Armed Constabulary and six other state police personnel. According to police sources, these policemen were deployed at Rambara and Uttarkashi and died in rain linked mishaps. The entire police department’s infrastructure stretching from Gaurikund to Kedarnath has been dismantled in the disaster. On an average nearly 80 police personnel are deployed from Gaurikund to Kedarnath during Char Dham yatra season. The state police personnel are now undertaking active part in relief measures. Meanwhile, the state police today released photographs of the dead who have been cremated in Kedarnath.
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Declare calamity as national disaster: CPM
Dehradun, June 30 "We are demanding that the Central Government should declare the floods that ravaged the entire state, as a national calamity," said Rajender Partholi, state CPMsecretary at a press conference
here today. The CPM, claimed to have formed two teams to provide relief to several villages and towns that have been affected by the floods. A team led by Indresh Maikhuri, the party's Garhwal secretary will look after the Garhwal division. The second team led by Jagat Martoliya, district secretary,Pithoragarh will be responsible for the relief efforts of the
Kumaon division. " "We are also demanding sustainable development in the state,"said Partholi. Following the evacuation of most of the pilgrims of the Char Dham yatra in Uttarakhand, the government is now focusing on rehabilitation and providing relief measures to
the locals. Thousands of pilgrims and locals were stranded in different locations of the state, mainly in Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath and Joshimath, after the floods ravaged the state on June 15 and 16. |
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Lack of preparedness of state govt to deal with calamities exposed
The natural disaster which resulted in the deaths of
thousands of pilgrims at Kedarnath and other places in Uttarakhand last week not only points towards the fragility of the Himalayan ecology but also exposes the lack of preparedness on the part of the state government to deal with such calamities.
Natural calamities are not new to the Himalayan region as the state has been bearing the brunt of such disasters almost every year, particularly during the monsoon period in the shape of cloudbursts, landslides and flash floods. However, the scale and magnitude of the disaster this time has been enormous. Following unprecedented monsoon rains, which started a fortnight early on June 15, the entire mid-Himalayan region was badly hit. The cloudburst at the Kedarnath temple and the downward flow of the debris resulted in the death of thousands of people during the peak pilgrimage period. All rivers and streams which dot the landscape of Uttarkhand turned furious, washing away roads, houses, shops, hotels, dharamshalas, schools and agricultural fields in an area spread over 40,000 square kilometres, particularly in the districts of Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Pithoragarh. The floods damaged property in other districts of the state as well. But the scale of destruction in the Kedarnath valley has been unprecedented. With thousands dead and many thousands stranded at various places since June 17, the state government found itself inadequate in dealing with the situation of such a magnitude. The helpless state government had no option but to request the Central government to send in Army and para-military forces to help in the rescue operations. The Army, the Indian Air Force, ITBP and National Disaster Relief Force ( NDRF) personnel worked against all odds and successfully rescued more than one lakh stranded pilgrims from Kedarnath, Badrinath, Ganogotri, Yamunotri and Hemkund Sahib in the past fortnight. It was a huge task with almost all the road links damaged and people stranded at various places without food and water for days. However, the preparedness of the state government in dealing with disaster lay exposed thoroughly. The state which boasts of having a separate Disaster Management Ministry was found wanting in meeting the challenge. After the tragedy struck, the local administration particularly, the police and revenue machinery failed to respond to the situation. The tall claims of making all necessary arrangements for the Char Dham pilgrimage were belied. It is an irony that a state prone to natural disaster year after year could not prepare itself to deal with such a calamity. The state Disaster Management Ministry has failed to deliver in the past 12 years since the state has been formed. The ministry has failed to have a proper structure, manpower and even finances to prepare a plan to deal with natural calamities. Moreover, the political leadership of the state lacked determination and foresight in dealing with natural calamities. The governments in the state during the past 12 years have lacked the political will to prepare for such tragedies. Interestingly, after every such tragedy since the 1991 Uttarkashi earthquake in the region, there has been a lot of hue and cry in the media and even in government circles to prepare plans and to have trained personnel to deal with any such eventuality. But these are easily forgotten till another tragedy strikes. The state government had failed miserably to utilise the services of a large number of ex-servicemen in preparing a state force to deal with disasters, particularly during the monsoon period. Many a time in the past there have been proposals to raise such a force, but nothing has happened on the ground. Ironically, the resource crunch was cited as the reason for failure to effectively deal with such disasters. On the other hand, after every such natural calamity, respective state governments had been demanding huge compensation packages from the Central government. What really happened to the past compensation packages received by the state government after such disaster is anybodys’ guess. The attitude of the state government authorities has been callous in not responding to the warning issued by the Meteorological Department of rains. Such warnings are ignored by the officialdom. The Meteorological department has been requesting the state government to provide land for installation of two Doppler radars at Mussoorie and Nainital for the past many years. But there are bureaucratic hurdles in getting appropriate land for installing such radars. These radars could forewarn about the concentration of heavy clouds in a particularly areas and give warning of cloudburst and heavy rains. While, the armed forces personnel taking great personal risks, rescued stranded pilgrims, the Uttarakhand ministers instead of helping facilitate the rescue and relief operations occupied helicopters to themselves survey the situation. While the rescue and relief operations waited, these politicians with their favourite television cameras flew into disaster-struck areas to give bytes from the spot to hog publicity. Moreover, instead of showing solidarity, unity and a sense of discipline, there was a bitter dispute on the number of deaths in the tragedy. While Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna claimed that the death toll was more than 1,000, Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said more than 10,000 persons had died. Kunjwal, who belongs to Union Minister Harish Rawat's camp, was persistent in claiming large numbers of deaths. On the other hand, lakhs of local population in 2,300 villages who were cut off from the mainstream following floods and suffering huge losses of their hearths and homes, waited for government relief. For the first fortnight, the entire focus of the government machinery was on the rescue of stranded pilgrims from outside while the local population suffered. At a time, when the local population who are still alive and need food, clothing, housing and medicines, the politicians of the state are quarrelling over the number of the dead. —
S.M.A. Kazmi |
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Minister for Disaster Management Yashpal Arya has assured the people that proper measures would be taken to minimise the impact of the flood in the plain regions of
Haridwar.
Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF) that returned back to Dehradun after a five-day visit to the disaster-hit districts of Garhwal has expressed concern over the large scale anomalies in the distribution of relief to the victims.
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today turned down offers from his Gujarat counterpart Narendra Modi and others for the reconstruction of the Kedarnath temple, saying it will be done by his government and the temple committee.
While demanding that the Centre declares the Uttarakhand floods as a national calamity, the CPM has formed two teams for providing relief measures to the disaster-hit areas.
The natural disaster which resulted in the deaths of
thousands of pilgrims at Kedarnath and other places in Uttarakhand last week not only points towards the fragility of the Himalayan ecology but also exposes the lack of preparedness on the part of the state government to deal with such calamities.
