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Villagers regret losing jobs, worry about kids’ future
Many sadhus perished in catastrophe, but no record of them
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Cloudburst in Chamoli, 2 feared killed
Prayers at Kedarnath gain eminence
All-religion prayer meeting for disaster victims
Centre to focus on slope alignment, alternative Char Dham Yatra routes
Section 144 imposed in DAV (PG) College to maintain law and order
Polaris donates 5 off-road vehicles for relief work
UKD chief Panwar seeks President’s rule in state
Sainani manch seeks I-cards for statehood agitators
MDDA housing scheme drags on in absence of approval
Ex-king distributes relief in Nepal town
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Villagers regret losing jobs, worry about kids’ future
Pithoragarh, July 24 The villagers of Naya Basti in Dharchula subdivision of the district, who are living in a tent colony near the subdivision, are worried about their future and education of their children. “We are being given ration at present in these tents, but none is telling us when we will get our permanent houses and jobs,'' said Arjun Singh of Naya Basti, who used to work as a weaver for a living but lost his house and all household materials on the day. “We want our own house and work that could provide us our daily bread rather than this ration which will be off after some days,'' added Arjun Singh. A total of 473 families of 39 villages of Dharchula and Munsiyari subdivisions of Pithoragarh district have been identified as disaster victims till date by the authorities. These disaster victims are living in tents, government buildings and being provided ration by the government for the last one month. “How long they will give us this ration? Rather, they should shift us to permanent residences made for us and give us work to take care of our families’ ourselves,” said Khushal Singh, another evacuee of New Suwa village of Darma valley. In Bageshwar district, valley of Pinder river basin was badly hit by the disaster which struck on June 16 last month. Bageshwar district administration has kept the victims in tents and various panchayat ghars since. “We have lodged the victims of Bahali, Siri and Pinder valley villages in panchayat ghars and tents erected near the district headquarters, and are looking for land to rehabilitate them as geologists are surveying suitable land for their rehabilitation,” said BS Manral, DM, Bageshwar. According to the data released by the district administration recently, of the 110 villages affected by the disaster in the district, 770 residents are still living under tent roofs. “We have lost our livestock, houses and jobs. Now we have been reduced as refugees in these tents and do not know how long we will have to live in these tents and when we will get hold of our old profession of agriculture and animal husbandry in our village,” said Sundar Singh, a disaster-hit villager of Bahali in Bageshwar district. |
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Many sadhus perished in catastrophe, but no record of them
Dehradun, July 24 A large number of sadhus are supposed to have perished in the catastrophe. These sadhus usually resort to the age-old practice of undertaking the entire journey on foot. They spend a considerable period in walking up to the shrine and it takes several months for them to complete the yatra. Significantly, there are little records of these sadhus who come to the state but do not register themselves with any authority in the state, nor does any government agency tries to keep any record of the sadhus. The state authorities have thus completely failed to come up with any estimate of number of these vagabond sadhus, who may be part of the causality in the rain tragedy at Kedarnath. Rakesh Nath and Jwalaji, who had come all way from Himachal Pradesh to Uttarakhand to pay obeisance at Kedarnath dham, failed to make it to the shrine and could not proceed beyond Rudraprayag. They are now stuck midway and since then, they have been staying at Mayalee village in Rudraprayag and begging for food. While describing the tragedy as God’s will, Rakesh Nath said they would certainly come back next year for a darshan of lord Kedarnath. He says he has not recorded his presence anywhere in government records while entering Uttarakhand for the pilgrimage. Rakesh Nath informed that they beg all the way for food and take shelter even on roadside if there is no ashram in the vicinity. Rajendra Tiwari, secretary of the Kedar Samiti, a committee of priests at Kedarnath, says there is no record of these vagabond sadhus and other mendicants who come to Kedarnath.Even during the catastrophe, there must have been around 150 such sadhus at Kedarnath, who could have been the causalities in the disaster. But due to lack of records, even giving them some compensation to their kin would not be possible. Interestingly, many anti-social elements also come in garb of sadhus as was revealed in the aftermath of the Kedarnath tragedy. One such ochre-clad sadhu was arrested when carrying thousands of rupees which he had looted from a dead pilgrim. Other incidents of such sadhus trying to loot belonging to the deceased and injured have come to light. Queer as their nature is, nearly two dozen such sadhus had even refused to get evacuated following the disaster. Rajendra Tiwari asserts that a proper record should be kept of the sadhus as it would for their benefit and also help the administration check the entry of any anti-social element. |
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Cloudburst in Chamoli, 2 feared killed
Dehradun, July 24 According to sources in Chamoli district headquarters, a cloudburst took place at Sunali village of Karanprayag in Chamoli district around 7.30 am today. Residents of Tirpak and Tefna villages were severely affected as boulders along with mud swamped and destroyed 20 houses. However, unconfirmed reports said two persons were killed in badly-hit Tefna village. Meanwhile, the district administration immediately swung into action and started shifting the affected families to safer areas. Landslides also affected the Rishikesh-Badrinath Highway, which was blocked at a number of places. On the other hand, rains continued in most parts of the state. The rains also led to rise in the water levels in almost all major rivers of the state, namely the Alaknanda, the Mandakini, the Ganga, the Yamuna, the Sharda and the
Kosi.
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Prayers at Kedarnath gain eminence
Dehradun, July 24 The urgency displayed by both the central and the state governments was further emphasised after Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes, batting for Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, too emphasised today that the pooja at the Kedarnath temple should start immediately. On Monday, Vijay Bahuguna had dashed off to Kedarnath, where Minister for Agriculture Harak Singh Rawat, local MLA from Kedarnath Shaila Rani Rawat, too had gone to participate in the pooja and cleaning of the temple of debris and sand. The symbolism of all political leaders, including BJP national leader Uma Bharti who also performed pooja on the same day, was not lost. “The issue has both religious and political ramifications. The Congress government would not like to be at the receiving end in case the BJP tried to put pressure on the issue of resuming prayers at the Kedarnath temple. The presence of Uma Bharti is proof that the BJP would like to wait and watch for the time being,” said a senior BJP leader. Meanwhile, the teams of the Archaeology Survey of India (ASI) from New Delhi and Agra circles who were invited by the Chief Secretary to survey the temple could not go beyond Dehradun. For four days, the team members waited for a chopper to fly them to Kedarnanth, but in vain, ultimately forcing them team to leave for New Delhi. In another instance, Bahuguna has set a tearing pace for his officers by announcing that the char dham yatra (minus Kedarnath) could be resumed by September 30 when the road links would be restored. Clearly the Bahuguna government is battling on several fronts and along with providing relief to the rain-ravaged people, it’s acumen would be severely tested by the opposition on the issue of resumption of prayers at the Kedarnath temple and the char dham
yatra. |
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All-religion prayer meeting for disaster victims
Dehradun, July 24 Principal RV Gardner, a mufti, a priest, a pastor and a granthi prayed for the peace of the departed souls. Students and staff of the college also joined the prayers. Students from different religions also spoke on the occasion. RV Gardner said the college would give admission to students from the disaster-affected families free of cost. The faculty and support staff of St Thomas College and St Jude’s School have also contributed their one-day salary for the victims. He expressed grief over the loss of lives in the disaster. |
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Centre to focus on slope alignment, alternative Char Dham Yatra routes
Dehradun, July 24 “We will hire firms for undertaking slope alignment studies. This will take around four to six months. The focus of the work will be on setting up parking lots at a distance of 20 to 25 km on the Char Dham route. Link roads will also be constructed for linking villages that fall outside the purview of slope alignment studies,” said a senior official from the Institute of Road and Transport Technology, who accompanied Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Oscar
Fernandes. Further the Union ministry is also looking at the engineering procurement and construction
(EPC) model for the construction of roads in the hills. Under the EPC contract the government funds the construction of roads and the development agencies have to finish the project in stipulated time. |
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Section 144 imposed in DAV (PG) College to maintain law and order
Dehradun, July 24 He said he was apprised about the shooting incident which took place between two student factions in lower Rajiv Nagar on July 18, owing to which two students got injured. He further added that both the injured students are said to be supporters of NSUI leader Swati Negi who is a probable candidate for the position of president in the forthcoming college union elections. She has booked cases against students Bhupender Negi, Mohit Rawat, Vineet Bhatt, Pradeep Rawat and Raman Bisht in the shooting incident. Bhupender Negi is also contesting for the post of president. He said there had been a scuffle among these warring groups on July 15 as well and further He said:''In order to maintain peace and law & order in the DAV College, nobody will be allowed to enter the college premises with any inflammable material, cane, hockey stick, sharp-edged weapon or explosive material such as bomb which could be used to create violence. They will not be allowed to accumulate stones or bricks as well in the campus. It is also prohibited to make incendiary comments through speeches, on loudspeakers or in slogans on walls. Not more than five persons will gather on any spot in the college. The order will remain effective till further orders by the authorities. |
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Uttarakhand the challenge ahead
Haridwar, July 24 This has been stressed by Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute Director SK Bhattacharya. Talking to The Tribune, he said in the recent decades, with Uttarakhand becoming a major spot for religious and adventure tourism, we have forgotten the impact of rapid commercialisation and human habitat encroaching on natural ecology. Taking this into account, Dr SK Bhattacharya says that besides uncontrolled deforestation, the most important factor that has influenced the stability of hills and the safety of people is the construction of roads and buildings. Fast pace of urbanisation, wide exposure to the external world, rising population, depleting resources, natural hazards and inflating aspirations have added several new dimensions to the forces affecting the Himalayan ecology. Dr Bhattacharya fears that the increased human activity is demanding much more from the mountains than what nature can recuperate in the same period of time. He points that the traditional building system has paved the way for modern and stylish building designs, but thay are not conducive to the hills. “Rising costs of timber and other local resources have diluted the traditional building systems, perfected through centuries. The unprecedented destruction caused by landslides and floods in the Kedarnath region under the combined influence of deforestation, soil erosion, climate change, unplanned development and uncontrolled human activity have exposed the challenges being faced by Uttarakhand,” says Bhattacharya. He also cautions on vulnerable buildings, houses and commercial zones being developed in hills and around the Ganga river as these suffered major damages in the recent flash floods. “The hills today harbour an unplanned stock of vulnerable buildings and houses that have time and again proved fatal under nature’s fury in the form of earthquakes, landslides and floods, leading to massive losses of life and property," he says. Traditional houses consume excessively large quantities of stone, timber, slate, river shingle and sand in the construction of thick walls and heavy supporting structure for roofs. They also consequently cover a larger plinth area, requiring bigger terraces, more slope cutting and consequent destabilisation of hill slopes. Such massive houses are not only expensive but also prone to earthquake hazards. Also, mushrooming growth of a large number of non-engineered buildings add to the woes. The CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, has been critically studying the housing problems of the Himalayan hills and has come out with planning and design strategies and appropriate building materials and construction systems to improve efficiency in terms of economy, space planning, indoor living environment and disaster risk mitigation with minimal interference with the fragile eco-system, he informs. The institute has taken up a study of the Himalayan slopes. Micro-zonation maps indicating earthquake- and landslide-prone areas have been prepared. The institute can take up more such studies to identify safer locations for villages to be relocated. It is also working in the area of advance warning systems in case of landslides, he adds. At this juncture, when major reconstruction and relocation activity is likely to be taken up in Uttarakhand, Bhattacharya says that we cannot afford to generate another stock of unplanned and hazard-prone buildings and houses. The state cannot afford to utilise the limited resources of material, manpower and energy in an inefficient manner. Appropriate scientific and technological options can help the planners and designers generate efficient, safe and acceptable infrastructure of houses, education and health buildings, rodent- and termite-resistant grain storage sheds, community buildings, roads and safe drinking water supplies. Various CSIR laboratories offer technologies to meet the new challenges before the hill state, which has just completed 13 years of its statehood. The CSIR is ready to offer its expertise in micro-zonation of hills and planning and design of new and efficient habitats in terms of cost, time, energy and safety of occupants, he says. Dr Bhattacharya informs that in the past too, the institute has provided technological advice to the Uttarakhand government in the repair, reconstruction and rehabilitation of damaged houses after the Chamoli and Uttarkashi earthquakes (1991). Citing the Gujarati-Bhuj earthquake of 2001, Bhattacharya said the CBRI introduced masonry blocks using stones and bricks salvaged from damaged houses which partially solved the problem of disposal of waste and production of economic building blocks. Similar blocks were used in a village near Chhiddarwala, Dehradun, interim capital of Uttarakhand, in the construction of IAY houses for BPL families. Concrete masonry blocks have been used in large quantities by various construction agencies in the New Tehri (Garhwal) township constructed for Tehri Hydro Development Corporation staff and displaced families. The CBRI Director points out that the institute has been disseminating appropriate technologies through training programmes, exhibitions and on-site demonstrations. Besides, states like Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya, organisations like the THDC, Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), Central Public Welfare Deapatment (CPWD) and Military Engineering Services ( MES) and NGOs have implemented these technologies in their housing projects under the technical guidance of the institute successfully. These technologies have a potential of reducing the burden on the fragile Himalayan eco-system in Uttarakhand and, at the same time, can create new employment opportunities, safer and more economical houses and retain the development funds allocated for hills within the hill communities for their overall economic development, states Bhattacharya.
WHAT TO DO
Consider the impact of rapid commercialisation and human habitat encroaching upon natural ecology Modern building designs are not conducive to the hills The CSIR can offer expertise in micro-zonation of hills and planning and design of new and efficient habitats in terms of cost, time, energy and safety |
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Respect the mountains: IRF chief
Dehradun, July 24 He said that in the recent rains and landslides in
Uttarakhand, roads took the maximum hit as lakhs of pilgrims and locals remained stranded for weeks due to destruction of roads for miles. ''The vehicles are still stranded and it has become difficult to provide relief due to almost no roads in the entire hill state. Due to breakdown of the basic means of road communication, the lifeline of the hills has been hit. This leaves us to think, contemplate, and retrospect the engineering of the hill roads, their safety and sustainability,'' he said. Road construction in
hills
Kapila said that the hill roads or ghat roads present great difficulty in their alignment, design, construction and maintenance as curves, sharp bends, sleep gradients and limited width of roadways make hill roads more liable to accidents. Also the effects of heavy rainfall on the construction and maintenance of a hill road are serious. At many locations on the hill roads, the landslides and slips may occur during heavy rainfall. ''Therefore, much care is needed during their layout and construction so as to provide a stable and safe road. Moreover, a large number of streams cross the road and hence a suitable facility for cross drainage is needed,'' he added. Safety in hill
roads
Kapila said that the safety on hill roads, like in plains, depends on the factors of driver, vehicle, road and environmental conditions. However, because of the predominance of the environmental conditions, hill roads require special attention in planning, design, construction and maintenance. Measures to enhance safety on hill roads follow the usual pattern of engineering, enforcement and education measures. '' India is enriched with the experience of constructing hill roads since long. We are lucky to have seismic hazard maps and specifications, particularly for the design, construction and maintenance of hill roads,'' he said. Precautionary
measures
KK Kapila said that during the alignment of new roads, some precautionary measures, such as avoidance of geologically unstable terrain having deep blankets of loose soil and boulders and fissured areas susceptible to landslide and erosion, seepage and saturation, selection of mild slopes in preference to steep slopes, causing minimal disturbance to natural drainage courses, forestlands, should be duly considered. Design should account for balanced cut and fill to the extent possible, with adequate provisions of retaining walls, toe walls, breast walls, wire crated areas or check walls in place of reinforced concrete or masonry structures, reinforced soil and soil nailing techniques, suitable erosion control measures as part of an environment-friendly and safe solution. ''During construction, it would be ideal to proceed with earthwork in tandem with the drainage arrangement, cross drainage, road surface drainage and sub-surface drainage. The side drains should be large enough to effectively withstand large discharges, yet not deep enough for vehicle or pedestrians to wander into. Cross fall should be on hill side so as to control runoff on to the valley side,'' he said. |
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Polaris donates 5 off-road vehicles for relief work
Dehradun, July 24 Polaris has donated one Sportsman Big Boss 6X6 800, one Sportsman 550 Hunter EPS, one RZR S 800 EFI and two Ranger 900 diesel. The vehicles were given to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna here today. Adding to the gesture of commitment to stand by the government in this social cause, Polaris has also offered to maintain these vehicles for a period of two years with full service and repair at no cost to the government. “We are moved by the magnitude of the recent tragedy in Uttarakhand. With the entire network of roads in and around the states destroyed and non-existent now, apart from debris on the ground from thousands of destroyed homes, we feel that Polaris India can extend support to help expedite the relief operations. These specialised off-road Vehicles will help in making these areas accessible,” said Pankaj Dubey, MD, Polaris India. Polaris vehicles are specially designed to manoeuvre around rough terrain, where the best of vehicles fail to run. The vehicles are widely used by defence, paramilitary forces, the police and the disaster management, tourism and forest departments. “We also offer to help train the rescue and relief teams about the usage of these vehicles and educate them about their capabilities,” said
Dubey. |
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UKD chief Panwar seeks President’s rule in state
Dehradun, July 24 He termed his arch rivals Diwakar Bhatt, Kashi Singh Aeri and state minister Pritam Singh Panwar as the agents of BJP-Congress Party and declined to make peace with them. He said he would rather make efforts to strike alliance with regional forces. Acting president AP Juyal said it was wrongly publicised in the media that UKD (Panwar) was not assisting in the relief works in the state . He said they helped people in distress by collecting their personal resources. He slammed the ministers in the state government for allegedly making fun sorties in name of monitoring of disaster works. General Secretary and media in charge Manmohan Lakhera said they pledged to work dedicatedly for the revival of devastated regions of the state. “The state was formed to provide the basic requirements of food, clothes and houses for each native of the state. But in all these 13 years of state formation, we have not been able to meet this objective. The successive state governments failed drastically in this regard. But my party is determined to realise this dream,” he added. Another general secretary presented the annual report. District presidents of Garhwal, Kumaon and Haridwar circles also presented their reports. Tomorrow election for the new working committee and position for the party president will be held. |
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Sainani manch seeks I-cards for statehood agitators
Dehradun, July 24 Member Satya Pokriyal said the process of identification of statehood agitators had been closed down for a long time owing to which anger was spreading among statehood agitators. Damodar Rawat said the process was in its last stage and must be completed soon so that the identity cards could be issued to statehood agitators to avail the benefits. Purushottam said the officials in the district administration had been busy with disaster relief works because of which the identification process could not be resumed. He asked for 15 days to complete the process and issue of Identity cards. The others who also protested include Sushila Chandola, Prabha Naithani, Kamla Bhatt, Parvati Dhami and RK Sharma. |
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MDDA housing scheme drags on in absence of approval
Dehradun, July 24 Vice-chairman, MDDA, R Meenaxi Sundaram said, “We have selected Dhoran and Tarla Aamwala to build residential houses. We have already sent the proposal to the state government. We will be able to start construction on the project after getting an NOC from the Revenue Department. Since the project is to be built on the gram sabha land, the people will be able to get flats at cheaper rates.” According to sources, the proposal was sent to the Revenue Department three months ago. The MDDA had also sent many reminders to the department. The MDDA has not been able to implement any housing project after the formation of Uttarakhand. However, private builders have made a fortune by building a pool of flats, apartments and group housing societies and selling them on high prices. A large number of people could not afford these houses. However, it was after the Chief Secretary directed the MDDA to formulate housing schemes that the latter swung into action. Sundaram said, “Since builders and the land mafia have usurped most of the precious land in the district, we have been finding it difficult to get sufficient land for our housing plan. It was with the help of the district administration that Dhoran and Tarlawala were found suitable for the cheap housing schemes. |
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Ex-king distributes relief in Nepal town
Pithoragarh, July 24 According to sources in the Dharchula sub-divisional administration, the former king distributed relief material comprising cash, clothes, ration and tents among 90 villagers and shopkeepers of Darchula town in Nepal. "The former Nepal King was given a warm welcome in Darchula town and a large number of Indians had crossed over to the neighbouring country to listen to him and witness the ceremony. "The former Nepal king, who distributed relief material under the banner of his NGO 'Himani Kosh', expressed his support and sympathies to the people in the time of the crisis," said an intelligence source in the district headquarters. |
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been visiting Kedarnath Jyotirling for ages and while many among them are devout, some are vagabonds with little respect to faith as was revealed in the recent Kedarnath disaster.
A large number of sadhus are supposed to have perished in the catastrophe.
An all-religion prayer meeting was organised at St Thomas College here today in memory of the victims of the natural disaster.
Principal RV Gardner, a mufti, a priest, a pastor and a granthi prayed for the peace of the departed souls.
Polaris India Private Limited today donated five-off road vehicles to the state government to assist in relief efforts. Polaris Industries Inc., US, has also supported this cause.
Polaris has donated one Sportsman Big Boss 6X6 800, one Sportsman 550 Hunter EPS, one RZR S 800 EFI and two Ranger 900 diesel. The vehicles were given to Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna here today.
Trivender Singh Panwar has demanded President's rule in the state by removing the state government led by Congress. While speaking on the first day of the two-day bi-annual party convention in the city today, he said: “Despite getting warning from Meteorological Department, the state government failed to evacuate tourists and pilgrims to the safe places and making safety arrangements for local population beforehand.
Members of Uttarakhand Nirman Sainani Manch protested today, demanding resumption of identification process of statehood agitators and issuance of identity cards to them before the office of District Magistrate BVRC
Purushottam. DM assured them that the process of identification would be started in next 15 days.
Have an environment-centric and stable approach for rehabilitation and rebuilding
KK Kapila is the first non-European to be the Chairman of the International Road Federation
(IRF), a Geneva-based not-for-profit global organisation with a mission to encourage and promote development and maintenance of better, safer and more sustainable roads networks world wide.