Melting of glaciers, rains responsible for natural disaster: Union ministry

New Delhi, July 26
Melting of glaciers coupled with monsoon rains, triggering overflow of rivers, were responsible for the Uttarakhand tragedy, a top official of the Ministry of Earth Sciences said here today.

"The flood was not only due to the rains but also because of the melting of snow. Rains came almost two weeks early in the state. During that period, winter snow was already there. Now when the rain came, snow melted and flowed down along with the rains which increased the volume of water in the rivers significantly," ministry Secretary Shailesh Nayak said.

Pointing out that his ministry had never declared there was a cloudburst in the state, he said the flow of large amount of materials like boulders added to the misery.

Nayak, whose ministry would create a network of state-of- the-art doppler radars across the entire Himalayan range to improve forecasting, said the local weather report in the state had provided "specific" forecast before the rains, while announcement was also made in Gauri Kund. Hundreds of people lost their lives in the tragedy that struck the state last month.

Aiming at helping people visiting the hill state, the ministry was planning to start a mobile service that would post updates about weather conditions, Nayak said. He said meteorological satellite INSAT-3D, which was launched today, would lead to an "improvement in weather forecast" in the country. "The understanding of the upper atmosphere will dramatically improve and there will be improvement of weather forecast,"  said Nayak.

The ministry is also spearheading a project to increase the doppler network in Himalayan states in the next two to three years to improve weather forecasting. Doppler radars are capable of predicting severe thunderstorms and generating an accurate data on wind changes and rain clouds. Three of 15 such radars would be set up in Uttarakhand. — PTI

The flood was not only due to the rains but also because of the melting of snow. Rains came almost two weeks early in the state. During that period, winter snow was already there. Now when the rains came, snow melted and flowed down along with the rains, which increased the volume of water in the rivers significantly.
— Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences

Uttarakhand the challenge ahead
The Tribune series on what needs to be done to rebuild the state
Uttarakhand needs a total policy overhaul, says Airy
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, July 26
Kashi Singh Airy, one of the seniormost leaders of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD), who had represented his Assembly segment in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, believes that Uttarakhand needs a complete policy overhaul as the policies formulated by the respective state governments after the creation of a separate state of Uttarakhand were completely flawed.

Kashi Singh Airy, a leading light of the statehood movement which resulted in the creation of a separate state of Uttarakhand, said: “When we were fighting for a separate state, the vision of the state we kept in mind was different than what the mainstream parties like the Congress and the BJP have converted it into.”

He said that the statehood movement was fought for a complete change in the policies of the state governments towards the hills as during those days, the hills of Uttar Pradesh were ignored by the policians as well as the policy planners of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

According to Airy, the tenets of renovation of the state should be based on sustainability of hill economy and hill folk. “It could only be achieved if local needs, local customs and adaptability to local geology were adhered to. The hill geology should be able to withstand constructions,” said the statehood agitation leader.

Airy said after the creation of the state, hunt for an appropriate technology should have been started and it should have been taken from abroad if not available in India. It was the ill fate of the hill state that before obtaining appropriate technology, the so-called developmental construction was initiated by the political ruling classes which remained totally indifferent towards the hill ecology and pains from which the Himalayas was suffering. “What men could not dare to express, the mountains had expressed by indicating that there had been excess of wrong policies and these should end,” said Airy.

Airy considers the Kedarnath tragedy as purely natural. The effect of north-western and south-eastern monsoons clubbed at a particular time created the havoc. “The Kedarnath tragedy has expressed sufferings of people living in remote hill villages of the state before the world though we deeply regret losses of thousands of innocent lives in it,” said the UKD leader.

According to Airy, most of the weakening of hill land took place after the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) started making roads in 1962. “Thousands of kilometres of roads constructed by the BRO in the hill state, especially in border areas, had created landslide zones as these roads had been constructed in total violation of ecology norms,” said Airy.

The UKD leader is of the opinion that the people facing crisis of landslides and flash floods for the last decade should be rehabilitated at safer places where they could live a life of comfort. 

WHAT TO DO

• Tenets of reconstruction of the state should be based on sustainability of the hill economy and the hill folk
• The hill geology should be able to withstand constructions
• The hill land began to weaken after the Border Roads Organisation started making roads in 1962
• People facing the crisis due to landslides and flash floods for the past one decade should be rehabilitated at safer places

When we were fighting for a separate state, the vision of the state we kept in mind was different than what the mainstream parties like the Congress and the BJP have converted it into. Thousands of kilometres of roads constructed by the BRO in the hill state, especially in border areas, had created landslide zones as these roads had been constructed in total violation of ecology norms.
— Kashi Singh Airy, UKD president

Uttarakhand the challenge ahead
The Tribune series on what needs to be done to rebuild the state
Check corruption in rehabilitation, reconstruction work: Pangtey
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 26
Surendra Singh Pangtey is a former bureaucrat and social activist hailing from the remote Munsiyari region of Uttarakhand. He has been raking up core issues linked to the betterment of the people of the state at various forums. He was in the thick of the recent anti-corruption movement, spearheading the campaign in the state.

Talking to The Tribune, SS Pangtey expressed concern over unnecessary delays in the execution of works of reconstruction and rehabilitation post disaster. "My experience has been that while proper rehabilitation is never done, the re-construction process, too, is very slow. For the construction of even one damaged bridge, the process is long drawn due to the technicalities invloved. And in the case of Uttarakhand, it is generally seen that before the reconstruction and rehabilitation for a particular disaster even gets completed, another disaster hits the state, thus bringing a shift in the priorities of the government," he said.

He stressed on the constitution of a monitoring committee for reviewing the progress of re-construction works on a day-to-day basis. "This time too, once this disaster is over, the rehabilitation and reconstruction works will be taken up in a routine manner that may lead to delays. A monitoring committee is important to take the works of reconstruction and rehabilitation on priority," he said.

He underlines the need for completion of all major reconstruction works before the start of monsoons next year. "A lot of corruption takes place in the name of re-construction. Often contractors intentionally delay re-construction works and claim that what they had re-constructed has been swept away in the next monsoon, thus siphoning off funds," he alleged. "Once a fresh calamity occurs, verification of the actual utilisation of funds becomes virtually impossible. Such practices are repeated with impunity because accountability is never fixed. The CAG audit report of 2010 contains comments about impropriety in the expenditure of the funds received for disaster management for the period 2005-10 in Uttarakhand," he added. He stressed on the adoption of a zero tolerance policy in the state towards corruption linked to rehabilitation and reconstruction works.

"Thus, reconstruction works in the present disaster must be completed before the start of 2014 monsoons and even if some work is left, it should be immediately stopped as the rains start in the state. This will ensure that there is no scope of corruption in works of reconstruction," Pangtey suggested.

Calling for the strengthening of the disaster mitigation and management mechanism in Uttarakhand, Pangtey said the state was ill prepared for the Kedarnath disaster. It was only with the assistance of the Army and paramilitary forces that effective rescue and relief operations could be done. "The state of Uttarakhand did adopt the Disaster Management Act (DMA) in 2007 and declared the constitution of the State Disaster Management Authority under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister and a State Executive Committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary. However, the repeated failures of the state machinery in managing the disasters year after year, indicate that the line of action envisaged in the DMA has never been followed," he pointed out. "Uttarakhand has suffered two major earthquakes -- in Uttarkashi and Chamoli --, a huge incident of landslide on the Varnavat Parvat and a cloudbust in Ashiganga valley in the recent past and the state now needs to pull up its socks and must exhibit will and determination towards taking adequate measures.

Referring to the rampant construction activity in the environmentally fragile higher Himalayas, Pangtey remembered his visit to Kedarnath in 1986. "I went to Kedarnath in 1986. There was very little construction then. But today, the temple is surrounded by constructions, which is revealed in pictures of the rain-ravaged Kedarnath," he said. "There should be some check on such constructions as they make an adverse impact on the region's sensitive topography," he said.

On the type of construction in hills, he said the traditional house building techniques were not practised any more. “The traditional house building techniques of the region developed over the ages establish the fact that the area had been affected by frequent tremors in the past. But today, the wisdom of our forefathers is not practised and even basic prevention measures in constructions in hills are seldom adhered to," he said.

He also favoured a check on the picnicking tendencies at the places of religious significance in the Himalayas. "Pilgrimages are a matter of faith and the spirit of pilgrimage must be maintained at all costs, particularly when it involves environmentally fragile places. Mass tourism needs to be regulated," Pangtey said.

Maintaining a distance from the anti-hydro project stance of environmentalists, Pangtey argues that one should not oppose technically correct hydro projects. He asserted that as per some experts, the Tehri dam helped save floods downstream townships like Deoprayag and Rishikesh. He said that only those under construction projects that were not technically sound were destroyed in the floods.

Referring to frequent cloudbursts in hills, Pangtey disclosed that in recent years, the frequency of cloudbursts along with their intensity had risen in the Himalayan region.

“On the other hand, such incidents are not reported from the plains of north India. The remedy thus lies in the plains whereas only hills are blamed by the elite intelligentsia of the Indian society for the problem," he said. “Inadequate forest coverage and its uneven distribution within the country are the real problems. Till date, no environment activist has raised the voice supporting greater focus on afforestation in the plains,” he said.

WHAT TO DO

• Check unnecessary delays in the work of reconstruction and rehabilitation post-disaster. A monitoring committee must be set up to review daily progress
• Maintain the spirit of pilgrimage. Places of pilgrimage in hills should not be places of picnics
• Have zero tolerance for corruption in works of reconstruction and rehabilitation
• Stop rampant construction in fragile Himalayas

A lot of corruption takes place in the name of 
re-construction. Often contractors intentionally delay re-construction works and claim that what they had re-constructed had been swept away in the monsoons, thus siphoning off funds. Once a calamity occurs, verification of the actual utilisation of funds becomes virtually impossible. The CAG audit report of 2010 contains comments about impropriety in the expenditure of funds received for disaster management for the period 2005-10 in Uttarakhand. There should be zero tolerance towards corruption linked to rehabilitation and reconstruction works.
— SS Pangtey, former bureaucrat and social activist

Uma holds CM responsible for deaths in disaster
Tribune News Services

Dehradun, July 26
Rejecting a commission of inquiry into the reasons behind the loss of human lives in the last month’s natural disaster in Uttarakhand, BJP leader Uma Bharti today held Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and the district administration guilty for accentuating an accident brought by the nature into a tragedy of manifold proportions.

“If the failings have to be examined in the light of learning lessons and there exists a provision for punishing the guilty then the Chief Minister, as the head of the state, and the District Magistrate, as the head of the district, have to be held responsible for their acts of omission and commission,” said Uma Bharti, during a joint press conference held with BJP senior leaders Shahnawaz Hussain and BS Koshiyari today.

She said there was no need for a commission of inquiry into the incident as the reports by the media and the people were sufficient and vivid. “I was in Sinola village in Chamoli two days ago, when the recent incident of cloudburst occurred. The government did not seem to have learnt any lessons. There was no official in sight who could provide relief to the people. Only locals were helping each other. The Chief Minister could have kept himself abreast of the situation prevailing on the ground. All major rivers were in spate, yet the pilgrims were allowed to move towards Kedarnath. This way there would have been zero loss of life if the Chief Minister was sensitive enough to keep himself abreast of the ground situation and prevented the people from moving. In my view it is a crime,” said Uma Bharti

Shahnawz Hussain said the CM should have a sense of responsibility. “The former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had resigned taking responsibility for the railway accident several years ago. If the people were given prior information, several lives would have been saved,” he said. 

Nanda Devi yatra not to be postponed

Chamoli, July 26
The famed Nanda Devi Jaat Yatra held after every 12 years in Uttarakhand will not be postponed in the wake of the recent tragedy. However, the district authorities have suggested keeping it at the local level this time saying they are not in a position to handle big crowds.

The Nanda Raj Jaat, known as the Kumbh of Uttarakhand, is slated to be held from August 29 to September 16. The 280 km and 19-day trek starts from Nauti village and reaches Homkund through Bedini Bugyal, Roopkund and the very difficult Gali pass.

“The yatra will be organised as per the schedule, though there was a proposal to postpone it. We spoke to the local people who want it to go on. It is a religious issue and local sentiments are attached with it. It was scheduled in 2012 but was postponed then due to Malmaas (one inauspicious month),” Rakesh Kunwar, president of the Nanda Raj Committee told PTI.

Thousands of pilgrims from across the world take part in the march. However, the district administration has warned that they are not in position to handle large gatherings hence the yatra should be held at the local level.

“It is difficult but the yatra will go on as of now. After the natural calamity and continuous rains and landslides, roads have been badly damaged. We cannot handle big crowds and even mini-vehicles won’t be allowed. We have suggested to allow only locals and fit people. For the first time, there will be a database of pilgrims,” said DM, Chamoli, SA Murugesan.— PTI

Satpal Maharaj, Amrita apprise Pranab of plight of disaster-hit people
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 26
Uttarakhand Garhwal MP Satpal Maharaj along with state Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat met President Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi today. They apprised him about the plight of the people affected by the natural disaster that devastated the state last month.

The couple apprised the President about the plight of the residents of the most affected districts of Rudraprayag and Chamoli. They requested the President to direct the Border Roads Organisation to speed up repair of roads and bridges. They said the people were facing an acute shortage of medical facilities due to lack of 
connectivity.

Satpal Maharaj later attended a meeting of the Railway Advisory Committee in Delhi. He urged the Railway Minister for speedy construction of the Rishikesh-Karanprayag railway line. He also raised the issue of the construction of over bridges on a number of railway crossings in the state. 

BJP activists protest irregularities in relief distribution
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 26
BJP activists from Dharampur yesterday protested in front of the District Magistrate office against alleged irregularities in relief distribution in their area.

Mahesh Pandey, general secretary of the BJP, said, “Many cases of irregularities pertaining to the distribution of relief amount have come to light in the Dharampur constituency where several houses were damaged due to heavy rains.”

He said Morowala Clementtown was the worst affected area in the district where two families, whose houses were largely damaged, were given Rs 1,300 and Rs 2,700, respectively, as relief while the state government had announced a compensation of Rs 25,000 for every damaged house.

Pandey said a resident of Machli Talab, whose house and belongings were destroyed due to heavy rains, was given Rs 1,300 as relief while his two brothers were given Rs 2,700 and Rs 5,300, respectively, as relief for almost similar damage to their houses.

He pointed towards a family of four members on Turner Road and said it was given relief money twice for the same house while there were many families living near river which were not given any assistance even though their houses were damaged due to heavy rains.

He said relief cheques were distributed among 100 families in ward 46 of Majra where no river or nullah flows and no water-logging took place there. At the same time, owners of more than 100 houses in Brahmpuri, which were damaged due to an overflowing river in the vicinity, were still awaiting relief. Pandey demanded a probe into these irregularities and action against the guilty persons. He said the relief money given to fake persons should be recovered. 

Chopper services needed for more days
Our correspondent

Pithoragarh, July 26
Helicopter services might be needed in the districts for some more days to drop ration and other essentials as the villagers living in remote areas are facing difficulties in getting rations.

As many as 141 villages in disaster hit Darma and Johar valleys are still out of road connectivity.

“35 village roads are still out of connectivity from main highways. The situation has posed difficulties in providing ration to the villagers,” said RS Rana, disaster management officer.

The ration is being dropped either by helicopters or by trans shipment to the villages.

“The joint operation run by Army, ITBP, NDRF and district administration, succeeded in linking 32 village roads to the main highways till date. But some villages in upper heights of Johar and Darma valleys, are still posing difficulties as these villages are far away from the place where the ration stock is being stored,” said Rana.

A total of 1,994.25 quintal ration has been dropped till date in disaster hit villages and a total of 2,960 villagers have been rescued by the agencies.

“It is a challenge to provide ration to all the high altitude villages till September,” added Rana.

Residents welcome govt move to exclude 111 villages from Askot sanctuary area
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, July 26
Residents of Didihat, Dharchula and Munsiyari today welcomed the order of the state government to exclude 111 villages in the district from the Askot Musk Deer Sanctuary notified area and distributed sweets. They said the order would remove the main hurdle in the development of these most backward villages.

The Uttarakhand government last night announced that all 111 villages, which fell in the sanctuary area, would now be considered out of the sanctuary limits. This would free these villages from the sanctuary laws and give equal land to the Forest Department in lieu of the exempted villages. “These villages, which fall under Dharchula, Munsiyari and Didihat subdivisions of Pithoragarh district, have not witnessed development since 1986 when the Askot sanctuary was notified by the Forest Department with an aim to protect musk deer, which are found at more than 11,000 feet in this part of the Himalayas,” said Chandra Singh Laspal, a resident of the Baram area of Munsiyari subdivision.

Villagers in the Madkot area of Munsiyari subdivision are happy that a large number of road proposals that have remained on paper will not materialise. The area remained as backward as it was before Independence as the sanctuary laws did not permit any construction. “With the government decision all 68 villages of Didihat subdivision will now see development,” said Raghunath Singh Chauhan, a senior advocate of Didihat subdivision.

Congress workers said the government decision was a commendable step towards the development of 111 villages that had remained backward due to the sanctuary laws. However, BJP leaders termed the step as an attempt by the government to befool villagers. The state government did not take the Central Empowered Committee into confidence before taking the decision. “If the state government is empowered to remove villages from the notified area of the sanctuary without permission from the Central Empowered Committee, why did the Congress take so many years to pass the order? It could have taken the decision earlier as it had formed the government immediately after the creation of Uttarakhand,” said Suresh Joshi, BJP spokesman. 

Farmers to be allowed to remove sand from fields
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 26
District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam has directed Sub-Divisional Magistrates and Quarrying Officers to permit farmers to take out sand and road building material from their disaster-affected agriculture land near the riverbanks by September 30.

He said the agriculture fields, which were situated near the banks of the rivers, were inundated with sand, pebbles etc., due to the flash floods last month. Hence, they should be allowed to remove the material under the given norms.

The District Magistrate said in case the farmers were to make commercial use of the material quarried from their fields they should deposit the prescribed royalty and other taxes with the district administration. Officials of the Revenue Department and the SDMs of respective districts would conduct a joint inspection before allowing the farmers to make commercial use of the quarried material.

The farmers would quarry and accumulate the material and then apply for permission for its transportation. They would also give information in the application about the mode of transportation and the vehicle number and the JCB number. The officials of the department concerned would again inspect the area. The District Magistrate directed the officials that the process should not take more than 10 days. 

Ambika Soni to visit Doon on July 31
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 26
Congress General Secretary and in charge of the Uttarakhand Congress affairs Ambika Soni will visit Dehradun on July 31.

She will participate in a meeting of the Uttarakhand Congress to be chaired by state Congress chief Yashpal Arya.

Spokesperson for the state unit of the Congress Dhirendra Pratap said co-incharge Sanjay Kapoor would also accompany Ambika Soni.

She will meet Uttarakhand ministers and discuss relief and rehabilitation operation aftermath the natural disaster in the state.

Dhirendra Pratap said Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi are also expected to visit the disaster-affected areas next month.

FICCI offers to build 500 houses in disaster-hit areas
Tribune News service

Dehradun, July 26
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has proposed to build free of cost 500 pre-fabricated houses in the disaster-affected areas of Uttarakhand. This was stated by a delegation of the FICCI, which met Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar here yesterday.

It would also immediately build 200 shelter homes where those who had been rendered homeless because of the disaster would be allowed to stay. Besides, the FICCI would also install reverse osmosis (RO) units at drinking water sources in the affected areas to ensure safe water for the people.

The Chief Secretary also met representatives of the Rotary International. They promised to construct school buildings in the disaster-affected areas.

The Rotary International had also offered to repair all school building in all 13 districts of the state that were damaged due to the natural disaster. Primary to middle schools that were totally damaged would be reconstructed.