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Earth quakes, state sleeps
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Some more relief for victims
So that animals can live in peace
Taxi operators oppose eco tax
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Earth quakes, state sleeps
Dehradun, September 22 Although the earthquake in Bhutan measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale did cause damage to life and property, the one in Uttarakhand, having its epicentre at Gaurikund in Rudraprayag district and measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, only led to tremors without any loss to life and property. Earthquakes are a regular feature in the Himalayas, the youngest, tallest and seismically most fragile mountain range in the world. Most of these tremors are minor measuring less than 4 on the Richter scale and occur mostly in far-flung areas. But these tremors point towards the danger of a larger earthquake. The Uttarkashi earthquake in 1991 and Chamoli in 1999 did cause destruction to life and property in Uttarakhand.
After the Chamoli earthquake in 1999, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Central government did appoint a high-powered committee under eminent geologist VK Gaur with scientists, geologists and representatives of voluntary sectors with a mandate to suggest the setting up of a Disaster Management Institute at the national level which would evolve strategies to predict, prevent and manage disasters particularly in the Himalayan region. There was controversy about the location of the proposed institute. But after several brain-storming sessions and meetings, nothing has come out so far. “It is unfortunate that nothing came out of the sessions as Himalayan folk move from one disaster to another. “The move to set up an advanced institute turned out to be a non-starter,” said Dr Anil P Joshi, a Padma Shri recipient of the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), a voluntary group. He was a member of the study group from the voluntary sector for the institute. While some wanted it to be stationed at the national capital, others, particularly experts from the voluntary sector, wanted it somewhere in the Himalayas, closer to the disaster-prone areas. Although Uttarakhand is the first Himalayan state to form a disaster management ministry, it has no existence on the ground. Confined only to the state secretariat, it has no infrastructure in the field. Having no equipment or manpower, the ministry has no meaning and can only work as relief distribution department. The victims of Uttarkashi, Ukhimath and Rudraprayag landslides, which occurred in the past decades, are still demanding proper rehabilitation. In most hill states, there is no disaster management plan keeping in view the peculiar geographic and topographical conditions prevailing. This is despite the fact that most Himalayan states - Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand or North-Eastern states falls in the highly seismic zone and many earthquakes of big and medium magnitude have already hit these areas in the past century. The earthquake in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in October 2005 (7.6 on Richter scale) did cause massive destruction. "We are trying to disseminate information about disaster management," Prof BR Arora, Director of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, said. There have been earthquakes measuring 8 or more in the Himalayas in 1803, 1833, 1897, 1905, 1934 and 1950. But in the last half-century, the region has been relatively quiet with no earthquakes anywhere near the one with a magnitude of 7.6 that struck PoK. The calm could give a false sense of security to the growing populations in the entire Himalayan region. Dr Peter Molnar, a professor of geological sciences at the University of Colorado who co-authored a 2001 article in the journal “Science”, looked at the history of Himalayan earthquakes and how much tectonic stress is building up as the Indian subcontinent crashes into Eurosian plate. The “Science” article had warned, "Several lines of evidence show that one or more great earthquakes may be overdue in a large fraction of the Himalayas, threatening millions of people in that region." The Indian subcontinent slides about 1.6 inches a year northwards as part of the natural movement of continental plates. Half of that motion is absorbed farther to the north in Asia, but the other half goes in pushing up the Himalayan mountains continually building up strain in the rocks. However, the Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre claims that search and rescue equipment costing around Rs 1.1 crore had been sent to all 13 districts. These equipment come as part of the UNDP Project and prominently include high-cost cutters and spreaders. According to Piyush Rautela, Executive Director, DMMC, an ambitious plan to establish a Centre of Excellence to deal with natural disasters has failed to take off due to manpower shortage. DMMC has already trained as many as 800 personnel, particularly police and revenue officials, and holds a regular 20-day training programme at the National Institute of Mountaineering, SSB Gwaldam, and Himalayan Adventure Institute, Kempty.
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Some more relief for victims
Dehradun, September 22 A massive earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale had hit the Garhwal Himalayas on the night of March 28, 1999, leaving 150 dead, thousands injured and a trail of destruction in the hill villages of Chamoli, Tehri, Rudraprayag and Pauri districts of Garhwal. More than 60,000 families were affected. The then Uttar Pradesh government, of which Uttarakhand was a part, had given compensation to the kin of the deceased and promised cash relief to those whose houses were destroyed or damaged. The damaged houses as per the extent of the damage were classified into various categories and meagre cash relief announced. Those who completely lost their homes were to get a relief up to Rs 25,000 only and those who suffered partial damage even less. The victims who lost their hearths and homes completely were not paid the full relief amount. According to government statistics, a total of 5,132 houses were completely destroyed in the worst-affected Chamoli district. The owners of these houses did not get the full relief amount. A total of 7,572 houses that had suffered damage in the district were not paid any relief. In Rudraprayag district, 791 houses were completely shattered and 3,841 houses suffered heavy damage making them unfit to inhabit. The owners of these houses received half the promised amount. More than 23,000 houses that suffered partial damage were not paid a single penny. The then Uttar Pradesh government had distributed a sum of nearly Rs 17 crore as relief for Chamoli earthquake victims. But after the creation of Uttarakhand, the onus of providing further relief to the victims was passed on to the new state. The first elected Congress government headed by Narian Datt Tiwari could spent less than Rs 2 crore on relief to the victims. It was after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in 2007 that Chief Minister Major-Gen BC Khanduri (retd) decided to distribute Rs 12.05 crore to the victims. A sum of Rs 5.07 crore was earmarked for affected villages of Tehri district while Chamoli district got Rs 3.38 crore, Rudraprayag district Rs 3.30 crore and Pauri district Rs 30 lakh.
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So that animals can live in peace
Dehradun, September 22 The experiment aims at achieving multiple goals that can not only make getting fodder much easier for the villagers but also check the increasing incidence of man-animal conflict. The experiment is a joint venture of the Forest Department and civil society with the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), a voluntary organisation undertaking the role of a facilitator. To begin with, the mission aims at developing 10 hectares in the Shuklapur and Ambiwala regions of Dehradun district. The Forest Department has agreed to give land for the experiment and provide saplings. The department will also be eradicating lantana from this area. In return, the civil society will be responsible for planting the saplings and taking care of the upcoming plants. The experiment envisages providing and extending the natural habitat of the herbivorous wildlife by planting trees, which also have economic and ecological value for humans. This is to be supplemented with planting of grass that can be used as food by the herbivores and also as fodder for cattle. This will check the damage done to the crops by boars, porcupine, nilgai, monkeys, rabbits and even elephants. The experimental area has trees like sal, sain, bel, gular, pipal, amaltas, pilkhan, kachnar, bamboo and khair besides others. Under the new initiative, the wild animal habitat is to be improved with the plantation of fruit trees like mango, guava, peach, mulberry, amla, etc, along with grasses like napier hybrid and the Sita grass. The planting material is being given by HESCO, Forest Department and the Forest Research Institute (FRI). “Every year farmers report up to 30 per cent of crop loss by animals. Through this experiment we want to promote harmony among man, forest and animals. We must ensure that the rights of animals over forests are not impinged on,” says Dr Anil Joshi of HESCO. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests RBS Rawat is of the opinion that this experiment should be made successful so that the model can be replicated elsewhere in the state. “We need to understand the needs of the community and provide proper directions to the officials concerned. The resource availability needs to be linked to forestry and then industry. We need to gain confidence of people,” he said, pointing out that the community needs to take care of forests that are outside the category of reserved forests. Dr Joshi says there is also a need to develop and conserve water bodies for animals inside the forests so that they do not venture outside. “In the past rich wild habitat ensured food within a locale to animals. Depletion of resources within surroundings due to human invasion has provoked the animals to invade human habitat. Man-animal conflict can only be mitigated when wild habitat is improved for the sustenance of its animals,” he says. The women of the area planted a large number of trees this morning to launch the experiment. A local villager, Shakuntala Sundli, said: “If we can get fodder from the fringes of the villages, what is the need to go far off into forest. I hope this will be a success and other villages will follow us in the days to come”.
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Taxi operators oppose eco tax
Dehradun, September 22 A blockade by the agitators led to traffic snarls causing harassment of the tourists, who arrive in big numbers during the ongoing festive season. The Mussoorie Taxi Association staged a road block at Kingkraig, expressing resentment against the eco tax. Taxi owners alleged that the tax would put unnecessary burden on them. However, municipality Chairman OP Uniyal convinced the protesters that the tax was not being levied on taxi operators and would only be charged on the arriving tourists. The administration had given a green light for the levying of eco tax for the tourists arriving in the Queen of Hills - Mussoorie. The municipality also deployed officials at Kohlukhet, 12 km ahead of Mussoorie, to collect the tax. However, residents of Mussoorie have been kept out of the purview of this charge. The very concept of the eco tax is attributed to growing environmental concerns in Mussoorie. The municipality has been under tremendous pressure in the recent times to maintain green environs of Mussoorie. The tax would lead to generation of annual revenue to the tune of Rs 80 lakh for a cash-starved municipality, one of the oldest municipalities in the country.
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Dehradun, September 22
Dehradun, September 22
Despite the recurring seismic activity and natural disasters in the shape of landslides, cloudbursts, forest fires and avalanches that damage life and property, there have been no serious efforts to deal with a massive disaster or to predict such a disaster.