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Rain brings Haridwar to its knees
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There’s more to come
People shifted from landslide-prone areas
Alva releases 3 volumes of ‘Fauna of Uttarakhand’
Now, Swami Ramdev turns film actor
Shooting star Arun Singh gets grand welcome
Rain plays spoilsport at super leagues
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Rain brings Haridwar to its knees
Haridwar, July 19 Six persons have been reported missing from various parts of the city as they didn’t reach their homes till evening. So grim was the situation last evening that city roads looked like the Ganga Canal which passes through the city. Property worth crores of rupees has been damaged by the continuous rain which was on till late evening when this report was filed. Be it the city’s busiest intersection Chandracharya Chowk (Ranipur Mod), entrance to Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited at Bhagat Singh Chowk, Kankhal, Khanna Nagar, Gobindpuri, Rishikul, Jwalapur, Bada Bazar, Sabzi Mandi, Vishnughat, Upper Road, everywhere rain played havoc, aided by the city’s inefficient civic facilities, be it the drainage system, condition of roads, unplanned township and the municipality that is ill-equipped to tackle such situations. With the Ganga, at higher areas of the city, overflowing, the water from the drains flowed back filling the New Haridwar area. Blocked drains made water rush into shops and homes. At many places, many persons were seen perched on their rooftops. At Chandracharya Chowk, dozens of vehicles were swept away by the rain water. At least three cars were found 50m away from their parking spots. Many two-wheeler riders got injured trying to cross about 1-metre-deep water at Bhagat Singh Chowk. Residents of nearby slums had to come to their rescue. Part of the boundary wall of the BSNL office succumbed to the heavy rain. Similar was the case with the boundary wall of the bus station which is being rebuild of which a major section caved in. Electricity and water supply was severely affected today with umpteen power cuts being the norm of the day. Power supply to several colonies was restored in the evening today while water supply wasn’t restored to many parts of the city by that time. State Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik monitored the whole situation and was in constant touch with the municipality and various other departmental officers to ensure the situation stays in control. Kamal Johra, Chairman of the Haridwar municipality, told the Tribune that efforts were on on a war footing to minimise the damage. He said earth movers and water pumps had been pitched in with sanitation workers clearing the choked drains. Today, police personnel were deployed at all sensitive areas in large numbers to control traffic. This rain has exposed the urban planning in the state Urban Development Minister’s home constituency. Former legislator Ambrish Kumar questioned the Chief Minister’s claims of having accomplished historic works in Haridwar during Maha Kumbh. He said while the government claimed to have spent Rs 700 crore in Haridwar, if only a few crores were spent properly on the city’s infrastructure, this situation could have been avoided.
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There’s more to come
Dehradun, July 19 Besides the capital Dehradun that stood completely drenched, Haldwani recorded 175 mm of rainfall, Kashipur 135 mm, Pantnagar 129.8 mm, Nainital 88 mm, Kotdwar 80.4 mm, Banbasa 75 mm and Ranikhet 69.6 mm. Dr Anand Sharma, Director, Dehradun Meteorological Department, said he had informed all district
magistrates and State Disaster Management officials about the rain. He said that southern Uttarakhand would experience heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours while the northern part of the state is expected to get heavy rainfall. The water level in major rivers, including the Ganga and Yamuna along with their tributaries, was also rising. He said a warning indicating that hill areas might be hit by landslides due to rain had been issued and that flooding could take place in the low-lying areas. Dr Sharma said farmers were expected to ensure proper exit of water from their fields. Meanwhile, Dehradun was in complete disarray with rains completely swamping the city. Waterlogging was reported from various parts of the city which led to traffic jams at various places.
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People shifted from landslide-prone areas
Pitthoragarh, July 19 “Even there are no instructions from the state government to rehabilitate these villagers permanently under Centre’s rehabilitation policy,” said the officer. “Besides, these families of Jhimir village, four more villages of Khumti, Chetalkot, Baram and Kanar having total population of nearly 70 are showing the symptoms of landslides and villagers need to be shifted immediately,” said the SDM, informing that whereas families of Baram village have been shifted to a PWD’s tin shed, villagers of Chetalkot have gone to their original village of Khela which is safe and family of landslides affected Kanar village are living with their relatives. “We have allotted four tents and tin sheds to these families in which they can live during the monsoon,” said SDM. According to the disaster mitigation cell of the district administration, recently department’s geologists surveyed the entire landslide-affected areas of the district and noticed the signs of disaster possibility in some of these. “As many as 200 families of Jipti, Garva, Tankura, Shyankuri and Khumti villages were declared most sensitive in this geological survey,” said Pandey, adding that these families also need permanent rehabilitation.
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Alva releases 3 volumes of ‘Fauna of Uttarakhand’
Dehradun, July 19 Speaking on the occasion, she said India was amongst the 12 countries with varied bio-diversity. There are 91,307 known species of animals, insects and mammals in the country, which account for 7.35 per cent of the total species in the world. Governor Alva appreciated the work undertaken by the north zone chapter of the Zoological Survey of India during its golden jubilee year. She said Uttarakhand had a record 3,784 species, out of which 93 were of mammals which accounted for 25 per cent fo the species found in the country. The state had 743 species of birds, which accounted for 75 per cent of the bird species in the country and also had 439 species of butterflies. She lauded the effort in identifying 451 species or sub-species, out of which 22 species had been identified for the first time. The Governor said it was a challenge to maintain this bio-diversity since a large number of poor people were dependent for the livelihood on it. She further said preserving bio-diversity was a great challenge in Uttarakhand as man-animal conflict was on the rise. She appreciated the publication of the volume in the international year of bio-diversity being celebrated all over the world. Dr Ramakrishnan, Director, Zoological Survey of India, gave a brief of the work done by his department. Senior officials and scientists were present on the occasion.
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Now, Swami Ramdev turns film actor
Haridwar, July 19 The film is based on the life of the Yoga Guru and is being directed by Kavita Chaudhary who had shot to national fame by directing tele-serial “Udaan” in late ’80s. Also starring with Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev is his protégé Acharya Bala Krishan, who will be essaying their life characters in the film. As soon as the film crew arrived with the District Magistrate and other police officials themselves present at the venue, people in large numbers, despite the odd weather conditions, moved towards Kankhal. Director Kavita’s elder sister is Kanchan Roy Bhattacharya who was the first women Director-General of the Uttarakhand Police and also the highest-ranked police officer in the country and on whom the “Udaan” serial was based. The shooting of this mega project had begun a few months back with locals of several hill stations of the Garhwal region being filmed with duplicates of Swami Ramdev and his protégé Bala Krishnan. Also, at Patanjali Yog Peeth, Divya Yog Temple and all major places in the city associated with Swami Ramdev’s life, struggle and achievements will be depicted in the film. Swami Ramdev was all smiles when media persons wanted to know his take on acting on a film based on his life only. Kavita refrained from divulging more about her directorial venture. The sister duo have a home in Haridwar too, which makes them closer to the city.
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Shooting star Arun Singh gets grand welcome
Dehradun, July 19 He received a grand welcome by the locals who lifted him on shoulders. About hundred people along with members of the shooting association were present at the venue. Singh won individual gold and team gold medals in centre fire event. He won team silver medal in standard pistol and bronze team medal in air pistol event. “This was my first international match and I won gold in it which is really positive for me. I am very happy,” said Singh. He said eight teams, including India, Australia, Turkey, Malaysia, Bangkok, Philippines and Sri Lanka participated in this championship. From India 18-member team, including girls and boys took part in it.
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Rain plays spoilsport at super leagues
Dehradun, July 19 Though the match between the Uttarakhand Police and Garhwal Sporting started but had to be abandoned mid-way due to heavy rain. The second match that was scheduled to be played between the Vijay Cantt and the Yankies Club also had to be cancelled due to downpour that lashed the city. The XI Star will play Cantt Blue and Gypsy Young will meet Willis Youth in tomorrow’s matches. Similarly, the Nemi Dass Super League match was also not played because of the rain. The super league match of Lala Nemi Dass Memorial tourner was scheduled to be played between Akranta and Gorkha United.
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Dehradun, July 19
Haridwar, July 19
Dehradun, July 19
