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Anti-Encroachment Drive Phase II
School Building Collapse |
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Showers continue, so do mudslides, road blocks
Tibetan schools hold maths relay
ITITI Jhajar drub Sangam School 4-0
SL Kendriya Vidyalaya down ONGC in regional cricket tourney
Team of top geologists to survey Bageshwar area
Rain hits life in Kumaon
Rivers above danger mark, alert sounded
100 disaster-prone villages to be moved to safety: CM
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Anti-Encroachment Drive Phase II
Haridwar, August 19
While the administration prepared itself well for the drive, it was for the first time since last year when the encroachment drive kicked off ahead of the Maha Kumbh the anti-encroachment task force had to face a stiff resistance. The situation became volatile when the drive was to start at the Shiv Moorti Chowk intersection. At the Chitra cinema, an angry crowd pelted police personnel with stones while two traders tried to attempt self-immolation, but thanks to alert police personnel they could not succeed. Seeing the situation getting out of control, the police resorted to lathi charge over the protesting mob which was getting larger in size as more support from nearby market areas where the drive was to be carried out poured in. The police force, led by Circle Officer Pankaj Bhatt, dispersed the crowd. Many sustained minor injuries in the lathi charge, making the city atmosphere tense. Local people and tourists who were caught in the protest were seen heading for numerous lanes in this congested area. Within 20 minutes, the situation was brought under control with additional police force pitching in. As all this went on, the JCB machines continued to remove dozens of commercial shops that had cropped up illegally in the past decade. A dozen-odd protesting traders were also arrested for disrupting the administrative process. Earlier, the drive started in the morning in the area between bus station and railway station and the Shiv Moorti Chowk and the Laltaura Bridge. Three specific teams were formed to carry out the drive on this stretch. Led by City Magistrate Archana Grehawar and SDM Harish Chandra Kandpal, the demolition drive was successful. Structures and slabs over the nullahs hampering the drainage in the city were removed. Encroachments were also removed from the Upper Road leading to Har-ki-Pauri. Here too traders shut their establishments, some in fear and some in protest, while many were seen removing their illegal structures themselves. Kandpal and Bhatt had several verbal skirmishes with protesters but they didn’t bend to pressure tactics from the protesters, be it in the name of political approach, religious sentiments or livelihood. “I had a family of five and this eatery shop our only source of income. If you can’t stop this drive then do provide us government job. It’s easy for you to order the JCB roll over on our shops but its impact is on our stomach (livelihood),” said a pleading protester on the railway road. District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram termed the drive as imperative, saying that whether the encroachments belonged to anyone or had religious connection, those which have been earmarked will be removed. This is the only way we can make the city an organised and developed one. Meanwhile, voices of protest have been rising from various quarters over the administrative drive condemning the action. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Harak Singh Rawat has in strong words criticised the policemen action terming it as an undemocratic step. Speaking to The Tribune over the phone, Rawat said the Congress would raise this issue in the coming Assembly session as the administration was treating traders like criminals. He blamed the BJP government for not being able to spend developmental funds in an appropriate manner, leading to a haphazard growth in the entire city. While terming the lathi charge as uncalled for, city Congress chief OP Chauhan said traders were peacefully demanding some time from the administrative officials but instead they were beaten up and arrested. He also blamed Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik for this entire scenario. He said the minister wanted to divert the attention of people from the mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh of which Kaushik was the in charge. City Traders Division district head Kailash Keshwani has warned the government that the harassment of traders in the name of encroachment would not be tolerated.
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School Building Collapse
Nainital, August 19 The building had collapsed yesterday morning on account of a flash flood in a nullah near the school, resulting from incessant rain that continue to lash the Kumaon region. Twentyfive students, along with a teacher, had been buried in the debris of the building. While the teacher and seven children were rescued from the debris on Wednesday, the bodies of the 18 deceased were recovered overnight. As many as 12 disaster relief teams were rushed to the spot immediately after the incident and the personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police also pitched in in the rescue effort. Officials of the Disaster Management Department informed that communication with those on the spot was very erratic and incessant rain had made the removal of the debris a very difficult task. State Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, along with former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari who hails from Kapkot area, were on their way to Bageshwar at the time of filing of this report. Nishank had arrived at Kathgodam in the morning today by train from Dehradun after he was advised not to use his helicopter on account of strong atmospheric convections in the Kumaon region. Talking to mediapersons at Haldwani, Nishank announced a relief of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of all deceased and Rs 25,000 for those injured. He has ordered that the best possible medical treatment be given to those injured. Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has also expressed grief over the loss of life in the incident. According to a spokesperson at the Prime Minister’s Office, Dr Singh has sanctioned ex-gratia assistance of Rs 1 lakh each to next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each in case of the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. Schools in the state have been ordered closed for three days on account of the tragedy. Officials have been asked to ensure that all schools follow the orders as some private schools remained open in Nainital on Thursday. Meanwhile, condolences are pouring in from different quarters to pay respect to the children who died in the incident. Senior Congress leader Dhirendra Pratap has expressed deep shock and sorrow over the untimely death of the 18 schoolchildren and has demanded an immediate survey of all school buildings across the state to prevent a recurrence as heavy rain and earthquakes are common in Uttarakhand. In a statement from the United States, Vijay Sharma, President, Uttarakhand Association of North America, has also expressed anguish over the tragedy. Offering his condolences to the families of the school kids, Sharma said, “In this hour of great duress, the whole world community in general and Uttarakhandis in particular are in great shock and stand in tears with their brothers. We cannot come immediately in person to meet them, but our heart and soul are with them. We are have tears in our eyes and express our deepest grief.” Manohar Kant Dhyani, Vice-Chairman of the Uttarakhand Planning Board, has also expressed deep shock. Terming it as irreparable, Dhyani said the state government should ensure that buildings and dwellings were not built at places prone to natural disasters.
Schools closed on Aug 20, 21 Dehradun, August 19 Due to heavy rain warning in the next 36 hours in Dehradun by the Dehradun Meteorological Office, District Magistrate Dehradun Sachin Kurve has ordered the closure of all government and private schools for two days (August 20-21).
Memorial to be built Pitthoragarh, August 19 “Though the school building of Shishu Mandir was strong, but it was forceful landslide that entered the classrooms where small kids were sitting,” said the Chief Minister on mobile phone on his way to Bageshwar by car. “More than 24 places in the state have witnessed cloudburst during the monsoon so far,” said the CM adding that the consequences of climate change were becoming more visible in the Himalayan area. He said that he had instructed the disaster mitigation centre of the state to prepare a scheme to shift landslide and cloudburst prone villages systematically to safer zones.
Mahanagar Cong pays homage Dehradun, August 19 Expressing grief over the death of the schoolchildren, president of the Mahanagar Harish Virmani said the incident was very unfortunate for the state. He also accused the state government of failing in disaster management. Secretery Vijay Singh Chauhan alleged that the Disaster Managment Minister was limited to rehotric only. The whole state is troubled due to the failure of the government in dealing with the problem, Chauhan added.
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Showers continue, so do mudslides, road blocks
Mussoorie, August 19 In another incident, the sidewalls, just below Hotel Padmini Nivas, caved in and blocked the Mussoorie-Dehradun highway for several hours. Mussoorie SDM Manoj Kumar tried to contact PWD for a JCB machine to clear the debris, but there was no response from the department. He had to call in a private machine which cleared the debris. The reasons for the mudslide near the hotel were incessant rain and the release of drainage into the sidewalls which burst out today. The Mussoorie-Dhanaulti road was also blocked for several hours. The road near Guru Ram Rai School at Lakshman Puri in Landour Cant has caved in. The Tribune had reported a couple of days earlier that the road could endanger the lives of commuting students if it were not repaired soon. Now the students are forced to take a different path to their school. The house of a palika ward member Nand Lal also caved in as the retaining walls cracked leaving the family stranded. The immense pressure of the water damaged one room and the risk to other rooms persists. Mussoorie SDM Manoj Kumar was busy man today as he was present at the site to assess the situation. He informed that relief of Rs 2000 was being paid and notices had been served to vacate the houses that are situated in the risky location.
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Tibetan schools hold maths relay
Mussoorie, August 19 Mathletes from CST Mussoorie, CST Shimla, CST Dalhousie, CST Dolanji, CST Herbertpur, CST Paonta, CST Bhuntar, CST Chauntar, TCV Upper, TCV Lower, TCV Selakui, THS Rajpur and THS Mussoorie participated in the competition. The chief guest on the occasion, Education Secretary Ven Youthok Karma Geleck from the Tibetan government-in-exile Dharamsala, inaugurated the event by lighting the ceremonial butter lamp. Prior to the contest, Mussoorie Tibetan Homes School students from Class VII to X demonstrated doing mathematics through riglam or dialectics presentation laying emphasis to the practice of logic to increase the better understanding of the subject. The topics for riglams were triangles, natural numbers, whole numbers, square, rhombus, quadrilaterals, polynomials and rational expression. The duration of the mathematics relay was two hours with negative marking. In his introductory speech, Assistant General Secretary of the Tibetans Homes Foundation Gedun Rinchen welcomed the guests and the participants on the occasion. Outlining the objective of the math relay, he said the competition was designed to remove the math phobia and strengthen better understanding of mathematics among the students. On the second day of the event, the students will also present extempore speech on the topics like math phobia, mathematics makes a man perfect, etc. and the prizes will be presented to the winners. The students will also visit the religious places and monasteries in the Doon Valley after the culmination of relay contest.
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ITITI Jhajar drub Sangam School 4-0
Dehradun, August 19 The first half went goalless, but it rained goals in the second half. In the first half, Sumit was shown yellow card in the 15th minute of the match for foul play. While in the 20th minute of the second half, Ardo of the ITITI scored the first goal and his teammate Taba Tarin scored the next in the 22th minute of the match. ITITI kept up the good work with scoring the next two goals itself. Basant Suba netted in the 25th minute and Tarin was instrumental in scoring the third goal of his side in the 30th minute. In another match of the day, Cambrain Hall was declared winner after it submitted a protest against Maharishi Vidyamandir. The protest was found genuine. Kasiga School and Jim Pioneer will play the first match tomorrow and St Georges, Mussoorie, will face Asian School in the second match. IMA get better of Ranikhet
IMA beat Ranikhet 1-0 in the Regional Sports Football Tournament being organised by Kendriya Vidyalaya, FRI, on its campus. In another match of the tournament, Bhirpur beat Shaspur. The FRI found easy rival in Uttarkashi beating the latter 5-0. Merath got the better of Haldwani (second shift) 2-0. Pitthoragarh defeated the ONGC 2-0. Haldwani (second shift) in another match drew with Dhara Chaula 1-1. Uttarkashi also played 1-1 draw with KV, Hathibarkala. Pauri blanked Augustmuni 3-0.
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SL Kendriya Vidyalaya down ONGC in regional cricket tourney
Dehradun, August 19
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Team of top geologists to survey Bageshwar area
Pitthoragarh, August 19 “In the Sumgarh area of Bageshwar where this calamity (school building collapse) occurred, a high-level team of top geologists and revenue experts will soon be sent to survey all villages which are vulnerable to natural disasters,” said the Chief Minister According to the Chief Minister, the incident occurred at 9 am on August 18 when the school had assembled after the morning prayer. “Principal of the school Balak Singh Bhandari heard some noises of shooting boulders and he immediately alerted the school staff and children. After he raised an alarm, students of Classes IV and V ran to safety, but younger kids could not get out quickly,” said Nishank. The Chief Minister, accompanied by former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, who was former MLA of the Kapkot area, started from Haldwani by road to reach Bageshwar. Owing to inclement weather it seemed unlikely that the Chief Minister would reach the spot since most of the approach roads had been damaged. Koshiyari said the area above Kapkot was vulnerable to landslides and certain villages situated on the edge of mountains needed to be declared unfit for living. “But, the people do not want to vacate their ancestral villages. Secondly it is unavailability of land which comes in the way of their rehabilitation,” Koshiyari added. The Chief Minister has already announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of the children who died in this catastrophe.
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Rain hits life in Kumaon
Nainital, August 19 The town of Nainital, which is the headquarters of the Kumaon Commissionerate, was cut off from Haldwani and Almora for most of the day today. Milk and newspaper supplies, along with other essentials, were badly disrupted. One person was killed as a wall of his house caved in at Bhawali. The deceased has been identified as George Peter. Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, who was on his way to Bageshwar, halted at Bhawali to condole Peter’s death and announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin. The Chief Minister has asked officials to ensure that all national highways remain open round the clock. He has asked them to seek assistance of various agencies wherever required. Following recommendations of engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD), District Magistrate Shailesh Bagauli has ordered closure of bridges at Bhawali and Niglat for heavy vehicles. Such vehicles will now be diverted via Ramgarh and Mauna. Bagauli has asked PWD officials to remain alert and ensure uninterrupted movement of traffic on the various roads in the district. People across the region are reeling under tremendous problems because of water logging and landslides resulting from heavy rain. More than six villagers have been inundated in Banbassa and Tanakpur regions of the Terai. Water logging has also been reported from several localities in Haldwani and Kashipur. Several villages have been cut off from the main roads of the region. Many families have lost all their possessions, including foodgrain, with water submerging their residences. At certain places, families have had to take refuge on roof tops. Almost all seasonal and perennial rivers are overflowing causing problems to the people residing on their banks in the villages. Large tracts of fertile land have been washed away by these rivers at several places. Water and power supply across the region has been badly hit. Water treatment plants at places like Haldwani are experiencing frequent temporary closures on account of large quantity of silt being brought by the rivers. Similar is the fate of some power generation units across the region.
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Rivers above danger mark, alert sounded
Dehradun, August 19 Taking into account the rivers flowing above the danger mark in the state, the Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre issued a red alert in the entire state. On other hand, rescue workers completed their operation, taking out the bodies of 18 children. The bodies were handed over to the families after a postmortem. There were also reports of panic-stricken people leaving some of the disaster-prone villages, particularly in hilly Bageshwar and Rudraprayag districts. The hilly areas bore the brunt of the heavy rains in the state where over 100 houses collapsed overnight in different areas, officials said here. Nearly half a dozen houses were flattened in the hill resort of Mussoorie due to overnight heavy rains. In the Harsiabagad area of Bageshwar district, nearly 12 houses collapsed. An old woman died after her house collapsed in Mussoorie. In a similar incident, a man died at Bhawali town in Nainital district. So far, rains have claimed 43 lives in the state during the monsoon season. The Char Dham yatra to four hilly shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, was also affected due to the heavy rains which have triggered a series of landslides. Dr Anand Sharma, Director, Dehradun Meteorological Office, predicted heavy rains in the state during the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, Nainital recorded 221 mm of rainfall, followed by Dehradun at 142 mm. In Dehradun, heavy rains disrupted normal life with water inundating scores of houses in low-lying areas of the district. All major rivers in Uttarakhand, including Ganga, Yamuna and its tributaries, were flowing above the danger level in most of the areas in the state.
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100 disaster-prone villages to be moved to safety: CM
Dehradun, August 19 He said the administration has been asked to stay alert in view of the disasters taking place at various places. The administration has also been directed to stay alert with a view to providing the disaster-hit people with all requisite services and also ensure clearance of all routes closed due Chief Minister Nishank expressed grief on the disaster that took place in Bageshwar and declared a two-day mourning in the state. Schools have also been declared closed for the next three days - August 19, 20 and 21. He said landslides had taken place at various places in Nainital and a bridge was also damaged in Bhawali. The administration has been asked to stay alert. The CM added that besides human deaths, animals have also lost their lives this monsoon. Nishank said that in view of growing encroachments in urban areas, disaster-prone places would be marked. District administrations have been asked to keep an eye on highly sensitive and disaster-prone areas. The CM added that the whole Himalayan belt would be scientifically surveyed. He said that a work plan was being worked out with a view to combating disasters under which training at the village-level would be imparted so that villagers themselves are able to deal with these. He further said that on receiving the news from Bageshwar yesterday, the administrative machinery was put on high alert and the DMs of other districts were also directed to send medical teams, along with ITBP and police jawans, so that they could extend help in the relief operation. Nishank said that Uttarkashi, Udham Singh Nagar and Chamoli were among the worst disaster-hit regions and the concerned district administrations had been asked to ensure every possible help to the affected persons. He also appealed to the people to extend their help in the disaster-hit areas, so that casualties in such areas might be mitigated. Former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand and Rajya Sabha MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Minister of State for Disaster Management Khajan Das, former MP Bachchi Singh Rawat, Zila Panchayat Chairman Mohan Ram Arya, Chairman District Co-Operative Bank Pan Singh Mawadi, Vice-Chairman Minor Irrigation Monitoring Committee Raghunath Singh Chauhan, Chairperson of Children Development Board Gobindi Koranga, DM Subardhan, Additional Commissioner HC Semwal, CDO Dheeraj Garbyal, CMO Dr BL Verma along with other officers also accompanied the CM.
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The city today woke to the noises of bulldozers, JCB machines and police vehicles moving along with armed police personnel towards the city’s main market to carry out the second phase of the anti-encroachment drive post Kanwar fair.
Dehradun, August 19
Cricket matches of the Regional Cricket Tournament-2010 being organised by Kendriya
Vidyalaya, FRI, commenced at the Survey of India Stadium here today. SL Kendriya
Vidyalaya, Meerut, got the better of the ONGC in the first match on the inaugural day of the tournament. The mathces will be played on the same venue tomorrow as well, organisers said.
Dehradun, August 19
