Dehradun, September 22
The Uttarakhand Assembly today unanimously passed a resolution seeking declaration of Uttarakhand as a disaster-struck state. The resolution moved by the Chief Minister was passed by the House unanimously after a long discussion on rain disaster. MLAs from all parties participated in it.

Rain disaster continued to be in the thick of proceedings on the very first day of the Uttarakhand Assembly session today with Opposition questioning the very estimate of damages prepared by the state government for the Centre. The entire day was devoted to a discussion on the disaster after Speaker directed for the suspension of question hour after fervent appeal for the same by a majority of legislators.

Responding to the discussion under rule 310, Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said Uttarakhand was facing one of the worst disasters of the century due to the excess rains. While denying the charge that the state was ill-prepared for natural disasters, Nishank said the government had adequately strengthened its disaster mechanism in recent time but heavy rains for continuous 72 hours starting Sept 17 changed it all. He said there were cloudbursts at a number of places and there were reports of landslides, flooding and deluge from all across the state.

Nishank informed the House that a total of 65 lives had been lost in the three days of rains while 50,000 houses were completely destroyed. He said all connecting roads have been disrupted.

Earlier, initiating the discussion, Opposition leader Harak Singh Rawat said the relief must reach the needy and the genuine and raised apprehensions of irregularities in relief works.

Stating that disasters have been a frequent feature with Uttarakhand, Harak Singh Rawat went on to refer to Chamoli and Uttarkashi earthquakes and said that past experiences had shown that relief never went to the genuine persons. He sought increase in compensation amount for damaged houses from present Rs 35,000 to Rs 1 lakh.

Joining the issue, BSP MLA Shahjad Ahmed alleged that the incumbent Uttarakhand BJP government had failed miserably to make adequate preparations for flood control. He said the tenure of more than three years and a half had been spent but even a single project of flood control was still yet to come up in the state. He demanded an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of deceased and Rs 3.5 lakh for house collapse. The BSP MLA in particular raised the issue of crop damage in Luxor and other areas of Haridwar and sought compensation ranging from Rs 25,000 per acre to Rs 30,000 per acre.

He even appealed the Centre to declare Uttarakhand disaster hit and demanded a special package from the Union Government.

UKD legislature party leader Diwakar Bhatt described recent rains as the biggest tragedy in the country. He said disasters had been part and parcel of the people in the hills due to extreme geographical conditions. Bhatt, who also the Civil Supplies Minister, disclosed that his ministry did make some preparations to stock food grains in the remote hill areas but the heavy rains followed by devastation had been huge.

Taking part in the discussion, Congress MLA Kishore Upadhayaya said he had always opposed the Tehri Dam. He even raised the issue of sidelining of local MLAs in the relief works. Upadhyaya said the Tehri Dam oustees were the worst sufferers as all areas where these oustees have been rehabilitated are today in deluge.

Another Congress MLA Yashpal Arya questioned the state government’s disaster estimate. He said it was queer that the state government overnight increased the disaster estimate to the tune of Rs 21,000 crore from earlier estimate of Rs 5,000 crore.

MLA Yashvir Chowdhary took opportunity to appreciate Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment for his active assistance in the works of relief in Haridwar. He said it was strange that while top leaders of both BJP and Congress leaders have visited flood-affected areas, none in BSP leadership found it suitable to visit the affected people.

MLAs Balbir Singh, Shalendra Rawat, Asha Nautiyal, Pritam Singh, BS Chufal were some of other participants at the discussion.

Dehradun, September 22
Two students of a school drowned in the Tuntowala river at Patelnagar here today. A total of five kids had gone for a picnic. The police said it saved three kids the condition of one of whom was serious.

As per the police, two deceased kids have been identified as Divyanshu, a resident of Majra, and Shubham, a resident of Brahampuri.

According to the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Patel Nagar police station, all students were of the same class of SGRR Inter College, Pathribagh. And since it was a holiday in school, they had planned a picnic near the river.

They all later started swimming in the river, which had high flow due to rain. The kids couldn’t make it out and got entrapped in the waves. Two of them got carried away by the river and drowned.

The police had to spend about two hours in search of the two bodies, which had been swept far away by the river water.

“We got the information very late by nearby people. Had we got the information early the kids could have been saved,” the SHO added.

Haridwar, September 22
Normalcy hasn’t returned to the district as intermittent rain continued in the region today. The Ganga continues to flow above the danger mark. Rescue operations are being carried out on a war footing and flood water continues to intrude into newer regions.

Several incidents of house collapse, damage to roads and people being saved from drowning were reported.

In Haridwar city, the power house at Bhoopatwala was submerged putting brakes on electricity production. The water is being ejected by six pumping sets working round the clock and is being aided by fire brigades.

Transformers at the powerhouse have suffered damage due to the inundation. There is no chance of a major tragedy occurring as the power house machines are equipped with tripping technology which automatically closes all processes whenever any such problem arises. Junior Engineer Himanshu Aggarwal said that water began accumulating at the power house after the heavy rain on September 17. But as the power house is next to the Ganga and it has been raining continually, the water level at the power house has been increasing despite water being pumped out for the past four days.

“We have pitched in pumping machines from the Chilla power house, fire brigade, Shantikunj and also got them on lease,” said Himanshu.

The road adjacent to the Bahadrabad power house has caved in.

The Ranipur Rau river is in spate and has demolished its embankment endangering the Shivalik Nagar area.

Residents met District Magistrate R Meenakshi Sundaram and he ordered the Irrigation Department to look construct embankments and stop quarrying along the river.

ADM Ranbeer Singh Chauhan inspected the site and directed the Irrigation Department to start work as early as possible.

Mudslide and landslide were reported from the Shivalik mountains. The cleaning of silt from the city’s traditional markets - Bada Bazar and Moti Bazar - continued with JCB machines.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Harish Rawat donated Rs 10 lakh to the district administration from the parliamentarian fund. State Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik donated Rs 25 lakh to the relief fund.

Many social organisations, ashrams and persons are helping in the relief work. Patanjali Yogpeeth is providing food packages on a daily basis. This relief effort is being conducted by Acharya Bala Krishan.

The district administration has sought Rs 300 crore as initial relief package from the state government.

Roorkee, September 22
The havoc created by the Solani river in parts of Uttarakhand in the past few days due to incessant rain has forced the civil administration to requisition the services of the army to undertake rescue and relief operations on a war footing.

The Bengal Sappers in Roorkee have been providing succour to marooned villagers for the past 72 hours in Laskar and nearby villages of Jogawali, Dabkikhera, Dhadeki, Hastmoli, Mathani and Monawala. Laksar in Haridwar district has been badly hit this monsoon. Jogawali village, known for revenue generation through its rice and sugarcane crops, is one of the worst affected villages.

Columns of the Bengal Sappers have rescued marooned villagers and provided them with food and medical aid.

The fact that the submerged areas are crocodile infested made it difficult for the villagers to wade through the water to safer areas. It was a relief for them when army rescue boats arrived with rations and medicines.

Food packets have been provided by the civil administration while medical relief is being administered by army doctors.

There were many villages which could not be accessed initially by rescue teams. It was only after persistent efforts of two rescue teams comprising four Sapper officers, two medical officers, eight JCOs and 100 jawans of the Bengal Engineer Group that the teams could navigate their way in dangerous crocodile and snake-infested flood waters and reach the marooned villages.

It is now three days that army rescue teams from Roorkee have been engaged in rescue operations.

They have evacuated 1,200 persons from 15 to 18 villages and administered medical aid to almost 750 victims.

The army has also distributed 7,600 food packets to flood victims. An army doctor said that most cases were of fever, diarrhoea and severe dehydration.

Dabkikhera village, which had a habitation of 250 houses, has been wiped out by floods. Though most rescued animals have been provided shelter in buildings, their survival is in doubt as no fodder is available. Uttarakhand has seen such devastation due to floods after 32 years.

Nainital, September 22
Plant breeders at the Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology at Pant Nagar have developed the first rain-fed variety of barley in the country.

Named UPB-1008, the variety is suitable for northern hill regions of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. This variety has been identified for release by a high-level committee of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) at the recent All-India Wheat and Barley Workers Meet held at Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana.

According to the project leader of the Wheat and Barley Breeding Centre at the Pant Nagar University Dr Rajendra Singh Rawat, who is working under the All-India Co-ordinated Wheat and Barley Improvement Project funded by ICAR, “UPB-1008 has been developed at the Crop Research Centre after many years of rigorous effort. The plant height of UPB-1008 variety ranges between 105-110 cm.”

He added that maturing takes place in 150-160 days and this variety yields about 27 quintals per hectare with a yield potential of 37 quintals per hectare under rain-fed condition. It can yield 32-35 quintals per hectare in irrigated conditions.

The UPB-1008 is fully resistant to yellow and brown rust diseases of barley. The scientists involved in development process of this variety are Dr RS Rawat, Dr JP Jaiswal, Dr Anil Kumar, Dr Swati and Karanvir Singh.

According to Dr Rawat, the seeds of this newly developed variety of barley will be made available to farmers during the forthcoming farmers’ fair scheduled to be held at the Pant Nagar University from October 8 to 11.

“This variety will be a boon for rain-fed farming conditions of northern hills of India including that of Uttarakhand,” he added.

Dehradun, September 22
To review the loss faced in the Mussoorie Vidhan Sabha areas due to the incessant rains, member of the state Congress Committee and chairman of the Uttarakhand Agriculture Production Market Committee Upender Thapli today visited Gadi, Dakra, Kehri village, Meethi Bedi, etc. He also met the victims who were angry, as they have not received any help from the administration.

Showing concern, the chairman told the residents that he would take up the matter to the District Magistrate and would ask him to provide relief immediately. He said he would also ask the administration to help them in constructing the buildings that had been destroyed due to the rains. Thapli told them that he would also take the matter to the state Congress president. While visiting other villages he told the farmers that he would also ask the government to provide relief to them after assessing the loss faced by them.

Dehradun, September 22
Annoyed with the casual attitude of the state government by not paying heed on the pending demands of gram pardhans, the agitated members of the Gram Pardhan Association, Uttarakhand, continued to hold protest pressing on their demands on the administration at the Vidhan Sabha here today.

The protestors shouted slogans raising their demands in front of the state government. The protest was held in continuation of the meeting and dharna staged by the association in the past. Members from all over the state were present to highlight the issues of the respective block or constituency.

According to Mool Chand, state spokesperson for the association, “The association is striving on their demands to pressurise the state government for framing the new Panchayati Raj Act in the state and increasing the honorarium of the gram pradhans from Rs 600 to the respectable amount.”

“State government needs to look into the matter soon, then only the stature of the state can be built and its development can be attained,” he added.

While addressing mediapersons, Mool Chand said they would go to any extent if their demands were not met soon.

Mussoorie, September 22
Char Dham Vikas Parishad president Surat Ram Nautiyal speaking to the Tribune said he had directed the District Magistrates to provide immediate relief in the form of food supplies to stranded pilgrims on the yatra route on urgent basis.

Nautiyal said as all were aware that the Char Dham had been most affected due to the ongoing natural disaster in the form of subsidence and mudslides hence the administration should be geared up to meet any eventuality. Nautiyal also supported the demand of the state government for more funds from the Centre.

He said the Congress government in the Centre should rose above the petty politics and provide the demanded amount of Rs 21,000 crore immediately so that the state was able to deal with the catastrophe effectively.

Dehradun, September 22
Continuing with her voluntary labour, general secretary of the All-India Mahila Congress and former Mayor Manorama Dobriyal Sharma cleared up the roads to Shantala Devi that are affected by the incessant rains.

Along with Sharma, a large number of locals have taken part in the relief drive enthusiastically. People have also volunteered in mending the affected roads themselves.

Sharma has also criticised the administration for assessing the work of others at the time of providing immediate relief to the flood.

Dehradun, September 22
The Das Lakshan Parv of Jains ended today with the Shri Digambar Jain Panchayati Mandir taking out a rath yatra across the city.

The procession commenced from Panchayati Mandir, proceeded to Mahavir Chowk, Jhanda Bazar, Akhada Bazar, Moti Bazar and finally terminated at the Jain temple.

The main attraction of the procession was a tableau of Lord Mahavir. Children created rangolis and performed at a cultural programme. A large number of devotees participated in the procession.

Munirishi 108 Vishok Sagar recited hymns and verses about the life of Lord Mahavir.

Dehradun, September 22
Rahul Kumar scored the lone goal for Sports Hostel helping his side beating Western Boys 1-0 during the second Stephen Hishey Memorial Football tournament on the Pavilion Ground here today.

Kumar score the golden goal in the 20th minute of the first half.

In another match, Doon Star outplayed Sunderwala 5-0. Balvinder scored in the 14th minute and Rahul Negi scored in the 22nd of the first half. While all rest goals came in second half through Nitin Garg (18th), Manish Khatri (29th and 19th).

While in third match, Dickiling Tibetan Colony gave its protest against referee’s decision on outside.

Following this, Moravian-Ex was declared winner. The latter was heading with 4-0 score during the match.

Dehradun, September 22
Udit got the better of Satish 21-12, 21-16 to register the final berth in the under-19 boys semifinals round of the District Badminton tournament underway on the Parade Ground here today.

While in U-19 boys doubles semifinals, Prince and Satish defeated Punit and Udit 21-16, 21-17, 21-16. In U-16 boys singles first round, Saket Golyan beat Abhay 21-14, 21-11.

In another U-16 boys singles, Abhishek defeated Naveen 21-16, 21-18 and Sooraj defeated Ankit Tiwari 21-13, 21-18. Also, Subham got past Raghav 21-17, 21-18 and Ravi Pandey beat Jatin 13-21, 21-12, 21-15.

Manjeet registered an easy win over Vaibhav 21-8, 21-3 and Amritpal got the better of Abhishek Rawat 21-8, 21-12. In another match, Vidit beat Akshay 21-12, 21-9.

Dehradun, September 22
Pair of SS Mehra and SC Gairola entered the doubles quarterfinals of the Bar Association Carom tournament here today.

The duo in doubles tough encounter edged past Surender Pundir and Rajiv Garg 29-28. In second doubles match, LB Gurung and Neeraj Thapa beat NN Joshi and Vinay Kumar 29-27.

While in singles quarterfinals, Sambhu Prasad Mamgai defeated Ajay Bisht easily by 29-7. Hasan Mansoor also drubbed Mukesh 29-1. Suresh Joshi, Rakesh Rawat and Sushil Kumar were the match referee today.