Without relief, villagers suffer from hunger, cold
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, July 2
Villagers from remote parts of this disaster-hit district that are cut off from the district have started protesting for the relief material announced by government agencies and various NGOs. These villagers have started suffering from hunger, cold and lack of basic medicines as the Army helicopters could not take off consecutively for the fourth day today.

Some villagers said reaching the headquarters towns after crossing hazardous terrains and forest routes, the food packets dropped by helicopters either burst or fell into rivers at some places.

“In some cases, as it happened in the Johar valley, the parachute got stuck on a tree and the relief material could not reach the recipients,” said an Army officer involved in the operations.

Nearly 200 stranded villagers of Rilkot, Martoli, Laspa, Mapa, Ganghar and Panchu of the Johar valley have now started facing acute food crisis as most of the people left there are old, sick or pregnant women. They have started suffering as the Army helicopters dropped some ration four days ago, and after that, neither was ration drooped nor could it be fetched by the land route.

“Some of the ration packates drooped by helicopters fell into the Gori river while some packets got stuck on trees,” said Govind Singh Pangti, president of the Malla Johar Sangharsh Samiti.

Karan Singh, a resident of Laspa village of Johar valley, said nearly 300 persons were awaiting evacuation as the Army helicopters had evacuated only 26 persons, including six American citizens.

“The ITBP and Army jawans are treating people only in Milam village while the other villages of Johar valley are suffering due to lack of basics facilities, including food items,” said Karan Singh, who reached Munsiyari after crossing wire ropes at various places where the Gori has swollen.

The suffering of villagers from Darma valley, who have reached Baluakot on foot after crossing 70 km from the valley villages to get some relief, has worsened. This is because the district administration has failed to enlist the sufferers of disaster which has resulted into looting of relief material sent by some private organisations. “We have seen scenes of scuffling among the villagers at Jauljibi and Baluakot over receipt of relief material as the locals are opposing Johar valley victims from getting the relief on the ground that they themselves are suffering from hunger,” said Komal Singh Mehta, a TV journalist who visited the area.

The 36 families of Jauljibi town, situated on the Indo-Nepal border, are bereft of the relief material collected by district administration even since the tragedy struck on June 17. “These families, whose houses have been swept by the Kali river, are facing an acute shortage of essential goods as they have not received relief material for the last 10 days,” said Leela Bangyal, a social worker based at Jauljibi.

The Baram valley, which was among the highest terrains to be hit by the rain fury, are among the worst sufferers as the main road which connects the villages to highway has been swept away for the past 17 days. “The villages of Talla Dummar, Malla Dummar, Ghatta, Bagar and Lumti and are the worst sufferers as the Army helicopters dropped ration packets only once 10 days back. After that, no agency has come to help us,” said Chandan Singh Parihar, a resident of Talla Lumti village who is camping at Baram in the hope of getting relief from the district administration.

The district administration says that these is no dearth of relief material in the district. “We have received nine truckloads of relief material from private organisations containing 630 quintals of varied material. Of this, we have distributed five truckloads and the remaining are still with the administration,” said Tejbal Singh, district supply officer of Pithoragarh.

Power supply in all affected villages to be resumed in 3 months: UPCL
Seema Sharma
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 2
Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has set the target of resuming power supply in all the affected villages of the state in the next three months.

Managing Director, UPCL, AK Johri, said, “The department is engaged in resuming power supply in those villages where transmission lines, electrical poles or substations have suffered extensive damage and the power supply has got snapped. But if the entire road network in the villages has been cut off due to calamity there, we will be unable to transport poles or other gadgets in those parts. Not only this, we will need edges around roads to instal poles. If the road is there, then we can instal the entire infrastructure in one month in that part.''

The work pertaining to survey of damaged transmission lines and transformers was on, he said.

Director, Operations, UPCL, Anil Kumar, who spent 10 days in Uttarkashi to restore power supply in 454 of the total 553 villages through alternative arrangement there, said, “Alternative arrangement of connecting the transmission line of various capacities with each other has been provided in Uttarkashi. This temporary arrangement gives only low voltage electricity, but it provides power to the villages which otherwise had drowned in darkness. I was unable to provide power to villages around Bhatwadi in Uttarkashi as gorges had appeared in place of roads. It will take a lot of time to build roads there once again by carving ways in the mountains. This is the reason the department has set a very practical target of three months for the resumption of power supply in the entire state.''

According to sources, the stench of bodies and carcasses and the fear of becoming victim of contagious diseases in the area around the Kedar valley have dampened the resolve of employees and officials of the department to go there and assess the damage to the power supply.

Electricity back in 3,363 of 3,758 villages

Power supply has been resumed in around 3,363 out of total 3,758 villages. Rest 395 villages are still in dark. Loss of Rs 26.26 crore was assessed to the electrical infrastructure.

As many 33 KV lines were damaged up to 61.50 km, 11 KV/ LT lines were damaged up to 275.70 km and 377 substations were affected. As per figures, the department has provided almost cent per cent power supply in villages and areas of Dehradun, Bagheshwar, Nainital, Champavat and Pauri.

However, 120 villages are yet to get power supply in Rudraprayag, whereas 372 out of 492 have been given power.

In Chamoli 301 out of 383 villages have been provided power supply.

The rest are yet to be connected. In Uttarkashi, 454 villages out of 553 have been provided power supply.

In Pithoragarh, 54 villages out of 86 have been given supply. Jolgivi to Madkot feeder is functioning up to Gattabagad. Around 498 villages out of 531 have been provided electricity supply in Tehri. In Almora, 819 villages have got electricity out of a total of 830.

Absence of tourists in hill town no less disaster:
Club officials
Our Correspondent

Mussoorie, July 2
Lioness Club officials, concerned at the absence of tourists in the hill town of Mussoorie during the peak season as an after-affect of the natural disaster that struck in Kedar ghati and elsewhere in the state, were of the view that the absence of tourists was another disaster for Mussoorie.

The Lioness Club officials said that the less number of tourists in Mussoorie could have a cascading affect and lead to more unemployment in the state as most of the villagers working here would be rendered jobless if tourism did not pick up soon.

“The absence of tourists is no less than another disaster which could spell the death-knell for the tourism industry and the economy of the state, “added Abha Goel, district PRO of Lioness Club of Mussoorie.

The club officials appealed to the tourists that Mussoorie was safe from any natural disaster as all the roads and basic amenities were in tact and blamed the national media for terming Mussoorie as unsafe for tourists.

The Lioness Club officials further said that if the people really wanted to help the affected persons, they could do by visiting the state and especially places such as Mussoorie so that with the added revenue, the local people can fend for their families in need of help in the hills.

Govt may give yatra security to civil police
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 2
Taking lessons from the recent natural disaster in Uttarakhand, the government is contemplating handing over the Char Dham Yatra route to the civil police. "The security of these areas has been under the revenue police but we are contemplating handing over 5 km on the sides of the route to the civil police," said Om Prakash, Principal Secretary, Home.

On the issue of the number of missing persons, the Principal Secretary said the number was based on FIRs and the process was being streamlined.

"We cannot declare the missing persons as according to the existing law, a period of seven years should have been passed for declaring the person dead. But due to extraordinary circumstances, the process is being shortened and now, if a kin of the dead present an affidavit attested by the District Magistrate after 30 days, the victim's family would be provided compensation," he said. 

Party will play an active role in rehabilitation work: Congress
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 2
The state unit of the Congress will play an active role in the distribution of relief and the conduct of rehabilitation works in the state. This was stated by state party associate in charge Sanjay Kapoor and president of the state unit of the Congress Yashpal Arya while addressing a joint press conference at the state party headquarters here today.

They said a large number of committees had been formed to ensure the timely and proper distribution of relief to the affected people. They said each committee would look into one particular block of the affected area.

Sanjay Kapoor said the daily report of relief activities was being provided to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.

He said state Congress in charge Ambika Soni was also being briefed about day-to- day development in the distribution of relief.

On the occasion, Arya welcomed the state government’s initiative towards adopting children orphaned in the disaster. He appreciated the government’s initiative towards waiving water and power taxes in the affected areas.

Arya said besides the government, it was also the responsibility of the party organisation to ensure that relief properly reached the affected people and the government’s concessions for the affected were delivered.

Vice-president of the state unit of the party Suryakant Dhasmana, general secretary Vijay Saraswat and party spokesperson Shilpi Arora were also present.

Shortage of fuel restricts chopper sorties
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, July 2
Four choppers, deputed to rescue stranded villagers at Tidang and Sobla of Darma valley, could not fly to their maximum capacity due to lack of air turbine fuel avaiable at Dharchula helipad today.

Dharchula MLA Harish Dhami, along with hundreds of his supporters, had staged a dharna yesterday in protest against the alleged practise of the authorities to evacuate only defence personnel and leaving the villagers stranded there.

“Despite the fact that there is no trace of villagers who had gone to collect ‘yarsa gumba’ in the higher reaches, the authorities are paying no heed to search these missing villagers,” said Dhami.

The administration had deputed four choppers to evacuate stranded persons from the Darma valley today after Dhami’s protest yesterday.

“Despite deputing four choppers, the administration could not get sufficient fuel for the choppers, which has resulted into only some sorties having taken palce,” said Harish Dhami.

Dhami said the authorities have sought ATF personnel from the Pithoragarh base which is not reaching Dharchula as the helicopters from Pithoragarh could not reach Dharchula due to bad weather.

“All four choppers could take out only six persons till 3 pm asonly one sortie could be materialised till that time,” said Dhami.

According to the Congress MLA, over 1500 villagers are still trapped in teh higher meadows and need to be searched and rescued from there.

“Besides these trapped villagers, we have brought over 300 villagers to Dharchula from Darma valley. They are being given food by the district administration," said Dhami.

According to district administration sources, if the weather gets clear, the work of rescuing the villagers could be concluded in two or three days.

Ex-minister Gaonwasi: Disaster management mismanaged
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 2
Former state minister Mohan Singh Rawat Gaonwasi today lashed out at Congress-led Uttarakhand government for failing to live up to it's disaster management hype that it had created since the past year,and instead has ''mismanaged the disaster management'' in the recent natural fury in the state.

Gaonwasi, a former legislator from Pauri and currently the national chief of the panchayat cell of Bharatiya Janata Party, inspected the flood-prone area of Haridwar district and shared his experiences of the natural calamity that had struck the hill state.

He lamented that despite the bodies of pilgrims and local people lying for more than two weeks, the state government had failed to properly perform their last rites, which points to the lacklustre management of the relief work of the government.

''It is high time that the government performs the last rites of the deceased. If they can't do this in two weeks, how can one believe they will rehabilitate the living people in two months? It is a shame that despite being a sensitive hill state, Uttarakhand's respective governments had failed to manage the so-called disaster management ministry,'' said Gaonwasi.

Citing his previous demand of scrapping numerous hydropower projects in the state, Gaonwasi said that no one should be allowed to take on nature. ''Now where are those who lobbied for Urja Pradesh and power projects? Nature has shown us what it can do. So we need a sensitive approach for the hill state,'' Gaonwasi said. He also opposed the revered shrine Mata Dhari Devi's uplift in Srinagar,Pauri Garhwal.

On his assessment of the flood fury in the plains of Haridwar, Gaonwasi said that there was varied difference in the administrative assessment and real picture. For this he urged party leaders to assess the damage done by floods in Lakshar, Khanpur area , the report of which will then be sent to Governor Aziz Qureshi so that adequate compensation and relief aid can be provided to the affected people.

Adding further, Gaonwasi said that if given an opportunity he will be contesting for Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat and try to take up local issues which have been for long neglected.

The RSS ideologue also demanded a special Himalayan policy to cater to the hill states.

Govt working to restore normalcy in Uttarakhand, says Governor
Tribune News service

Dehradun, July 2
Governor Aziz Qureshi has said the state government is making serious efforts to bring the state back to normalcy. It is also prepared to prevent an epidemic outbreak.

The Governor was speaking at Haridwar while on a review tour of the district on Sunday evening. He said the disaster had pushed the development of the state back by five years. He was confident that the challenges posed by the disaster would be met, he added.

Qureshi saluted the Army and the paramilitary forces for carrying out rescue and relief operations. He reviewed the loss of life and property caused by floods in Haridwar district. District Magistrate Nidhi Pandey and SSP Rajiv Swarup presented a detailed report of the disaster affected areas in the district.

The Governor said the loss of private property should be seriously assessed so that the victims could get adequate compensation. He added it should be ensured that the affected families get the relief material. The Governor said nobody should collect money illegally in the name of Chief Minister’s Relief Fund or the Disaster Relief Fund.

He earlier met the national president of the Bharat Sadhu Samaj, Jagadguru Jyotishpeeth Shankaracharya Shri Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, and took his blessings at his ashram in Kankhal. Several members of the sant samaj were present on the occasion. A discussion was held regarding the restoration of the religious places and the starting of pooja archana at the Kedarnath temple.

The Governor went to the Piran Kaliyar shrine and offered a ‘chaadar’ and flowers as ‘Akeedat’ at the ‘mazaar’ of Sabir Pak Shah. He prayed for the welfare of the state. 

Power cuts in humid climate irk Haridwar residents
Tribune News Service

Haridwar, July 2
With incessant power cuts being the norm, residents are irked with the Power Corporation.

At several colonies, power cuts ranging from two to fours hours are being imposed. In this humid climate, they are aggravating the people's woes.

In rural areas, as per reports, indefinite power cuts of more than four hours are being imposed due to which farmers suffering the most.

Power Corporation officials say that due to heavy rainfall and flash floods, a huge amount of silt has got accumulated in powerhouses and this was the main reason for the power cuts as silt-clearing takes time.

In view of the indefinite power cuts, several protests are being resorted to in the city and rural areas.

The youth wing of the BJP led by divisional chief Vikas Tiwari led a major protest at Chandracharya Chowk, Ranipur. He lashed out at Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna for failing to live up to his last year's announcement of making Haridwar free of power cuts.

Tiwari said that this was a mere poll gimmick and unlike his father, the late Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, Vijay Bahuguna had no mass base. Traders too have come out in open against the power woes, with Ranipur traders demanding an explanation from the Power Corporation on this issue.

Uday Ram Semwal, traders' cell representative of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, said since the Char Dham pilgrimage had been called off and there was no pilgrim-tourist pressure, why was the corporation not able to cater to the power requirements of the local residents.

Executive engineer Rakesh Kumar said silt was being cleared from powerhouses and it would take some time as the monsoon season was going on.

He power theft was another major reason for the power crisis. He said that illegal power connections in the city had aggravated the situation. The department was making a list of such offenders by carrying out a checking drive, he added.

Farmers advised to sell potato in August, Sept
Tribune News service

Dehradun, July 2
GB Pant Agriculture University scientists have advised hill farmers to sell their potato produce just after harvest in August and September instead of storing it for October. According to them, the prices of hill potato will range between Rs 1,700 and Rs 1,900 per quintal. The scientists have made the forecast in a study done under a World Bank-sponsored-NAIP sub-project.

The main objective of this project is to release price forecasts of select agriculture commodities before sowing and during harvesting. A project team from the Pantnagar centre under the supervision of Dr Anil Kumar (Principle Investigator) has conducted a market survey of regulated Haldwani market, a major market for the hill potato in Uttarakhand, and analysed the wholesale price data of the last 23 years.

The econometric analysis indicated that the wholesale prices of hill potato in Haldwani market would be in the range of Rs 1700 to Rs 1,900 per quintal in August and September while in October the price will come down to Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,600 per quintal. Hence, the scientists have advised the farmers to sell potato on harvest in August or September.

India ranks third after China and Russia in the production of potato in the world. India contributes approximately 7.5 per cent of the world’s total production. The average yield per hectare in India is quite low, standing at 22.72 tonnes per hectare, as compared to 30-40 tonnes per hectare in European countries. Potato is a widely grown vegetable crop in the country with a share of 25.7 per cent of vegetables.

The area under potato cultivation in India was 1.86 million hectares with the total production of 42.33 million tonnes in 2011. The major potato growing states are Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Punjab and Karnataka, which together account for about 86 per cent of India’s potato production. As far as Uttarakhand is concerned, the hill potato is relatively better priced being off season, and exported to other regions due to low availability of plain’s potato during this season. The sowing of hill potato starts from February end and lasts up to March and April, according to different altitudes. The harvesting of the crop starts from July end and lasts up to November.

Ambika placates MLA angry over relief distribution
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, July 2
It took a while for general secretary of the Indian National Congress and Uttarakhand affairs in charge Ambika Soni to placate MLA from Kedarnath Shaila Rani Rawat who had threatened to launch an indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar if the local MLAs' complaints regarding tardy relief distribution were not addressed.

The angry MLA first created bedlam at the Secretariat where the Chief Minister was chairing the Cabinet meeting.

However, after Ambika Soni accepted most of his demands, the MLA relented.

“I have been facing the anger of my people who say that the government is not doing enough. And I had demanded that the local MLAs' views be taken while disbursing aid,” she said. 

45 pilgrims rescued

Dehradun, July 2
As many as 45 stranded pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were today evacuated from Chamoli, Joshimath and Badrinath to Rishikesh. They were given Rs 90,000 as relief.

Similarly, nine pilgrims from Rajasthan were evacuated from Joshimath to Jolly Grant Airport. They were given Rs 18,000 as relief.

The pilgrims said they were also given Rs 5,000 each by representatives of the Rajasthan government at the Joshimath helipad. — TNS