50 families begin winter migration to lower valleys
BD Kasniyal

Pithoragarh, October 15
Over 50 families from the upper Darma valley area today began their annual migration to lower valleys of Dharchula for the winter. The villagers will face difficulties on their way to the lower valleys as the route from Kancholi to Tawaghat is slippery and narrow. This route was destroyed during heavy rains in June, Dharchula administration sources said.

They said villagers from Sipu, Marcha, Goo, and Tiding started their traditional journey to the lower valleys in Dharchula today to spend the winter there. “After villagers from the upper Darma valley area reach half way, villagers from the lower Drama valley area will start migrating,” said Pramod Kumar, SDM, Dharchula.

The SDM added the villagers along with their families and thousands of animals, including sheep, yaks, mules and horses, were travelling on the route. They would find 15 camps on their way. After travelling for 15 days on rugged routes, they would reach the Dharchula valley on October 30.

The sources said even though the administration had repaired the route reasonably, the migrating villagers would face difficulties. “The migrating villagers will have to change their traditional route from Sobla which was washed away due to heavy rains in June this year. After travelling 3 km to return to the same route for reasons of safety the migrating villagers will face more difficulties as the route is muddy between Kanchoti and Tawaghat. However, they will get relief once they reach Tawaghat,” said Aan Singh Rokaya, a former member of the Pithoragarh Zila Panchayat.

The SDM said keeping the damaged routes in mind revenue officers were keeping a close watch on the winter migration this time and had ordered PWD engineers to facilitate the migrating villagers. “If we sense that the villagers are facing even minor difficulties on their way to the lower valleys, we will provide them with help and relief immediately,” said Pramod.

According to information, residents of Dantu, Duktu, Dhakar, Nagling, Boling, Philam and Chal villages are all set to start their winter journey to the lower valleys of Dharchula in a few days. 

Land in possession of Pak migrants to be regularised
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 15
The Uttarakhand government will regularise land in possession of poor families, which came from East Pakistan and West Pakistan during Partition and were given land under the Government Grants Act and the category IV of land tenure under the Zamindari Land Reforms Act.

“The subcommittee comprising ]three Cabinet ministers has given its report which will come up during the Cabinet meeting slated for October 18,” said Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna while speaking with mediapersons here today.

He said most of the land under the Government Grants Act is in Hairdwar. He added that under the category IV around 10,000 hectares in possession of 18,000 poor families belonging to the Scheduled Castes (SC), the Scheduled Tribes (ST), the below poverty line (BPL), the Antodya and the general categories would now be regularised,” he added.

He also said a special package for rehabilitating residents and shopkeepers would come up for approval during the Cabinet meeting on October 18.

The Chief Minister had a meeting at Guptkashi today with people whose houses were damaged in the natural disaster in Kedarnath. He said the government had agreed to provide houses to people whose houses were damaged in the natural disaster. “The government will build houses according to the norms approved by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) for the area,” he added. Similarly, shopkeepers and taxi owners too would be provided relief, he added.

Bahuguna said the Kedarnath Development Authority was set up because local panchayats were not in a position to handle the rebuilding activity on such a large scale. “The panchayats lack expertise and hence we created an authority according to the norms of the Central Government for undertaking rebuilding on a large scale,” he said.

The Chief Minister said the authority would not encroach upon the rights of the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee. He criticised the BJP for holding protests while the government was holding talks with the people of Kedarnath.

He added the development and rebuilding activity would continue in low lying areas of Kedarnath but no work would take place in the higher reaches during the snowfall. 

Warnings before disaster were not area specific: CM
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 15
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said today that unlike cyclone Phailin, the warnings issued by the state Met Department prior to the mid-June disaster in the state were not area specific and precise, which might have affected the rescue work.

"We were only told that heavy rain would occur in Uttarakhand, but there was no prediction about any cloudburst in Kedarnath. No one would leave their homes if told that heavy rain would occur in their area," said Bahuguna, while replying to media queries on the comments made by Union Science and Technology Minister Jaipal Reddy in New Delhi yesterday.

The Union minister, while taking credit for effectively handling the situation in the aftermath of the cyclone Pahilin, had said the department had forecast heavy rain 24 hours in advance for Uttarakhand.

The Union minister had said the situation in Uttarakhand was multi-dimensional. "Heavy rains coupled with breaches in dams and environment factor resulted in casualties,” he had stated.

However, Bahuguna had said the floods were exacerbated due to the cloudburst. But so far it is not clear on basis of which report the state government is making such a claim. Earlier, the Bahuguna-led government had received a lot of flak for failing to handle the human tragedy in the state effectively.

Overloaded vehicles in Jaunpur pose danger
Ajay Ramola
Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, October 15
The incidence of overloaded vehicles, especially Jeeps and Commanders plying in the Jaunpur development region of Tehri Garhwal district are posing a risk to the lives of commuters allegedly due to the apathy of the Transport Department.

Overloaded with schoolchildren and the local commuters, the vehicles can be seen on the Aglar-Thatyur-Mussoorie road plying with impunity and posing a risk to human lives in the process.

The damage to the roads due to the flood disaster in June is making the vehicles less stable and difficult to steer and resulting in resulting in bumpy rides for the commuters.

Most of the Jeep owners ignore the specification regarding the amount of weight one vehicle can bear.

Apart from this, due to overheating, most of the vehicles plying on the roads are in a worn down condition, thus increasing the chance of premature, dangerous and expensive failure or blow-outs.

The risk increases during the night time when the headlights of most of the vehicles blind oncoming drivers to possible debris or obstructions on the road.

The driver’s control and operating space in the overloaded vehicle is also diminished, escalating the chances for an accident and making it difficult to overtake. The brakes too have to work harder due to ‘the riding of brakes’ and because the vehicle is heavier due to overloading, the brakes overheat and lose their effectiveness.

The hapless commuters are forced to travel on the roof and sometime hanging at the back of the vehicles as no roadways bus or vehicle has been allocated on the Aglar-Thatyur-Mussoorie route.

The insurance cover on overloaded vehicles is void as overloading is illegal. So in case of accident the commuters are not able to receive any medical benefit too.

Surendar Kumar, Assistant Road Transports Officer (ARTO), Tehri, said they had they had started a campaign against the overloaded vehicles when some vehicles were seized and fined.

However due to the strike of the RTO constables, the campaign had stopped. Once the strike is called off, the campaign against overloading would begin earnestly, he added.

Animal sacrifice stops in temples during Navratras
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 15
The traditional ritual of animal sacrifice in various temples of local deities in the Kumaon region during Navratras was stopped this year due to the efforts of animal right activists and initiatives shown by temple committees at various places.

According to the information received from Almora district, devotees at temples in Chitai Golu, Jharkar Sam, Mashan and Kailka worshiped the deities with coconut and flowers.

“It was possible with relentless efforts of administration in awakening the villagers about the courts orders and demand of the time, besides the initiatives shown by respective temple committees,” said Pankah Upadhaya, SDM of Almora.

According to priest of Chitai temple, the temple used to attract dozens of animal sacrifices during the Dashera and Navratras since the time the temples was established, but the tradition broke this year, with no animal sacrifice during the festival.

“The police also guarded the temple for 10 days continuously to revert any attempt of animal sacrifice during Navratras,” said the temple priest Hari Vinod pant.

“This year the people came with bells coconuts, and flags to the temple rather than animals for sacrifice,” said pant.

At the Jhakar Sam temple near Almora town, the age-old tradition of animal sacrifice was stopped this year after the local administration succeeded in persuading the temple committee for not resorting to animal sacrifice.

“Instead we told the villagers, they should come with flowers, fruits, clothes and incenses to please the deity, our efforts were helped by the administrative officers and resulted into no animal sacrifice year this year,” said Devi Dutt Pandey, priest of Sam temple at Jhakarsam temple, which had been famous for animal sacrifice traditions in Navaratras.

The news of no animal sacrifice also poured from other places of the region, including Kali temple at Gangolihat in pithoragarh and Kanda in Bageswar districts as the administration kept a strong vigil during the festival.

US team installs four water chlorinators in two villages
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 15
A team from the USA has installed four water chlorinators in disaster-hit Matli and Dilsoar villages, ensuring the availability of purified water to nearly 200 families.

The Himalayee Paryavaran Shiksha Sansthan (HPSS), a Uttarkashi-based voluntary organisation, hosted five American volunteers at its Matli, Uttarkashi campus.

Suresh Bhai, founder and chairperson of the HPSS and an activist of the Save the River Campaign, said, “This project represents a unique opportunity to partner with our global family members and introduce a new water purifying technology to Uttarakhand. We see enormous potential for this in rural India.”

The five American volunteers, namely Tina Ward-Pugh, Joe Jacobi, Lynn Smith, Robin Brothers and Suetta Albin, are associated with a non-profit organisation namely WaterStep, which has its headquarters in Louisville, USA.

WaterStep specialises in installing water chlorinators, giving training in hand-pump repair, providing disaster relief services and teaching health and hygiene practices. Their projects operate in over 25 countries, including Bihar, Meghalaya, Manipur, Assam, Odisha and West Bengal in India.The HPSS and WaterStep were brought together by Margaret Weidner, Fulbright-Nehru student researcher, who spent the last year conducting a research on water management in Garhwal.

Weidner says, “This partnership between the HPSS and WaterStep embodies the aim of the Fulbright-Nehru scholarship to promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Through my research, I have the chance to learn from villagers living in Garhwal and this partnership means that they will have access to a technology that can improve their quality of life.”

The water chlorinator, M-100, has been designed by WaterStep engineer Lynn Smith and its production was managed by Joe Jacobi, both of whom led the Matli and Dilsoar installations.

The M-100 is easy to operate, uses local material and is highly durable. “Using table salt and a 12-volt car battery, people are able to purify as much water as they require, up to 40,000 l per day with one machine," he says.

“Both the HPSS and WaterStep look forward to expanding the use of the technology throughout Uttarkashi and hope to promote this technology with local and regional government officials”, said Suresh Bhai.

ICMR, ICFRE ink agreement for joint research
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 15
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for doing a collaborative research on the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants and fungi for human welfare.

Dr Vishwa Mohan Katoch, Director-General, ICMR, and K Jude Sekar, Director- General, ICFRE, signed the MoU.

Dr Katoch said this would pave the way for doing a purposeful research in developing medicines for human welfare. Jude Sekar of the ICFRE said joining hands with the ICMR was a good step in doing a collaborative research.

Earlier, Dr PP Bhojvaid, Director, FRI, welcomed the DG, ICMR, and his colleagues, officials and scientists of the ICFRE and the FRI and briefed them about the background of developing the MoU between the ICFRE and the ICMR. From the ICMR, Dr Vijay Kumar, Deputy Director-General, and Dr Nagesh Prabhu, Joint Secretary, were present during the signing of the MoU.

As part of the MoU, the ICFRE, Dehradun, will carry out the identification, collection and preparation of plant material and fungi and the characterisation of active known or novel molecules from plants and fungal resources.

The ICMR, New Delhi, will be responsible for the screening of extracts, fractions, pure compounds, biomass for anti-cancereous and anti-diabetic activity and rational drug-design modification and analog synthesis.

The two organisations will exchange academic material and other information regularly. The components of projects with respective institutes for undertaking the above mentioned activities will be developed by the scientists concerned and exchanged between the collaborating partners.

Subject to mutual consent, the areas of cooperation will include any programme offered at either institution as thought desirable and feasible on either side and both sides will contribute to the fostering and development of the cooperative relationship between the two institutions.

The MoU will pave the way for translating collaborative research efforts by the ICMR and the ICFRE for human welfare. 

Extension sought in China border trade period
Our Correspondent

Pithoragarh, October 15
Indian tribal traders involved in trading with their Chinese counterparts at Taklakot town in Tibet have demanded that the trade period be extended till the first week of November. “As the border trade began late this year due to the natural disaster, we have demanded that we be given extra time to sell our entire stock of Indian goods before we return to India,” said Ratan Singh Raypa, a representative of Indian traders who have gone to Tibet.

The Pithoragarh district administration has given an ultimatum to the traders to return to India before October 31 when Lipulekh Pass is scheduled to close for the rest of the year. “We have informed the traders about the orders and have asked them to return before October 31. The delay on their part to return to India could prove dangerous for them as snowfall could happen on Lipulekh Pass anytime after October end,” said Pramod Kumar, SDM, Dharchula and designated trade officer.

Raypa said their forefathers used to trade with their Chinese counterparts from Lipulekh Pass till November before 1962 when the trade was opened for all. “As the China-Nepal trade lasts till November and the traders from India and Nepal cross same high mountains, the Indian government should extend the trade period by some weeks beyond October 31,” he added.

The Indian traders also say that at present the track routes from Lipulekh Pass to their villages are not in a good shape and are being repaired. This will pose problems to them on their return to their villages with goods from Tibet. “As the routes are likely to be repaired by November, we will be more comfortable returning next month,” said Raypa. 

Blood donated for needy soldiers, kin
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 15
Over 200 units of blood were donated under a project, “Operation Goodwill”, at the health camp organised by the Shivalik Brigade of the Golden Key Division of the Indian Army as part of its golden jubilee celebrations at Garhi cantonment in Dehradun yesterday.

The event was organised to fulfil socio-military obligations. The blood will be used for needy soldiers and their dependents.

Over 200 volunteers, including officers, junior commissioned officers and other ranks along with their families, donated blood. A large number of NCC cadets also participated in the drive.

The event was inaugurated by Kanchan Oka, president of the Golden Key Family Walfare Organisation.