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Cyclone Phailin has whizzed past the east coast, fortunately without causing any major loss of life. Seven months ago, another natural calamity had struck Uttarakhand — flash floods left a massive trail of death and destruction there and had shattered the state’s economy.
Though both the catastrophes struck with a lot of ferocity, timely safety measures made the big difference between Odisha, where the cyclone struck, and Uttarakhand.
Now, the shockwaves of the super sea-storm are being felt in Uttarakhand, where the government came under a fresh attack from the opposition over handling of the rain disaster. It is demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna for failing to take preventive steps when the June 16-17 flash floods had hit the state, despite a met office warning.
The government is also facing flak over post-disaster measures, with most of the flood-ravaged areas still far from having returned to normalcy.
In a renewed attack, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked Bahuguna to learn lessons from the east coastal states where the loss of life had been mitigated considerably. “Preparedness and preventive measures like evacuation have gone well with all these east coast states. On the other hand, our own government was in deep slumber for two-three days when flash floods and cloudbursts hit Uttarakhand in June. Bahugunaji must take some lessons from states like Odisha and resign on moral grounds,” said Ajay Bhatt, leader of the opposition.
Bhatt said despite the loss of life and property, Bahuguna was showing no seriousness in rehabilitating people who still living in tents. “The winter is at our doorstep. Some of the hilly areas have already started experiencing a harsh winter. The government is still not worried about the flood-affected people,” said Bhatt.
Bahuguna has been making efforts to revive tourism in the state, considered to be backbone of the economy, through a series of steps. He has claimed credit for resuming the Char Dham yatra to revive tourism in the Garhwal hills.
However, experts say most of the flood-affected areas, including on the Char Dham yatra route, are still in shambles and a vast stretch of the roads leading to the Char Dham shrines of Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath are still damaged.
Pilgrims are not showing much enthusiasm over the Chardham yatra, with only 300 odd people visiting the Kedarnath shrine since October 5, when the pilgrimage resumed after remaining suspended since the June floods.
Flood-affected people, living in tents, are feeling insecure as the winter sets in. Kedarnath and other high-altitude areas in the Garhwal region on Sunday experienced the season’s first snowfall, heralding the onset of the winter season in the region.
“Even the rehabilitation process is yet to start. We don’t know whether we will get homes as promised by the chief minister,” said Komal Rawat of Rudraprayag district. The government has promised to construct prefabricated homes for 3,100 families who were rendered homeless in the natural disaster.
Though both the catastrophes struck with a lot of ferocity, timely safety measures made the big difference between Odisha, where the cyclone struck, and Uttarakhand.
Now, the shockwaves of the super sea-storm are being felt in Uttarakhand, where the government came under a fresh attack from the opposition over handling of the rain disaster. It is demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna for failing to take preventive steps when the June 16-17 flash floods had hit the state, despite a met office warning.
The government is also facing flak over post-disaster measures, with most of the flood-ravaged areas still far from having returned to normalcy.
In a renewed attack, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked Bahuguna to learn lessons from the east coastal states where the loss of life had been mitigated considerably. “Preparedness and preventive measures like evacuation have gone well with all these east coast states. On the other hand, our own government was in deep slumber for two-three days when flash floods and cloudbursts hit Uttarakhand in June. Bahugunaji must take some lessons from states like Odisha and resign on moral grounds,” said Ajay Bhatt, leader of the opposition.
Bhatt said despite the loss of life and property, Bahuguna was showing no seriousness in rehabilitating people who still living in tents. “The winter is at our doorstep. Some of the hilly areas have already started experiencing a harsh winter. The government is still not worried about the flood-affected people,” said Bhatt.
Bahuguna has been making efforts to revive tourism in the state, considered to be backbone of the economy, through a series of steps. He has claimed credit for resuming the Char Dham yatra to revive tourism in the Garhwal hills.
However, experts say most of the flood-affected areas, including on the Char Dham yatra route, are still in shambles and a vast stretch of the roads leading to the Char Dham shrines of Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Kedarnath are still damaged.
Pilgrims are not showing much enthusiasm over the Chardham yatra, with only 300 odd people visiting the Kedarnath shrine since October 5, when the pilgrimage resumed after remaining suspended since the June floods.
Flood-affected people, living in tents, are feeling insecure as the winter sets in. Kedarnath and other high-altitude areas in the Garhwal region on Sunday experienced the season’s first snowfall, heralding the onset of the winter season in the region.
“Even the rehabilitation process is yet to start. We don’t know whether we will get homes as promised by the chief minister,” said Komal Rawat of Rudraprayag district. The government has promised to construct prefabricated homes for 3,100 families who were rendered homeless in the natural disaster.
