Page 16 - Uttarakhand

Haridwar Police orders eatery owners on Kanwar Yatra route to display names

Speaking to ANI, Haridwar SSP Padmendra Dobal said that the general instructions to the hotels, dhabas, and restaurants have been issued to write the name of the owner on their shops

'Godman' illegally builds temple near lake in Bageshwar, probe ordered

A self-styled godman has allegedly built an unauthorised temple in the Suderdhunga river valley close to a sacred lake originating from a glacier in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district, angering locals who have accused him of desecrating the lake by bathing in it. According to officials, Baba Chaitanya Akash alias Aditya Kailash managed to convince some locals to help him construct the temple in the eco-sensitive zone by telling them that he had received divine orders in a dream to build it. The matter was referred to the police for an investigation after an application was received from the locals in this regard, Bageshwar District Magistrate Anuradha Pal told PTI on the phone on Tuesday. The road to the spot where the temple has been built passes through difficult terrain and remains closed during monsoon, she said. "The structure made of wood and stone is a small temple. It is illegal and built on no man's land," Superintendent of Police (SP) Akshay Prahlad Konde said. It seems th

Uttarakhand CM seeks Centre's clearance for 21 new hydel power projects

Stating that only 40 per cent of Uttarakhand's total capacity for hydro electricity generation is being utilised at present, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday sought the clearance of 21 new hydel power projects with a capacity of 2123 MW for the state from the Centre. The request was made by the chief minister at a meeting with Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal Khattar when the latter met him at his official residence here. Khattar is on a visit to the state to review the progress of Tehri Hydro Power Complex and various urban development projects in the state. Expert committees have recommended the implementation of 21 new hydel power projects with a capacity of 2123 MW to be built on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers and their tributaries, the chief minister said. He requested Khattar to take positive steps towards their early implementation as only 40 per cent of the state's total hydro power generation capacity is being utilised at present. The Union minister ..

Congress candidates lead in Manglaur, Badrinath seats of Uttarakhand

Congress candidates for the Badrinath and Manglaur assembly bypolls in Uttarakhand were leading in both the seats on Saturday, officials said. The counting of votes for the by-elections in the two assembly constituencies, held on Wednesday, began at 8 am. Congress' Qazi Nizamuddin was ahead by 87,365 votes against the BJP's Kartar Singh Bhadana in the sixth round of counting in Manglaur. BSP's Ubaidur Rahman, who was behind Nizamuddin at the second spot in the initial rounds of counting, is now trailing at the third spot in the seat. The seat was with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but fell vacant after Rahman's father and sitting MLA Sarwat Karim Ansari died in October 2023. In the Badrinath assembly seat, Congress' Lakhpat Singh Butola was leading by 1,935 votes against BJP's Rajendra Bhandari in the seventh round of counting. The seat fell vacant after Bhandari resigned from the Congress and the state assembly to join the BJP just before the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

Police arrests five people for suspected radioactive device possession

Five people were arrested on Friday for allegedly being involved in the illegal sale and purchase of a suspected radioactive device, police said here. They said two of them were nabbed from Dehradun's Rajpur area, two from Madhya Pradesh and one from Delhi. A case was registered against them under relevant sections of the law for keeping and buying a substance that endangers life, police officials said, adding that a radiography camera was found in their possession. One of them told police that he bought the device 10 months ago from a Saharanpur resident and had come to Dehradun to arrange for its sale, the officials said. Police have sealed the room of a flat in the Brook and Woods Society on Rajpur Road and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) has been called in for an investigation, the officials said. An SDRF team confirmed the presence of a radioactive substance in the flat, they said. Police said devices like the one found in the possession of those arrested are ...

Kerala retains top ranking in NITI's SDG index; Bihar worst performer

Uttarakhand and Kerala have emerged as the top performer states in NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2023-24, which evaluates progress of states and union territories on social, economic and environmental parameters, while Bihar has been adjudged as the worst performer. According to the NITI Aayog's SDG India Index 2023-24, India's overall Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) score increased to 71 in 2023-24, compared to 66 in 2020-21, supported by significant progress on eliminating poverty, providing decent work, economic growth, climate action and life on land. Among states, Uttarakhand and Kerala have emerged as joint top performing states with a score of 79, followed by Tamil Nadu (78) and Goa (77). On the contrary, Bihar (57), Jharkhand (62) and Nagaland (63) were the worst performing states in this year's index. Among the union territories, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Delhi were the top five performers. "Targetted intervention by the ..

Parents should be kept informed about live-in couples: U'khand's UCC panel

A panel framing rules for Uttarakhand's Uniform Civil Code is trying to ensure that data provided by live-in couples remains protected but feels that information about those aged between 18 and 21 should be given to their parents, the committee's chief said Friday. The UCC, passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly in February, makes registration of live-in relationships and marriages mandatory. On Friday, the report of an expert committee on UCC was uploaded on the website www.ucc.uk.gov.in. Chairman of the UCC's rules-making and implementation committee, Shatrughna Singh, said it could not be made public earlier because the model code of conduct was in force. The panel framing rules for the implementation of UCC will ensure there is no breach of privacy of data provided by people at the time of registering their marriages and live-in relationships, he said at a press conference here. Asked whether the mandatory provision of informing the parents about a live-in couple aged between 18 an

Uttarakhand govt releases expert committee's report on Uniform Civil Code

While speaking to the media, Singh said, "The details of the UCC are given on the website http://ucc.uk.gov.in . You can read the report of the Expert Committee on the website."

U'khand bypolls: Ex-CM Harish Rawat detained after violence in Manglaur

As per reports, Harish Rawat was detained by police while attempting to visit a polling booth in Libberheri after being accused of disrupting the democratic process

News updates: India has given Buddha to the world, not war, says PM to Indians in Austria

From Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Austria visit to Mumbai's hit-and-run case, and from Bihar's bridge collapse to bypolls in seven states, catch all the latest news updates here

5 soldiers killed in Kathua attack from Uttarakhand, CM pays tributes

The five Army personnel killed in a terrorist attack on a patrolling party in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir hailed from Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Tuesday, asserting that their sacrifice will not go in vain. "Five brave soldiers of Uttarakhand attained martyrdom during the cowardly terrorist attack in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. This is a moment of great pain for all of us," Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a statement. "Our bravehearts made the supreme sacrifice for their motherland in keeping with the rich military tradition of Uttarakhand," he said, adding their "sacrifice will not go in vain. Terrorists, who are the enemies of humanity and guilty of this cowardly attack, will not be spared at any cost, he said, adding the people who sheltered them will also have to face the consequences. He said the entire state stands with their families in this hour of grief. The chief minister also paid his tribute to those killed through separate posts o

Water level in Ganga rises amid heavy rainfall in Rishikesh, says SDRF

Currently, the situation is normal at the moment and all the travellers and citizens in the town are being alerted by the water police and SDRF teams

Uttarakhand CM Dhami directs officials to be on 'alert' amid heavy rainfall

Chief Minister has instructed the officials to keep the district and tehsil administration on 24*7 alert for relief and rescue work in case of disaster

Downpour in Haridwar, cars swept away in U'khand's flooded Sukhi river

Heavy rain lashed Haridwar on Saturday afternoon and several cars washed away after flooding in the Sukhi river here. Rainwater gushed into homes and left major roads in the pilgrimage town waterlogged. As the rainfed Sukhi river is generally dry, people habitually park their cars on the dry riverbed. As the river got flooded all of a sudden, the cars were swept away in the swirling waters. The river joins the mainstream of the Ganga a short distance away. People gathered on the bridges over the Ganga near Har ki Pauri to capture the visuals of the floating cars on mobile cameras.

Uttarakhand's ghost villages, a side story to the Lok Sabha elections

For decades, the hills have witnessed consistent exodus. Will the tide reverse anytime soon?

People protest over firing incident in Dehradun, CM Dhami warns criminals

People held a protest in the Raipur area here on Tuesday against the firing incident in Dobhal Chowk in which one person was killed and two more were injured, while police arrested the main suspect and another man in connection with the case. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami warned that no one would be allowed to disrupt Uttarakhand's peace and said the criminals should leave the state or face strict action. Police officials said main suspect Ramveer of Muzaffarnagar was arrested from Rajasthan's Kotputli district, and another suspect, Ankush alias Golu, was nabbed from Raipur. So far, five people have been apprehended. The firing followed a dispute between two sides late Sunday night involving a vehicle. During the altercation, one group fired gunshots, killing vehicle owner Deepak Badola and injuring his friends Manoj Negi and Sanjay Chhetri. On Monday, police arrested Sonu Bhardwaj, his brother Monu Bhardwaj and Shambhu Yadav. Authorities are searching for two more people, th

One killed, two injured in Dehradun's shooting incident, say police

One person was killed and two more were injured in a shootout following a dispute over a vehicle in Dehradun's Raipur area, police said on Monday. They said three people have been arrested in connection with the incident that occurred in the Dobhal Chowk area late Sunday night. According to police, Sagar alias Shambhu Yadav took a loan of Rs 4.25 lakh on June 15 from Devendra Kumar alias Sonu Bhardwaj and Monu Bhardwaj by mortgaging a vehicle even though its owner Deepak Badola was kept in the dark. They said when Badola came to know about this, he asked Yadav to return his vehicle who not only refused him but also used abusive language. Badola also asked Sonu Bhardwaj and Monu Bhardwaj to return his vehicle but they refused him as well, police said. Afterwards, they said, Badola and two of his acquaintances Subhash Chhetri and Manoj Negi went to Bhardwaj's house and an argument broke out between the two sides. The dispute took a violent turn when Sonu Bhardwaj, Monu Bhardwaj and

Rudraprayag accident prompts officials to check hill endorsement of licence

A day after fifteen tourists died in a road accident in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag, officials said on Sunday that there was a need for greater focus on 'hill endorsement' in drivers' licences accompanied by a physical test. Joint Transport Commissioner Sanat Singh said this checking was required for all tourist vehicles, including those part of the Chardham Yatra and the Hemkund Sahib Yatra, to reduce road accidents in hilly regions. Many tourist vehicles come to Uttarakhand, but due to a greater volume of cars of Chardham Yatra, checking of other vehicles is ignored, Singh said. "Now we will need to focus on tourism apart from Chardham Yatra. We will now focus on hill endorsement of driving license," the official said. 'Hill endorsement' of a driver's license is necessary for driving in mountainous roads, he said. Singh said earlier the state did not have the facility for physical tests of 'hill endorsement', so the test was offered online. Now, driving tracks for such tests have

Rudraprayag accident: Another victim succumbs to injuries, toll rises to 15

A person injured in the tempo traveller accident in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag succumbed to his injuries, taking the toll to 15, while the condition of four of the 11 injured is still critical, officials said on Sunday. A person who was brought to AIIMS, Rishikesh by air ambulance after the accident on Saturday died late at night, trauma surgeon Ruby Kataria said. A tempo traveller carrying tourists skidded off the Badrinath national highway, rolled 200 metres down a gorge and fell into Alaknanda river, killing or injuring all 26 people present in it. Ten people died on the spot near Raitoli village, about four kilometres from Rudraprayag district headquarters. Kataria said the patient was brought to the hospital in a "brain dead" condition after which he was put on life support but he could not be saved. The doctor said that the remaining four injured at the hospital are also in critical condition and it will take a lot of time to shift them to the ward. Seven persons seriously ..

No one prepared for unprecedented heat endured this summer: Sunita Narain

India is grappling with unprecedented heat this summer and no one is prepared for the level of warming being experienced, leading environmentalist Sunita Narain has said, emphasizing the need for a heat index and a complete overhaul of the way modern cities are designed. In an interaction with PTI editors here, Narain, the Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said the brutal heat scorching swathes of India is a result of naturally occurring El Nino phenomenon -- an unusual warming of the ocean surface in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean -- and climate change. "Nobody is prepared. Let's be very clear. 2023 was globally the hottest year on record. We have broken every record in the last 45 days with an unbroken (streak of) temperatures above 40 degrees. This is climate change. It is compounded this year by the waning of the (2023-24) El Nino. This means we really need to get our act together. We need to ensure that vulnerable communities are .