Page 20 - Uttarakhand

Nainital forest fire: CM Dhami vows action against officers responsible

Chief Minister Dhami emphasized the need for a unified effort, urging all institutions, including locals, to lend their support in combating the blaze.

Nainital forest fires: Why forest fires are so common in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand's lush landscapes are under siege by raging forest fires sweeping through the Nainital, Haldwani, and Ramnagar regions. This Friday alone, the fires claimed over 108 hectares

U'khand forest fires: IAF helicopter assists in firefighting for 2nd day

The firefighting operation in Uttarakhand's forests with the help of an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter continued for the second day on Sunday with the blaze brought under control in several areas, officials said. Efforts have also intensified to extinguish the raging forest fires in the state, especially in the worst-affected areas of Nainital, Haldwani and Ramnagar forest divisions, forest officials here said on Sunday. The forest fires are gradually being controlled with the flames already doused in many areas. The fires in Marora and Khanana civil areas in Maniknath range of the Narendranagar forest division have been completely extinguished, they said. The forest blaze in Nainital and adjoining areas is gradually being brought under control after the deployment of an IAF helicopter for the firefighting operations on Saturday morning, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said after reviewing the situation in the Kumaon region on Saturday night. According to the Indian Air Force

U'khand forest fires: IAF helicopter assists in firefighting for 2nd day

The firefighting operation in Uttarakhand's forests with the help of an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter continued for the second day on Sunday with the blaze brought to control in several areas, officials said. Efforts have also intensified to extinguish the raging forest fires in the state, especially in the worst-affected areas of Nainital, Haldwani and Ramnagar forest divisions, forest officials here said on Sunday. The forest fires are gradually being controlled with the flames already doused in many areas. The fires in Marora and Khanana civil areas in Maniknath range of the Narendranagar forest division have been completely extinguished, they said. The forest blaze in Nainital and adjoining areas is gradually being brought under control after the deployment of an IAF helicopter for the firefighting operations on Saturday morning, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said after reviewing the situation in the Kumaon region on Saturday night. According to the Indian Air Force, a

ED arrests Uttarakhand man in international drugs trafficking case

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested a man from Uttarakhand in a money laundering case linked to dark web-assisted international drugs trafficking, official sources said. The agency's action came after US anti-narcotics authorities sought India's assistance to unearth the racket. Parvinder Singh was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from Haldwani city, the sources said. The federal anti-money laundering agency had raided Singh's premises on Friday and arrested him after a brief round of questioning, they said. It is alleged that Singh ran an international drugs trafficking group called "The Singh Organisation" and narcotics were sold using links of the dark web, the sources said. They claimed that funds were collected through cryptocurrency.

IAF helicopter roped in to douse forest fires in Uttarakhand's Nainital

An IAF helicopter was pressed into service on Saturday to extinguish the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand's Nainital district, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. The situation in the district worsened on Friday with the flames reaching the High Court Colony in the Pines area. An MI-17 helicopter collected water in a Bambi Bucket from Bhimtal lake and poured it over the burning forests of Pines, Bhumiadhar, Jyolikot, Narayan Nagar, Bhawali, Ramgarh and Mukteshwar areas of the district, officials said. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said all efforts are being made to bring the fires under control and it will be done soon. "An IAF helicopter has already started dousing the fires," he said. Dhami said he will hold a meeting with forest officials in Haldwani later in the day to review the situation. Three people were arrested in Rudraprayag on Friday while trying to set fire to forests. As many as 31 fresh incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the s

Forest fire reaches Nainital's High Court Colony; army called for support

Forest fires in Uttarakhand became more severe on Friday with the flames reaching the High Court Colony in Nainital. Three persons were arrested in Rudraprayag on Friday while trying to set fire to the forests. In the last 24 hours, 31 new incidents of forest fire were reported from various parts of the state, destroying 33.34 hectares of forest land. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked the officials to remain on alert and take measures to prevent the fires by coordinating with all departments. The fire that broke out in the forest near Nainital district headquarters took a horrific form, posing a threat to the residents of High Court Colony located in the Pines area. It also affected the traffic movement in the area. Along with the forest department employees, army personnel are also trying to control the fire. Authorities may deploy helicopters to put it out. Anil Joshi, a resident of the area and assistant registrar of the High Court said, "The fire has ..

Voting begins in first phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024: 10 key points

The first phase will see voting in 102 out of 534 Lok Sabha seats, across 17 states and four Union Territories

8.3 mn voters set to vote as polling begins for Uttarakhand's 5 LS seats

Polling began on Friday morning for the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand, election officials said. The voting across 11,729 polling stations began at 7 am and will go on till 5 pm, they said. Apart from 40,000 police, home guard and Prantiya Raksha Dal personnel, 65 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling in the state. A total of 1,365 polling stations have been categorised as critical and 809 as vulnerable, Additional Chief Election Officer Vijay Kumar Jogdande said. The five seats going to polls in Uttarakhand are Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar and the lone reserved seat of Almora. More than 83 lakh voters will decide the fate of 55 candidates in the fray. Sitting BJP MPs Ajay Bhatt, Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah and Ajay Tamta have been fielded by the party from Nainital-Udham Singh Nagar, Tehri Garhwal and Almora. The BJP has replaced its candidates in Haridwar and Pauri Garhwal. Former chief

Caste arithmetic, ex-CMs and BSP make for a riveting contest in Haridwar

For the past two elections, BJP stalwart and former Union minister (as well as ex-Uttarakhand CM) Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has been winning the Haridwar LS seat

Helicopters arranged to ensure casualty-free LS polls in Uttarakhand

To increase voter turnout in the hill state, more than 11,000 polling booths are being set up across the state. The counting of votes is scheduled on June 4

Ahead of polls, Indo-Nepal border sealed, movement closed: U'khand CEO

This time, we have got around 60 companies of paramilitary forces for elections. And we believe that we will conduct peaceful elections

Lok Sabha polls: Garhwal's women voters laud BJP's 'pro-women' schemes

The passage of the women's reservation bill and the "pro-women" schemes might help the BJP's fortunes, but the delay in rehabilitating victims of the Chamoli disaster is concerning, women voters in Uttrakhand's Garhwal region have said. The high rate of unemployment in the region, the rising prices of essential commodities and the Agnipath scheme were some of the other troubling issues for the women voters ahead of Lok Sabha polls in the state. Rashmi Nautiyal, a resident of Chamoli district, said the participation of women in politics has increased over the last few years and they are learning to take a stand for themselves. "We have seen several women-oriented schemes being launched by the government here. As a result, women are getting a sense of participation in the polls," Nautiyal said. "Earlier, women used to follow male members of their family, however, now they are taking a stand for themselves," she added. According to official data, the Garhwal region has more than five

Agnipath scheme likely to dent BJP's electoral prospects in Uttarakhand

People in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand say the Agnipath scheme and the Ankita Bhandari case would have a bearing on the electoral prospects of the BJP here since the youth is not happy for the last couple of years. Ankit Negi, a resident of the Chamoli district, said that choosing the Army as a career option was the primary choice of every youth here, especially those from the hills or rural areas. Eight years (from 17 to 25) are crucial for every youth who decides where they will head in life. It decides the future of the person and his family as well. However, after the introduction of this scheme, the youth is deeply agitated. The youth of hill areas are known for their physical strength. Every youth here used to be very enthusiastic about choosing the Army as their career option. The BJP is not focusing on this issue and it is also not in their election manifesto, due to which most of the youngsters here are not in favour of voting for the party, Negi said. Abhinav Patwal,

FIR registered against 2 Delhi govt officials after Uttarakhand court order

On March 2, the court admitted a complaint by an NGO, Pleasant Valley Foundation, against the officials and asked the revenue police to register a case against them and investigate the charges

Thomas Cook launches 'helicopter darshan' to Adi Kailash, Om Parvat

Targeting the surge in demand for spiritual tourism, Thomas Cook India and its group firm SOTC Travel have partnered with the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board to offer aerial darshans to Adi Kailash and Om Parvat, the company announced on Wednesday. The five-day spiritual tour has been launched at a price of Rs 90,000 per person -- subsidized by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. The base camp for the tour will be Pithoragarh, in Uttarakhand. The darshans will start from the second day onwards. On the day-2 of the trip Manokamna temple darshan will be organised and on day-3 onwards there will be Adi Kailash & Om Parvat darshan. Each batch of the five-day spiritual tour will consist of 14 persons. Thomas Cook and SOTC's data indicates a significant demand of 100 per cent YoY for Spiritual Tourism. The tour includes two helicopter darshans to Adi Kailash and Om Parvat, an ATV (All-Terrain Vehicle) for journey to the Parvati Sarovar temple and all meals (vegetarian), ...

Lok Sabha polls: Uttarakhand govt declares public holiday on voting day

The people of Uttarakhand will cast their votes in a single phase on April 19, according to the Election Commission of India

Not scared of Oppn: PM Modi vows stronger action on corruption in 3rd term

Lok Sabha elections: PM Modi, during a rally in Uttarakhand, said that he is not scared of the Opposition's abuses and will act on their alleged corruption with greater force in his third term

LS polls: Congress targets PM Modi on issue of development in Uttarakhand

The Congress on Tuesday said the Modi government has "failed" to make any meaningful improvements in Uttarakhand, claiming the state has been plagued by rampant unemployment, unprecedented out-migration, crumbling infrastructure, and a deteriorating law and order situation in recent years. The opposition party's attack came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis rally in Uttarakhand. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh noted that PM Modi is visiting the city of Rudrapur in Uttarakhand on Tuesday. "We hope that the PM will take this opportunity to address three key questions about why his government has failed to make any meaningful improvements in the state," Ramesh said and listed the questions on X. "The BJP government has been disappointingly ineffective in addressing Uttarakhand's biggest challenges of unemployment and migration. In 2021, an RTI revealed that 5 lakh people have migrated out of the state in the last 10 years - and the rate of migration is only increasing,"

Lok Sabha polls: 55 candidates left in fray for five seats of Uttarakhand

One independent candidate from Almora has withdrawn from the contest leaving only 55 candidates in the fray for the April 19 Lok Sabha polls in Uttarakhand. Arjun Kumar Dev, the independent candidate from Almora, withdrew on the last date for withdrawal of nominations on Saturday, Additional Chief Electoral Officer Vijay Kumar Jogdande said. Dev was the lone candidate to withdraw, he said. There are now a total of 55 candidates in the fray for the five Lok Sabha constituencies in the state which go to polls in the first phase on April 19. There are 11 candidates in the fray for Tehri seat, 13 for Pauri Garhwal, 7 for Almora, 10 for Nainital and 14 for Haridwar, Jogdande said. The additional chief electoral officer said that publishing and broadcasting of exit poll results will be completely prohibited during the entire election process as per the Election Commission's instructions. Jogdande said that there will be a ban on the publication and telecast of exit polls from 7 am on A