Page 24 - Uttarakhand

6 workers killed in Haridwar brick kiln wall collapse; DM orders probe

Six workers were killed and another four injured on Tuesday when a brick kiln wall collapsed on them in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, police said. The accident occurred in Lahboli village, said Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Pramendra Dobhal, who was on the spot. They were working at the brick kiln when the wall collapsed, the SSP said. "We are looking into the circumstances that led to the accident. Tough legal action will be taken against whoever is found responsible," Dobhal added. Five labourers died on the spot while another succumbed at a private hospital in Roorkee where all the injured were taken to, SP (Rural) Swapan Kishore said. A horse was also killed after getting buried under the rubble of the wall, he said. A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident by District Magistrate Dheeraj Singh Garbiyal. The probe will be conducted by the joint magistrate, Roorkee. Workers were busy making bricks at Saanvi brick kiln in the village when the w

Uttarakhand govt prohibits strikes in state services for 6 months

This came after the Uttarakhand Government Personnel and Vigilance Section released the order on Thursday

Silkyara tunnel: Consultant report classifies rocks as 'poor to very good'

The geological report prepared before the commencement of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel project showed that the rock classification of the tunnel's alignment ranges from poor to very good, the government said on Wednesday. A total of 41 workers were trapped after a portion of the under construction tunnel collapsed on November 12 and the workers were rescued on November 28. "The rock classification as per Geological report submitted by the Detailed Project Report (DPR) Consultant w.r.t. Silkyara Barkot tunnel alignment (length 4,531 m) ranges from Poor (Class IV) to Very Good (Class I)," Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. The minister was responding to a query seeking details of the geological report submitted to the government before the commencement of the tunnel. According to Gadkari, the rock classification reported by the EPC Contractor during execution ranges from "Very Poor (Class V) to Fair (Class-III)". "To overc

Uttarakhand govt issues advisory to follow Covid prevention guidelines

With an uptick in COVID-19 cases in some states and detection of the first case of its sub variant JN.1 in the country, the Uttarakhand government has issued an advisory to all districts to keep a tab on the situation and strictly adhere to prevention guidelines. However, no case of JN.1 sub variant of the coronavirus has been detected in the state so far, Health Secretary R Rajesh Kumar said. Still, all districts have been asked to strictly follow the operational guidelines for revised surveillance strategy in context of COVID-19, he said. The advisory issued on Tuesday asked district medical authorities to monitor influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory illness (SARI). Influenza and Covid tests of ILI and SARI patients should be conducted and their detalis entered into the Integrated Health Information Platform portal, it said. All hospitals should be readied in terms of arrangements for Covid management, the advisory said. Awareness should also be created amo

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Authorities said no to alternate rescue tunnel

The Char Dham project, which the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel is a part of, was broken down into 53 civil works to avail an exemption from environmental clearance

CM Dhami appoints 11 BJP leaders as vice presidents of councils, committees

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has appointed 11 more senior BJP leaders as vice-presidents of various councils and committees in the state. The second list of 11 party leaders appointed to different posts include Dedvendra Bhasin, Vishwas Dabur, Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Vinod Uniyal, Shyamveer Saini, Rajkumar, Dipak Mehra, Vinay Rohila, Uttam Dutta, Dinesh Arya and Ganesh Bhandari. The first list of 10 appointments had been issued in September. Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt congratulated all the party leaders on their nomination to the posts and hoped they will take public welfare schemes to the grassroots. "All party workers nominated to the posts are seniors who have experience and capability. Public welfare programmes launched by the government are bringing about a positive change in the lives of people. I hope those appointed as vice presidents of these bodies will help take the benefits of these programmes to people at the grassroots. I am confident they

ADB to give $200 mn loan for U'khand climate resilient power system project

Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday signed an agreement for a USD 200 million loan to improve the quality, efficiency, and reliability of power supply in Uttarakhand. The signatories to the loan agreement for the Uttarakhand Climate Resilient Power System Development Project were Juhi Mukherjee, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic A?airs and Hoe Yun Jeong, Deputy Country Director and Officer-in-Charge of ADB's India Resident Mission, for ADB, the finance ministry said in a statement. "The ADB funding for the project will strengthen power system infrastructure and help Uttarakhand in achieving its goal of providing 24x7 power to its residents," said Mukherjee after signing the loan agreement. "The project will enhance the power system network's capabilities, facilitating the seamless integration and transmission of renewable energy to load centres. Simultaneously, it involves upgrading the distribution system to minimize power outages and reduce

When 'development' is a zero-sum game

A combination of political ambition and religious nationalism is destroying Uttarakhand's potential, not least for the state's inhabitants

BSP chief Mayawati declares nephew Akash as uttaradhikari: Party leader

BSP chief Mayawati on Sunday declared her nephew Akash Anand as her "uttaradhikari (heir)", a party office-bearer said. "Akash (Anand) has been declared the 'uttaradhikari (heir)' by Mayawatiji," Udayveer Singh, the BSP's Shahjahanpur district unit chief, told reporters. "He (Anand) has been given the responsibility to strengthen the party organisation all over the country except Uttar Pradesh," Singh added. The party's official statement, however, did not mention any such decision. Singh said Mayawati announced the decision during a meeting in the district that was attended by party leaders from across the country. Singh said, "Unhone (Mayawati) said he (Anand) will be her heir after her.

Adani Group to invest Rs 1,700 crore in cement sector in Uttarakhand

Besides, the Adani group will also invest Rs 1,400 crore to set up a new grinding unit in the state with a capacity of four million tonnes

PM Modi asks investors to explore limitless potential of Uttarakhand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday asked investors to explore Uttarakhand's limitless potential in various sectors and convert them into opportunities. He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit at the Forest Research Institute here. Uttarakhand is a combination of divinity and development, the Prime Minister said. "Nature, culture, heritage - Uttarakhand has everything. You have to explore them and convert them into opportunities," Modi said. Recalling his earlier remark during a visit to Kedarnath that the third decade of the century belongs to Uttarakhand, he said the prediction is coming true. He also said the last ten years have seen the emergence of an aspirational India. Modi also launched the House of Himalayas brand to promote local products manufactured by women's self-help groups in the international markets. Congratulating the state government for the launch of the brand, Modi said it was in keeping with the concept o

PM Modi inaugurates Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit in Dehradun

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023 at the Forest Research Institute here. The two-day summit aims to promote the hill state as a major investment destination. He also launched the House of Himalayas brand to promote local products and increase the income of self-help groups. Preparations for the summit have been going on for months. It is being attended by more than a thousand investors and delegates from across the country and abroad. The target of the summit was to sign MoUs worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore, but it has already exceeded that limit to reach around Rs 3 lakh crore in the run-up to the event, which saw various roadshows being held by Dhami in India's metro cities as well as London, Birmingham in the UK, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

'Openings provided in Silkyara tunnel to help stranded commuters escape'

Amid reports raising questions on why under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi did not have a separate escape tunnel, the government on Wednesday said a separation wall was provided in the tunnel with egress openings at regular intervals that could be used as an escape route during an emergency. The 41 workers, who were trapped in the tunnel from November 12, were rescued on November 28. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari said, "In the Silkyara bi-directional tunnel on Dharasu-Yumunotri highway (NH-134), a provision of separation wall has been provided at the centre of the carriageway along with egress openings at an average interval of 565 metres for vehicular crossover and at an average interval of 300 metres for pedestrian cross passage for escape purposes during the emergencies." Gadkari was asked whether the government has conducted a probe as to why Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd (NECL) did no

CPI (M) raises Silkyara tunnel incident in Rajya Sabha, demands fair probe

CPI (M) Member of Parliament P V Sivadasan in Rajya Sabha on Monday raised the issue of collapse of Uttrakhand's Silkyara tunnel and demanded an inquiry into the incident alleging that safety measures were not implemented by the company concerned. A part of the Uttarkashi tunnel -- around 200 metres from the entrance -- had collapsed on November 12 trapping 41 workers. A rescue team pulled out all trapped workers on November 28 in a multi-agency operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days. Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Sivadasan termed the incident very painful and accused the tunnelling company of violating all security measures, rules and norms. "...transparent and fair inquiry is very necessary," said the MP from Communist Party of India - Marxist. Silkyara was the not the sole incident and such events have happened before in the area, he said. Ajay Pratap Singh of BJP said Sivadasan may have his own views on the incident, but the

Three workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel return to Jharkhand

Anil Bedia, Rajendra Bedia, and Sukra Bedia returned to their village late on Friday night

Uttarakhand tunnel: 21 workers from Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam reach home

It was a grand homecoming for 21 Silkyara tunnel workers from Jharkhand, Odisha and Assam who reached their respective states on Friday. In Jharkhand capital Ranchi, 15 workers, who spent 17 gruelling days inside the tunnel in Uttarkashi, were given a rousing welcome when their plane landed shortly after 8pm from Delhi. State Labour Minister Satyanand Bhokta who received the workers at the airport said, "A big mission has been accomplished. The government will extend all help to them." The workers were taken to Chief Minister Hemant Soren's residence in a special bus where he interacted with them and enquired about their wellbeing. Interacting with workers, Soren said, "Glad you all have returned to Jharkhand after emerging victorious from the Uttarakhand tragedy. The whole country was praying for all of you. All of you will be connected to employment related and other schemes of the state government. I have given instructions about this to the officials. I will keep taking ...

Kejriwal to meet rat-hole miners from Delhi who saved 41 tunnel workers

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet the rat-hole mining experts from Delhi who participated in the operation to rescue the 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel, officials said on Friday. The workers got trapped inside the tunnel in Uttarakhand after a portion of it collapsed. They were rescued on Tuesday following 17 days of a multi-agency operation. The 12-member team of rat-hole mining experts were called to do the drilling after an American auger machine came across hurdles while clearing the rubble. According to officials, some of them are involved in laying sewer lines and pipelines for the Delhi Jal Board. "Kejriwal will meet them later in the day," an official said. Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat holes", as each just about fits one person. At the Silkyara tunnel, the 12 experts were called by Trenchless Engineering Services Pvt Ltd and

Tunnel collapse: Video by trapped workers from inside Silkyara surfaces

The video, accessed by ANI, was shot by one of the trapped workers before they were eventually rescued

TMS Ep573: Deepfakes, Uttarkashi tunnel rescue, DIIs, Project Q-Star

How can India tackle the deepfake challenge? Why is the Uttarkashi tunnel rescue a daunting task? Will higher volatility disrupt DII strength? What is Project Q-Star? All answers here

Joshimath crisis: Govt approves Rs 1,658 cr recovery, reconstruction plan

The Centre on Thursday approved a Rs 1658.17 crore recovery and reconstruction plan for Joshimath in Uttarakhand which was affected by landslide and ground subsidence earlier this year. The decision was taken by a high level committee, headed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, according to an official statement. The committee approved the Recovery and Reconstruction (R&R) plan of Rs 1658.17 crore for Joshimath, the statement said. Under this plan, Rs 1079.96 crore of central assistance will be provided from the recovery and reconstruction window of the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF). The Uttarakhand government will provide Rs 126.41 crore from its State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) towards relief assistance and Rs 451.80 crore from its state budget, including land acquisition cost for resettlement of Rs 91.82 crore. Joshimath was hit by landslide and ground subsidence and the central government has extended all necessary technical and logistical support to the state, the