Page 26 - Uttarakhand

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

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse an 'unfortunate human tragedy', says Sadhguru

It was an unfortunate human tragedy but fortunately, they all came out successfully. Tunnel collapsing happens everywhere in the world, doesn't matter how you do it," Sadhguru said

Rescued worker from Bihar says CM did not send officials at tunnel site

A Bihar resident who was among the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel complained on Wednesday that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar did not send his officials to the tunnel site to enquire about the workers from the state nor did he contact his relatives back home during their 16-day ordeal. The worker complained of this when Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met him at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur and asked how he was doing. "All other state governments sent their officials to the tunnel to enquire about the well-being of the trapped workers from their respective states. But our chief minister Nitish Kumar did not send anyone nor did he contact our relatives back home to say a word of sympathy. I do not know what mistake we committed," the worker told Dhami. He also expressed his gratitude to the Uttarakhand chief minister for the efforts made by various agencies under his leadership to secure their safe exit from the tunnel. Dhami had set up a ca

U'khand tunnel: CM meets rescued workers, gives Rs 1 lakh cheque to each

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami Wednesday met the workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel and kept under medical observation at a hospital in Chinyalisaur and handed over Rs 1 lakh to each of them. He also spoke to their family members waiting outside the hospital. They thanked him for safely evacuating the trapped workers after almost 17 days. In the hospital, Dhami went from bed to bed speaking to each one of the rescued workers and handing over cheques to them. The chief minister also announced Rs 50,000 reward for each of the rescue workers who went inside the evacuation passage and helped the trapped labourers come out of the tunnel. "I am no less happy about their (workers) evacuation than their families. My Diwali, Igas or Dev Deepavali came yesterday as they were evacuated," the Uttarakhand chief minister told PTI earlier. Dhami said the workers were like his family. "After all they work for us...for the country." He thanked the local deity Baba Baukhnag,

LIVE: Manipur's oldest armed group UNLF signs peace deal with Centre

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Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Rat miners rescue 41 workers as high-powered machines fail

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: When high-powered machines failed, it was the "rat miners" who saved the day. Watch the video to know about rat mining.

Jharkhand to airlift its workers rescued from Silkyara tunnel to Ranchi

Preparations are afoot by the Jharkhand government to airlift its 15 workers who were among the 41 trapped in Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi and rescued on Tuesday night, an official said. Jharkhand government officers are in touch with their Uttarakhand counterparts and a three-member team from the state had rushed to the spot soon after the collapse in the tunnel on Diwali, they said on Wednesday. "Our workers reached AIIMS Rishikesh for the health check up around 2 pm today (Wednesday) for health check ups. The Uttarakhand government has kept them under observation. As soon as they are released from the hospital we will airlift them to Ranchi," Jharkhand labour secretary Rajesh Kumar Sharma told PTI. The 41 workers were rescued from the collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi on Tuesday after a gruelling 17-day operation. They were brought to AIIMS Rishikesh in a helicopter on Wednesday afternoon, Sharma said. Quoting Uttarakhand officers, he said the workers will be kept under observa

Uttarakhand tunnel survivors airlifted to AIIMS-Rishikesh for check-up

Workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel were airlifted to AIIMS-Rishikesh for a health check-up on Wednesday, officials said. Forty-one workers were rescued from the collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi after a gruelling 17-day operation that culminated on Tuesday evening. The workers were kept under medical observation at a hospital in Chinyalisaur after their evacuation. An official at AIIMS-Rishikesh said the workers will first be taken to the trauma ward of the hospital from where they will be shifted to the disaster ward for a detailed examination of their health parameters. The disaster ward of AIIMS-Rishikesh has a capacity of 100 beds. All arrangements are ready at the facility to tend to the evacuated workers, he said.

Goldi Solar offers rooftop installation to workers rescued in Uttarkashi

Gujarat-based Goldi Solar on Wednesday said it will install rooftop solar power system at the houses of the 41 workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel collapse site in Uttarakhand. On Tuesday evening, rescue team pulled out all the 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days. "With the nation celebrating safe returns of our brave workers who were trapped in Uttarkashi, we will support the affected families and individuals. Goldi Solar will power the residence of all the 41 workers with rooftop solar installations," the company said in a statement. Goldi Solar Founder and MD Ishver Dholakiya said, this initiative is a step to empowering these families with access to sustainable energy and hope for a brighter future. Goldi Solar is committed to helping underprivileged communities and contributing to their well-being. The company will bear the cost of the initiative, he ...

Uttarakhand tunnel episode: Congress seeks thorough audit of all projects

A day after 41 workers were rescued from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, the Congress on Wednesday demanded a thorough audit of all projects under implementation while also calling for putting on hold all future projects in the Himalayan region and subjecting them to professional ecological scrutiny. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said while "we salute the rescued workers and applaud the entire rescue team", there should be a reflection on some larger questions thrown up by the tunnel collapse. "While we salute the rescued workers and applaud the entire rescue team -especially the twelve 'rat-hole' miners who displayed both skill and daring, and who surely deserve a more appropriate name for the work they do -- we should also reflect on some larger questions thrown up by the tunnel collapse," the former environment minister said in a post on X. The fragility and complexity of the Western Himalayan ecosystem has been brought home to us in a stark manner, he said. "What