Page 34 - Uttarakhand

Over 55% polling till 5 pm in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar assembly bypoll

More than 55 per cent of the electorate cast their votes on Tuesday to seal the fate of five candidates in the fray for the Bageshwar assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand. Till 5 pm, 55.42 per cent voting was recorded, Bageshwar District Magistrate Anuradha Paul told PTI. Voters were still standing in the queue at the booths at 5 pm, the closing time for polling. Those already in queue will be allowed to vote and the final polling percentage will go up, the DM said. Polling was peaceful with no untoward incident reported from anywhere, she said, adding an EVM machine at Mandal Sera polling booth went out of order at 2 pm which was quickly replaced. There are about 1.2 lakh voters in the constituency. Earlier, people, including women, in large numbers began queuing up outside the polling booths from 6 am. The BJP has fielded Parvati Das against Congress candidate Basant Kumar. Parvati Das is the wife of Chandan Ram Das whose death in April this year necessitated the bypoll. He had won

Uttarakhand: Straight contest likely in Bageshwar assembly bypoll

Five candidates are in the fray in the bypoll to Uttarakhand's Bageshwar assembly seat on Tuesday, with the main contest likely between the BJP and the Congress. The bypoll was necessitated following the death of sitting BJP MLA and cabinet minister Chandan Ram Das in April this year. Das had been winning the seat for four consecutive polls since 2007. The seat has witnessed straight contests between traditional rivals BJP and Congress in successive elections since the creation of the state in 2000. There are five candidates in the fray but the main contest in the constituency is likely to remain between the ruling BJP and the main opposition Congress, poll observers feel. The BJP has fielded the late MLA's wife Parvati Das from the seat hoping to capitalise on sympathy votes to retain the seat while the Congress has pitted Basant Kumar against her. Kumar had contested the 2022 assembly polls from Bageshwar as an Aam Aadmi Party candidate. He quit the AAP to join the Congress just

Seven Assembly seats across six states to go to bypolls on September 5

The seats to go to polls include Dumri in Jharkhand, Puthuppally in Kerala, Boxanagar and Dhanpur in Tripura, Bageshwar in Uttarakhand, Ghosi in Uttar Pradesh, and Dhupguri in West Bengal

CM Dhami interacts with public, seeks votes ahead of Bageshwar bypoll

Addressing the roadshow, the CM said, "I have no doubt that we will win with more votes than we did last time."

Uttarakhand CM Dhami unveils logo, website for investors' summit

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday unveiled a logo for the upcoming 'Global Investors Summit' here, inviting investors from all over the world to become part of the hill state's growth story. Dhami also launched a website for the event to give out details and information about the state government's policies and the different sectors in which investments can be made. The two-day summit to be held here on December 8-9 has set a target of attracting investments worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore in various sectors, including tourism and wellness, agriculture and horticulture, health and education, the chief minister said at the launch. He said there is a positive environment in the state for investments. "Not only big industrial houses and groups are keen to invest in the state but also those already here are willing to expand their activities," Dhami added. "In the consultations held with potential investors in preparation for the summit, many valuable suggestions have

New flight of empowered India: U'khand CM congratulates ISRO on Aditya-L1

The ISRO successfully placed a lander on the unexplored lunar South Pole, a feat that put India in the record books as the first country to do so

Govt to bring legislation on giving 10% reservation to statehood agitators

The Uttarakhand government will bring a legislation in the forthcoming session of the state assembly on giving 10 per cent reservation to statehood agitators and their dependents in government services. The state cabinet on Friday gave its approval to the introduction of the reservation bill in the assembly at its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, official sources said. The bill seeks to give 10 per cent horizontal reservation to statehood agitators and their dependents in government services, they said. Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh and formed in 2000. The cabinet also gave its approval to bringing a legislation in the state assembly on the establishment of the Amrapali University in Nainital district. It also cleared tabling of the State Universities Act, 2023, and the Uttarakhand Private Universities Act, 2023, in the assembly. The cabinet also gave its approval to the omission of a total of 199 acts and laws including 183 adopted from Uttar

Almora-Haldwani NH in Uttarakhand blocked due to debris after landslide

The Almora-Haldwani Road National Highway in Uttarakhand has been blocked for vehicular traffic due to debris near Kwarb Bridge

UCC to be implemented in Uttarakhand this year: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami

The Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand will be implemented within this year, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said. He also said that people from outside the state have been settling down in Uttarakhand without identity verification, leading to a demographic change that has to be checked. "There should be a uniform law for every citizen in the country. It has been the demand of the people. Uttarakhand is all set to make the beginning. Under the Constitutional provisions, we will implement the UCC in the state within this year," Dhami said at a programme here on Monday. He was speaking on the theme "Growing Uttarakhand, Rising Uttarakhand". The UCC was promised to the people of the state in the run-up to the assembly polls last year, he said. "We were re-elected with a massive mandate breaking the convention of incumbent governments losing the polls. In our first decisions after forming the government, we set up a committee to draft the UCC," Dhami said. The panel has taken the .

Both parents responsible for child maintenance, not just father: HC

A single judge bench in Uttarakhand High Court observed that in cases of divorce both parents shared responsibility over a child

JP Nadda, CM Dhami attend Ganga Aarti at 'Har Ki Pauri' in Haridwar

In the meeting, Nadda reviewed the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections of the party in Uttarakhand. State President Mahendra Bhatt, MP and former Chief Minister were present in the meeting

Isro scientists proved man is storehouse of infinite energy: CM Dhami

The Chief Minister urged all the scientific institutions to make a plan to acquaint our budding students with the functioning of their institutions

Uttarakhand rains: One killed in landslide in Pauri, normal life disrupted

One person died in a landslide in Pauri district on Wednesday while water levels of the Pindar river and its tributary Pranmati in Chamoli district rose again following heavy rains in Uttarakhand, threatening to flood places located along their banks. The meteorological department has issued red or orange alerts for Wednesday in all the districts of the state. Due to continuous rains in most parts of the state, rivers and streams are in spate and many roads including national highways are blocked for traffic, affecting normal life. According to information received from the District Disaster Management Office of Pauri, debris suddenly fell from a hill near Ufrankhal on Jagatpuri-Ufrankhal-Ramnagar motorway in Thalisain tehsil at around 4 pm, hitting two labourers. One of the workers identified as Heera Singh (55) died in the accident while another named Shyam Singh (35) was injured. Both the labourers were residents of Paptoli. In Haridwar, the walls of three shops built near the

Panic grips residents as groundwater oozes out of floors in Rishikesh

Groundwater has begun to ooze out of the floors of some houses in Ganganagar area of Uttarakhand due to incessant rains, causing concern among residents and authorities. "The area is located along the banks of the Ganga and due to the absence of a proper drainage system, it is perpetually waterlogged during the rainy season. The continuing spell of heavy rains this monsoon has worsened the situation with water seeping through the floors of houses," Ekant Goyal, a social worker in Ganganagar locality, said. Retired government official Anoop Mittal attributed the problem to a sudden rise in the ground water level in the area following heavy rains. "It is the failure of the sewer system in Ganganagar area. The state government should take immediate steps to flush out water from the area and conduct a geological study of the groundwater sources for the safety of the houses in Ganganagar," he said. Some residents are so scared that they are planning to sell off their properties in the .

Uttarakhand suffered losses of over Rs 1,000 crore this monsoon: CM

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said a disaster-like situation prevails in Uttarakhand due to excessive rains and put the losses suffered by the state so far at over Rs 1,000 crore. "Heavy rains this monsoon have destroyed crops, washed away roads, bridges, houses and cowsheds and also claimed the lives of several people and cattle. A disaster-like situation prevails in the state, he said. Properties worth more than Rs 1,000 crore have been lost and the monsoon is still active," Dhami told reporters after reviewing the rain situation in the state after his return from Delhi. He said a scheme will soon be introduced by the state government to rehabilitate the affected people and take care of children who have lost their parents in rain-related disasters in Uttarakhand. A team from the Centre has already made a preliminary survey and will make a detailed assessment of the losses caused by the disaster, Dhami said. Replying to a question regarding the increasing load of

Portion of Rishikesh-Badrinath NH-58 damaged in Chamoli, traffic stopped

According to the district administration, a 250-metre stretch of the highway in Purusadi was damaged because of which the local administration had to suspend the movement of traffic

Uttarakhand govt to conduct comprehensive survey of disaster-prone cities

Uttarakhand government will conduct a comprehensive survey of disaster-prone cities and towns, tenders for which have been invited, officials said. Director of Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre Shantanu Sarkar said tenders will be verified after monsoon and work on the survey could take time. Right now we have started the process which is at the planning stage. We have not yet decided which cities or towns will be included in this, Sarkar said. Geophysical and geo-mapping investigation of cities will be part of the survey, he said. In January this year, the land subsidence crisis in Joshimath grabbed national attention. Huge cracks had appeared in many houses, fields and roads making the town unsafe to live in, and a large number of people had to be moved to safer places. The state government also got various national level technical institutes to investigate various aspects of the Joshimath subsidence. It also asked experts to ascertain whether the 520 MW Tapo

U'khand CM to meet ministers in Delhi, seeks assistance for disaster relief

100 per cent of the funds received from the central government under the centrally funded schemes run in the state should be spent on development works, said Chief Minister Dhami

Rishikesh-Badrinath highway blocked due to landslide in Tehri in U'khand

Traffic has been suspended on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway-58 following a heavy landslide from the mountain in the Totaghati area of Tehri Garhwal district, officials said on Saturday

U'khand rains: Resorts in Lakshman Jhula area ordered to cancel bookings

Days after five members of a family from Haryana were killed at a resort in Lakshman Jhula area after it was hit by a landslide, the Pauri district administration on Friday asked resort owners and camp operators in the popular tourist spot to cancel the bookings till further orders in view of heavy rains. Debris of a landslide fell on Monday on a resort named Night Paradise Camp in Lakshman Jhula area burying a family of six from Haryana's Kurukshetra and Panipat districts inside. The lone survivor, a 10-year-old girl, was rescued alive hours after the tragedy but the bodies of the rest of them were pulled out of the debris one after another over the past few days. The order asking resort owners to cancel the bookings till further orders has been issued for the safety of tourists, Lakhshman Jhula Station House Officer (SHO) Vinod Gusain said. "Saving lives is the administration's top priority. An order like this has been issued for the safety of tourists," he said. Strict legal ac