Page 4 - Uttarakhand

Gangotri, Yamunotri Highways in Uttarkashi blocked; clearance work underway

On Wednesday, two people died after debris fell from a mountain on the Gangotri Highway in the Dabrani area of Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said

Madrassas need to get state board affiliation by July 1: Uttarakhand govt

The Uttarakhand government added that madrassas would be able to seek recognition as minority educational institutions only after applying to the Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority

Uttarakhand govt passes Uttarakhand Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Bill

The Bill includes punishment for marriage under false identity and incitement for conversion through social media

Current plans for all-weather roads in U'khand may be eco disaster: Experts

Two members of a Supreme Court-appointed panel on Wednesday warned of Dharali-like consequences if the much-hyped Chardham all-weather road widening project in Uttarakhand is pursued in its current form. They also described the Dharali disaster as a fallout of state authorities ignoring repeated scientific warnings against unregulated construction and tourism activities in the fragile Himalayas. In a letter written on Tuesday to the road transport and highways ministry, senior geologist Navin Juyal and environmentalist Hemant Dhyani said the uniform 10 m widening of the Chardham all-weather road on the valley side slopes both in lesser and higher Himalayas has created multiple new chronic zones along the widened roads. They advocated adopting an alternate DPR submitted by them to the ministry nearly two years ago detailing a flexible and disaster-resilient road widening design that could be followed in the Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone (BESZ) which will ensure minimum tree felling a

Cloudy skies, drizzle in Delhi; IMD issues heavy rain alert for Uttarakhand

IMD forecasts cloudy skies and drizzle in Delhi; Uttarakhand faces red, orange, and yellow alerts for heavy to very heavy rain in multiple districts this week

Uttarakhand HC forms team to report on Uttarkashi flood relief facilities

A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlements on August 5

Uttarakhand issues red, orange, yellow alerts as IMD forecasts heavy rain

Authorities have been instructed to monitor traffic, share timely updates, and ensure emergency preparednes

NGRI experts launch search ops to trace 66 missing in disaster-hit Dharal

Equipped with Ground Penetrating Radars, experts from the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) on Tuesday launched a search operation to trace the 66 people, including 24 Nepali labourers, reported missing since raging waters and mudslides buried virtually half of Dharali village in Uttarkashi a week ago. The team of experts, which reached the flood-ravaged site on Monday evening, will identify and focus on places where there may be human presence under the debris, they said. Ground Penetrating Radars (GPRs) is a geophysical method that uses radio waves to detect objects and structures below the surface. The NGRI had used its GPRs to locate people trapped in the SLBC tunnel collapse in Telangana in February this year. These radars of NGRI can detect human life even in the presence of mud and water, the officials said, adding that the GPR surveys will also detect anomalies within the debris. On Monday, incessant rain in various parts of Uttarakhand, including Uttarkashi,

Uttarakhand Police conducts search, rescue in Dehradun's disaster-hit areas

A rescue operation was launched amid a massive mudslide that struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad area near Harsil

Over 1,000 rescued in Uttarkashi flood, relief work underway: CM Dhami

On Saturday, CM Dhami met state Governor Lieutenant General (Retd.) Gurmit Singh at Raj Bhavan in Dehradun to discuss ongoing relief work

Uttarakhand CM Dhami announces ₹5 lakh aid for Dharali disaster victims

The Chief Minister has announced the formation of a three-member committee for rehabilitation, overall revival, and strengthening of sustainable livelihood of the villagers affected by the disaster

Search ops for missing people in Uttarakhand's Dharali continue: Official

On Friday, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting with officials from the NDRF and Indo-Tibetan Border Police at the camp office in Uttarkashi to review the ongoing rescue op in Dharali

Was it a cloudburst or glacial lake burst in Dharali? Know the difference

A cloudburst is a meteorological event which is a rapid, intense downpour of rain over a small area whereas a glacial lake burst stems from geological triggers that suddenly releases stored water

190 people rescued from Uttarkashi's Dharali village: Uttarakhand CM

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday said 190 people have been rescued from Uttarkashi's Dharali village which was hit by a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst that struck the upper catchment of the Kheer Ganga river. Talking to PTI Videos here, the chief minister said plans are being prepared to evacuate the pilgrims stuck in Gangotri Dham through Nelong Valley. "All arrangements have been made and they will be evacuated very soon," he added. "After the incident which took place yesterday, 190 people have been rescued from there. All of them are safe and are at secure places," he said, adding, "The injured have been admitted to hospitals while some have been sent to the military camps and higher centres." Five people have been killed and several have been injured in the flash flood which hit Dharali on Tuesday. Dhami said the state government employees are doing their work. "I am also camping here. Till all rescue work is streamlined and they catch speed,

Uttarakhand cloudburst: Missing 28-member Kerala tourist group safe

A 28-member group of tourists, natives of Kerala, who had gone missing after a cloudburst triggered massive mudslides in Uttarakhand, are safe now, family members said on Wednesday. A relative of a Kochi-based couple, who were part of the tour group, told reporters here that Defence sources informed them that all 28 tourists were safe. "The latest information we received from Defence sources was that they are safe, but are still stuck in the bus and cannot go anywhere. Majority of them are above 55 years of age. Even Army personnel are unable to reach where their bus is located," the relative, Ambili N Nair, told reporters. She said that even the Malayalam Samajam in Uttarakhand confirmed that the tourists were safe but stranded. Of the 28 individuals, 20 are reportedly from Kerala settled in Maharashtra, while the remaining eight are from various districts in Kerala, Ambili told the media in the morning. She said the couple's son last spoke to them a day ago. "They said they wer

One body retrieved in Uttarkashi's flood-hit Dharali; Modi speaks to Dhami

Heavy rain continued to pound Uttarkashi as rescuers resumed their operations on Wednesday in Dharali, searching for flash flood victims amid the rubble. Nearly half of the picturesque Dharali village was ravaged by the flash flood on Tuesday afternoon. The village is the main stopover on the way to Gangotri, from where the Ganga originates Four deaths have so far been confirmed in the flash flood, which followed a cloudburst. Around 130 people have been evacuated to safety. Not a single body has yet been retrieved from the rubble. The Indian Army has deployed its MI-17 and Chinook helicopters to look for the stranded. At least 60 people are said to have gone missing, but the number is likely higher, as many had gathered for the Har Dudh fair in Dharali village when the tragedy struck. The missing also include 11 soldiers, Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Shrivastava said. Colonel Harshvardhan, Commanding Officer of 14 Raj Rif, is leading the relief and rescue operations with

ED conducts raids under PMLA in NCR, Uttarakhand in global cyber fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple premises in the national capital region and Uttarakhand as part of a money laundering probe linked to a global cyber fraud ring in which Indian and foreign nationals were duped of funds worth crores of rupees, official sources said. The raids are being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and are covering at least 11 premises located in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Dehradun, the sources said. Fraudsters based in these cities were "cheating" Indian and foreign nationals by impersonating as police or investigating agency officers and they "extorted" money by threatening them with consequences of arrest, they said. The fraudsters also impersonated as Microsoft and Amazon technical support service agents to "cheat" the victims. The agency found that the monetary assets of the victims were converted into crypto currencies and transferred to the accused. The accused generated about Rs 260 cror

Explained: Flash floods, cloudbursts and how they trigger deadly disasters

Flash floods and cloudbursts are sudden and destructive but not the same; here's how they differ from regular floods, landslides, and mudslides across India

4 dead, many missing as cloudburst in Uttarkashi triggers flash floods

A cloudburst in Uttarkashi's Dharali village triggered flash floods and landslides on Tuesday, leaving four dead, several missing, and homes swept away; rescue operations underway

Unscientific mining in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar risks disasters: Govt panel

A government-appointed panel has warned that unscientific mining in Uttarakhand's Bageshwar district is destabilising slopes, threatening villages and agriculture besides disrupting water sources in the fragile Himalayan region. The "Geological Assessment and Recommendations For Sustainable Mining Practices in Bageshwar District" report, submitted to the National Green Tribunal on July 30, called for sweeping reforms in mining practices and stringent monitoring to mitigate the risks. The assessment was conducted following rising complaints of landslides, cracks in houses, drying springs and crop losses in several villages around Bageshwar. The tribunal had sought an expert evaluation after local residents alleged that mining in the district was being carried out without regard for environmental safeguards. The panel, comprising experts from the Geological Survey of India, the Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre, the Department of Geology and Mining and the Indian