Page 45 - Uttarakhand

Monthly old-age pension coverage increased to Rs 1500: Uttarakhand CM Dhami

"The state government is working to provide employment to our youth while also providing better healthcare to the general public," the chief minister added

Amount provided under old age pension increased to Rs 1,500: CM Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said that his government has increased the amount given under old age pension to Rs 1500 from Rs 1200

CM Dhami to chair key Cabinet meeting today ahead of Budget session

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will chair a key cabinet meeting on Monday (today) ahead of the presentation of the budget session, an official statement said

Certain to win all 5 seats in 2024 election, says Uttarakhand CM Dhami

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday said he was certain that BJP will win all five Lok Sabha seats in the state in the 2024 general election and the party's focus is only on increasing the winning margin. Speaking here at the Namo App Virtual Meet, Dhami said he has not doubt that BJP will romp to power just as it did in 2014 and 2019. "But breaking the previous winning margin will be a challenge and the party organisation is moving with a view to overcome that challenge. I am certain that Modiji will become the prime minister again with two-thirds majority," Dhami said. Asked about arrangement made for pilgrims ahead of the Chardham Yatra season, which will begin from April 22, the CM said the government is considering all stakeholders' suggestions and is also learning from past experiences to give pilgrims the best experience. Dhami also urged the pilgrims to spend five per cent of their expense on buying local products, as appealed by Modi in his address in

Uttarakhand allopathic doctors to get six-day training in ayurveda

Allopathic doctors in Uttarakhand will undergo a six-day training in ayurveda and the programme will help clear doubts about the efficacy of the traditional medicine system, Chief Secretary SS Sandhu said on Saturday. He also asserted that "allopathy and ayurveda are not contradictory but complementary to each other". The Ayush department will be conduct the training using presentations based on facts and documents, Sandhu said. "The purpose of the six-day training programme is to bust the wrong notions about ayurvedic treatment and help allopathic doctors shed their doubts about its efficacy," the chief secretary said. The dates for the programme is yet to be announced. Sandhu said ayurveda is not just a system of medicine but a way of leading a disease-free life. Being the hub of yoga and ayurveda, Uttarakhand can benefit in various ways through a renewed emphasis on ayurveda, yoga, unani, naturopathy and homeopathy.

Over 200,000 registrations for Char Dham Yatra slated to start in April

More than two lakh devotees have registered themselves for the Char Dham Yatra which is slated to start next month, a top official of the Uttarakhand government said. The yatra will begin on April 22 with the opening of the Yamunotri and Gangotri temples. Kedarnath will open on April 25 and Badrinath on April 27. In a meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi to review preparations for the Yatra, Tourism Secretary Sachin Kurve said that apart from the designated website, pilgrims also have the option of registering through phone and WhatsApp. Till Thursday, more than 2.12 lakh devotees have registered themselves for the Chardham Yatra, Kurve said, adding a more transparent system is being implemented this time for the registration of helicopter services as well. Registrations for the Char Dham Yatra started on February 21. A full-scale Char Dham yatra which resumed in 2022 after a gap of two years due to COVID-19, saw more than 47 lakh pilgrims paying obeisance at

Decline in rate of migration from Uttarakhand over the last 5 years: Report

The rate of migration from Uttarakhand villages to places outside the state has recorded a significant decline over the last five years, the Rural Development and Migration Prevention Commission has said in its latest report. In the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018, 1,18,981 people migrated "permanently" from Uttarakhand villages while the number was 28,531 between January 2018 and September 2022, the report, submitted to the state government, said. Permanent migration is when people move from one place to another with no plans to return. Vice Chairman of the Commission, SS Negi, who submitted the second interim report of the commission to its Chairman Pushkar Singh Dhami recently, attributed the decline to increasing inclination among locals towards availing self-employment avenues available at home rather than going outside the state to earn a living. "Traditional agriculture scenario is almost as bleak as five years ago but people are preferring to make a living out of ...

Rudraprayag, Tehri in Uttarakhand record highest landslide density in India

Rudraprayag and Tehri districts in Uttarakhand have the highest landslide density and landslide risk exposure in the country. The two hilly districts of the Himalayan state figure at the top of a table published as part of the Landslide Atlas of India by Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre on the basis of satellite data inputs provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation. The list includes all 13 districts of Uttarakhand that vary from each other in terms of vulnerability to landslides. While Rudraprayag and Tehri districts are ranked first and second in a list of 147 districts, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar figure at the bottom at 146th and 147th, respectively. The famous Kedarnath temple is located in Rudraprayag. It was the epicentre of a massive natural disaster that killed thousands in June 2013. Chamoli district, where Joshimath is grappling with a land-subsidence crisis, has been ranked at 19th, Uttarkashi 21st, Pauri 23rd, Dehradun 29th, Bageshwar 50th, .

Uttarakhand to launch self-employment scheme for single women: CM Dhami

Uttarakhand will soon roll out a self-employment scheme for single women, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Monday. Women have proven themselves in every field and are working shoulder to shoulder with men, he said at the conclusion of Women Empowerment and Security Week here. "Working through self-help groups, women in remote hill areas of the state are steering the rural economy. With their skills, they are also strengthening the economy of their homes," the chief minister added. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, steps such as linking 23 crore women to banks through Jan Dhan accounts have been taken across India, Dhami said. From financial inclusion to social security, quality health care to housing, education to entrepreneurship, several steps have been taken in recent years to keep women at the forefront of India's development journey, the Uttarakhand chief minister said, adding that these initiatives will only gain momentum in the coming years. Dhami a

CM Dhami expresses grief at death of 3 people in Champawat road accident

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday expressed his condolences over the death of three people in a road accident

Uttarakhand CM celebrates Holi with people at his residence in Khatima

Uttrakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami along with the local people celebrated Holi at his residence in Khatima here on Sunday.

Uttarakhand GST dept busts syndicate that covered-up illegal timber sale

Using digital tracking and electronic surveillance, Uttarakhand tax authorities have busted a group of traders who would float fake firms to give a legal cover to their illegal trade of timber and its products and evade GST worth crores of rupees, officials said on Sunday. The Uttarakhand GST department launched an expansive search and seizure operation -- named Operation D Day-Rising Woods' -- to unearth the racket in Jaspur area of Udham Singh Nagar district, they said. Udham Singh Nagar is considered one of the biggest timber markets and timber and its products are supplied across the country from here. The investigators suspect the involvement of people from other states such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar and Rajasthan. The operation involved 27 teams with more than 300 tax and forensic officials and financial technology experts and they raided 27 commercial establishments and residences of transporters, advocates and chartered accountants. The investigators, who hav

Pre-fab houses in Joshimath ready for allocation to displaced families

The construction of model pre-fabricated houses being built on the horticulture department land for displaced families in Uttarakhand's subsidence-hit Joshimath is now complete, an official said on Saturday While three model pre-fabricated houses have been built on the horticulture department's land, two out of the total 15 being built in Dhaak village, around 10 km from the town, are also ready, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said after visiting the two sites on Saturday. Officials have been asked to start allocating the finished houses among the affected families, he said. The implementing agency in Dhaak village has been told to finish the construction of the remaining houses which are in the last stages of construction, the DM said. Meanwhile, distribution of compensation among the affected families which began on Friday is also in progress with more than Rs 1.1 crore paid as compensation to the affected house owners so far, he said.

Distribution of compensation to affected people begins in Joshimath

The Uttarakhand government has started distributing compensation to affected house owners in land subsidence-hit Joshimath under the state's rehabilitation policy, an official statement said. The process began on Friday on the direction of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, with three Joshimath residents getting Rs 63.20 lakh as compensation on the first day. The beneficiaries included retired subedar-major Manglu Lal, Krishna Panwar and Baldev Singh Panwar, residents of one of the worst-affected Suneel ward of Joshimath, it said. Other affected people in the town will also be getting their compensations soon after the administration finishes verifying the documents, the statement added.

Special attention to be paid to hilly areas: CM Dhami instructs officials

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has instructed officials for the overall development of the state and stated that special attention should be paid to the development

IRCTC unveils Char Dham Yatra 2023 package for pilgrims: Check details here

In its air package of 11 nights and 12 days, starting on May 21, the tour will cover Hindu pilgrimage sites like Haridwar, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, Badrinath and Rishikesh

Departments should aim to get maximum revenue: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami

"The departments whose revenue receipt is less as per the target, the reasons for this should be studied deeply, where there is a need for improvement in the policy, that should be done," he added

Joshimath subsidence: Foodgrain godown emptied after developing cracks

A foodgrain godown has developed major cracks in the subsidence-hit Joshimath, prompting authorities to empty the stock and distribute them among consumers in advance, officials said on Friday. They said a proposal to use another godown in Gulabkoti as an alternative is under consideration. Located in the worst-affected Singhdhar ward of Joshimath, the godown developed cracks on January 2-3 itself like the rest of the buildings in the area but the chinks were narrow, District Supply Officer Jaswant Singh Kandari said. "As some rooms of the godown suffered a slight subsidence of late, it has become difficult to use them," he said. It was then decided to empty the godown, Kandari said. "We have distributed the foodgrains among consumers in advance through PDS grain dealers in the area and the godown is now almost empty," he said. The godown has a capacity to stock 800 metric tonnes of foodgrains at a time and caters to people not only in Joshimath but in several other places in Nit

U'khand govt announces compensation for damaged buildings in Joshimath

The Uttarakhand government has fixed the rate of compensation to be given to owners of damaged buildings in land subsidence-hit Joshimath. The compensation rate for damaged residential buildings has been fixed between Rs 31,201 and Rs 36,527 per square metre, an official order said. For damaged commercial buildings in the town, the compensation rate has been fixed between Rs 39,182 and Rs 46,099 per square metre, it said. The rates were announced in the government order issued by Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha after Governor Lt Gen (retd) Gurmit Singh's consent.

Uttarakhand govt signs agreement for Yamunotri ropeway's construction

The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday directed illegal occupants of government buildings in Tehri to vacate them. Hearing a PIL, Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma directed the state government to serve a notice to illegal occupants of such buildings asking them to vacate them in four weeks and also recover rent from them. If the houses are not vacated even after this, the petitioner can approach the court again. Sunil Prasad Bhatt, a resident of Tehri, had filed the PIL saying in 1976 houses were allotted to government employees and officers under the Pooled Housing Society in Tehri. Since then, many employees living in these residences have been transferred, many have retired and many other employees have died. But the houses were not vacated, the petition said. The houses which were vacant have been occupied by outsiders. Till now, the government has neither made the illegal occupants vacate the houses nor has collected rent from them, it said.