Page 46 - Uttarakhand

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.

Uttarakhand govt signs agreement for Yamunotri ropeway's construction

The Uttarakhand Tourism Department on Thursday signed an agreement with two private firms to construct a ropeway to Yamunotri, situated at a height of over 10,000 ft in the Garhwal Himalayas. The agreement between the department, SRM Engineering and FIL Industry Pvt Ltd was inked in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and state tourism and culture minister Satpal Maharaj. The ropeway to connect Yamunotri with Kharsali, where Goddess Yamuna is worshipped during winter, will be 3.38 km long, an official release said. It will be a mono cable detachable ropeway with a capacity of carrying across 500 people in an hour. To be built in accordance with European standards, the ropeway will spare devotees the trouble of trekking for 2 to 3 hours to reach the temple, Dhami said, adding they will traverse the distance in the ropeway car in just 10-15 minutes.

Uttarakhand HC orders action against violence during paper leak protest

The Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday ordered strict action against all those who created violence during an agitation in Dehradun by unemployed youths against recruitment examination paper leaks. "It appears that the mob agitating against paper leak resorted to violence. No matter what the issue, it cannot be used as an excuse to resort to violence, destroy public property, or create public nuisance," a division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma observed. "The petitioner has a fundamental right to protest in a peaceful manner after obtaining proper permission from the administration. Therefore, we reject the demand for action against the police. We direct the government to take appropriate and strict action against all those involved in violence or arson," it said. The order came on a petition demanding a CBI probe into recruitment exam paper leaks and action against police personnel who resorted to lathicharge against ...

Residents of 'unsafe' buildings in subsidence-hit Karnaprayag to be shifted

Chamoli's District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana has ordered the evacuation of people living in "unsafe" houses in subsidence-hit areas of Karnaprayag to safer locations. Khurana, who visited the affected parts of the town, including Bahuguna Nagar, Subhash Nagar and Upper Bazar on Sunday, said some of the buildings have become quite uninhabitable. Around 30 buildings in Karnaprayag have developed cracks and eight of them are absolutely unsafe, he said. Like Joshimath, Karnaprayag has also been in the grip of a land subsidence problem for more than a year Officials have been asked to shift the people living in such houses to safer locations, Khurana said. Those who choose to live in houses on rent will be paid the rent amount for six months, the DM said. Crack metres have been installed in the houses to find out whether the existing cracks are widening and new ones developing, he said. "It was a preliminary first-hand examination carried out on Sunday during which I visited the ..

India, Uzbekistan begin two-week military exercise in Pithoragarh

The armies of India and Uzbekistan on Monday began a two-week military exercise in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh with an aim to enhance operational interoperability. The fourth edition of joint military exercise 'Dustlik' commenced in Foreign Training Node in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand). Forty-five soldiers each from Uzbekistan and the Indian Army are participating in this exercise which is aimed at promoting positive relations between the two sides, the Indian Army said. The Indian Army contingent comprises troops from an infantry battalion from the Garhwal Rifles Regiment. The first edition of the exercise was held in Uzbekistan in November 2019. "The 14 days long joint exercise would focus on joint counter-terrorist operations in mountainous and semi-urban scenarios under the UN mandate and will include field training exercises, combat discussions, lectures, demonstrations and culminate with a validation exercise," the Army said. "Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a ser

Investments in Uttarakhand creating new employment opportunities: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said large-scale investments in the hills of Uttarakhand are creating new employment opportunities for the state's youth who earlier had to migrate to big cities in search of livelihood. "This is the Amrit Kaal of unprecedented opportunities for the country's youths." the prime minister, who was virtually addressing a Rozgar Mela to distribute appointment letters among assistant teachers here, said. "Teachers have to play a big role in preparing them for the new century according to the new education policy," he said. The prime minister also described teachers as a medium for big change. "Large-scale investments in the infrastructure sector in Uttarakhand are not only boosting connectivity to remote villages but also creating new employment and self employment opportunities for youths near their homes so the state's youths return to their villages," Modi said.