News Analysis India

Tag: Uttarakhand government

  • Uttarakhand govt to extend tenure of panel on Uniform Civil Code

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government would extend the tenure of an expert committee formed to look into the launch of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. 

    The term of the panel ends on May 27.

    The demand for an extension has arisen since the committee needs more time to finalize the draft, a senior member of the committee Shatrughan Singh said.

    The panel has to create a code on marriage, divorce, property rights, succession, inheritance, adoption, maintenance, civil rights, and many other issues, he told The New Indian Express.

    The panel has so far received 1.25 lakh suggestions. After collecting more than 1.25 lakh suggestions, the committee has started reviewing and studying them.

    According to the panel member, 75 per cent of the work of drafting the UCC has concluded.

    “After studying the suggestions received, the panel will forward it to the government in the form of a draft. The government will send it to the law department for examination after its consent”, said Shatrughan Singh.

    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government would extend the tenure of an expert committee formed to look into the launch of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. 

    The term of the panel ends on May 27.

    The demand for an extension has arisen since the committee needs more time to finalize the draft, a senior member of the committee Shatrughan Singh said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    The panel has to create a code on marriage, divorce, property rights, succession, inheritance, adoption, maintenance, civil rights, and many other issues, he told The New Indian Express.

    The panel has so far received 1.25 lakh suggestions. After collecting more than 1.25 lakh suggestions, the committee has started reviewing and studying them.

    According to the panel member, 75 per cent of the work of drafting the UCC has concluded.

    “After studying the suggestions received, the panel will forward it to the government in the form of a draft. The government will send it to the law department for examination after its consent”, said Shatrughan Singh.

  • Uttarakhand government puts daily limit on number of pilgrims visiting Char Dham shrines

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government has capped the daily limit on the number of pilgrims visiting the famous Himalayan shrines in the state, especially Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath during the Char Dham Yatra.

    The yatra begins on May 3 and the limit will be in force for the first 45 days, a government order dated April 30 said.

    The daily limit imposed on the number of pilgrims is 15,000 for Badrinath, 12,000 for Kedarnath, 7,000 for Gangotri and 4,000 for Yamunotri.

    The restriction has been put in place considering that a record number of pilgrims are likely to turn up this year with the Covid-induced restrictions no longer in force.

    The order says the decision has been taken in view of the state’s geographical conditions, the capacity of its hotels and parking facilities on the Char Dham Yatra route.

    The yatra – arguably the backbone of Uttarakhand’s economy – was badly hit due to COVID-19, which delayed the opening of the Himalayan temples for devotees for months in the last couple of years.

    The movement of vehicles on the Char Dham Yatra route will also remain suspended from 10 pm to 4 am, it said.

    The yatra will begin on May 3 with the opening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri temples in Uttarkashi district.

    Kedarnath will open on May 6 and Badrinath on May 8.

    However, transporters and hoteliers are apprehensive that the sudden imposition of the limits may lead to cancellation of bookings made in advance.

    “Due to the sudden imposition of limits, those who have booked vehicles, hotels and dharamshalas in advance may have to face last-minute hurdles,” Char Dham Yatra joint bus rotation system president Sudhir Roy said.

  • Char Dham Yatra: Uttarakhand govt training drone pilots for surveillance

    Express News Service

    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government is training drone pilots to enroll them to keep an eye on Char Dham Yatra. The intention of the training is also to monitor disaster-hit areas in the state whenever the need arises.

    The hill state has a total of 170 registered drone pilots who are being trained by the Information Technology Development Agency (ITDA) of the state government. 

    Amit Sinha, director of the ITDA said, “All the registered drone pilots of the state are being trained to handle drones for keeping an eye on the Char Dham Yatra. They will be deployed during the Yatra season. A fixed remuneration will be paid for their services.”

    Officials from the ITDA told that the agency is planning to train at least 1000 drone pilots who can help at the time of disaster.  The drone pilots will be the eyes and ears of the government in the air to provide information and assistance in traffic and disaster management. 

    The Char Dham Yatra will commence next month and a high number of pilgrims are expected to visit the four shrines- Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.

    This year will be the first time after the year 2019 that Yatra is expected to take place hassle-free.  In 2019, over 38 lakh pilgrims visited the four shrines. The offerings also came down to a valuation of Rs 8 Crore in the year 2020 from Rs 55 Crore in comparison to the year 2019.  In 2021, the number of devotees witnessed a jump in comparison to the year 2020. In 2021 more than 5 lakh pilgrims visited the four shrines while in 2020, 3.22 lakh pilgrims visited the shrines. 

    Officials said that the numbers dipped due to the Covid-19 pandemic following which the yatra was suspended in 2020. In 2021 the yatra started on September 18, 2021, after Uttarakhand High Court allowed the pilgrimage to the four shrines. The HC had allowed Char Dham Yatra with Covid safety measures and restrictions. A total of 800 devotees were allowed at Kedarnath Dham, 1200 at Badrinath, 600 at Gangotri, and 400 devotees at Yamunotri in a day. 

    Interestingly, last month, the Char Dham law which was brought in by the Trivendra Singh Rawat government that brought the four shrines and 51 other temples under the purview of a board was abolished. This, following protests by priests and religious organisations. Presently, the management has gone back to the traditional system.

    Now, all stakeholders including priests, hotels, restaurants, and homestay owners are expecting good business. The stakeholders include temple trusts, hotels, restaurants, chopper companies that provide rides, transportation vehicles- private and government-owned, owners of mules, and many others.

    The yatra provides work to more than 10000 people directly or indirectly forming an economic ecosystem that benefits the shrines as well as the areas around these shrines.

    Last year, to compensate for economic damages due to the cancellation of the Char Dham Yatra, religious tourism and other touristic activities in Uttarakhand for a second consecutive year, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday announced a relief package of around Rs 200 Crore for over 1.63 lakh people in the state.

  • Uttarakhand ministers portfolios: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in charge of over 24 departments

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: Nearly a week after being sworn in, ministers in the Uttarakhand government have been allotted the charge of various departments. An announcement about assigning the portfolios was made on Tuesday night.

    Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has kept the charge of over two dozen departments to himself. These include home, industrial development (mining), justice, labour, excise, environment conservation and climate change, disaster management and rehabilitation and civil aviation.

    Satpal Maharaj has been given 10 portfolios, including the public works department, Panchayati raj, rural construction, culture, tourism, water resources management, irrigation and minor irrigation. Finance, urban development, legislative and parliamentary affairs, re-organisation and census have gone to Prem Chand Aggarwal.

    Chandan Ram Das, a first-time minister, has got the charge of social welfare, minority welfare, road transport and micro, small and medium enterprises department. Another new face in Dhami’s cabinet is Saurabh Bahuguna.

    He has been made minister of animal husbandry, milk development and fisheries, sugarcane development and sugar industry, protocol, skill development and employment. Ganesh Joshi has been made minister of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Sainik Kalyan and rural development.

    Dhan Singh Rawat is in charge of school education — basic and secondary — Sanskrit education, co-operative, higher education, medical health and medical education. Subodh Uniyal has been made minister of forest, language, election and technological education.

    Rekha Arya has been given women empowerment and child development, food and civil supplies, consumer affairs, sports and youth welfare departments. Dhami’s cabinet was sworn in on March 23.

  • SC slams Uttarakhand government for filing “frivolous” appeal, warns of penal action

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has slammed the Uttarakhand government for filing a “frivolous” appeal challenging reduction of sentence of a man in a case of attempt to murder.

    A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Vikram Nath noted that the counsel for the accused did not challenge the conviction before the Uttarakhand High Court and only argued for reduction of sentence and the lawyer for the State did not oppose such a prayer for reduction of sentence.

    The top court dismissed the petition filed by the Uttarakhand government with a warning to the State that any other attempt of frivolous litigation in this court may be visited with penalisation of the officers responsible for sanctioning.

    “It is rather disturbing to note that in such a matter, where the State’s counsel before the high court did not even oppose the prayer for reduction of sentence and the high court made slight modification in the sentence considering the facts and circumstances of the case in totality, the State has chosen to approach this court seeking special leave to appeal without any justification.

    “The present petition could only be said to be a frivolous litigation by the State,” the bench said in its October 20 order.

    The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by Uttarakhand challenging judgement and order dated August 20, 2020 passed by the high court in which it maintained conviction of the accused of offences under Sections 307 (attempt to murder)/34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Arms Act.

    The high court, however, reduced the sentence in relation to the offence under Sections 307/34 IPC to rigorous imprisonment of four years and five months instead of seven years and also reduced the fine amount to Rs.15,000 instead of Rs 20,000.

  • Uttarakhand government to give Rs 4 lakh to kin of those killed in rain-related incidents

    By PTI

    DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met people affected by heavy rainfall in Kumaon and Garhwal regions of the state on Tuesday and announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of those who had lost their lives in the disaster.

    Twenty-three people were killed in Uttarakhand and eight went missing on Tuesday mostly in Nainital district as incessant rains continued to lash various parts of the state, especially the Kumaon region, razing houses to the ground and leaving many trapped in the debris.

    With 23 deaths reported on Tuesday, the toll in rain-related incidents across Uttarakhand since Monday has risen to 28.

    Five casualties had been reported on Monday, the State Emergency Operation Centre here said.

    Dhami, who undertook an aerial survey of the affected areas besides interacting with the disaster-affected people in Rudraprayag, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar district, said people need to have patience in this hour of crisis.

    All necessary arrangements are being made by the state government, he said, adding that there was no need to panic.

    The crisis can be overcome with the cooperation of all, he said.

    Disaster Management Minister Dhan Singh Rawat, DGP Ashok Kumar, Rudrapur MLA Rajkumar Thukral and senior officials were with the chief minister when he met the affected people in Rudrapur and Kichcha in Udham Singh Nagar district.

  • Uttarakhand rains: Around 100 people stranded in resort, rescue ops underway, says DGP

    By ANI

    RAMNAGAR: Following torrential rains in parts of Uttarakhand, nearly 100 people have been trapped at Lemon Tree Resort located at Ramnagar-Ranikhet route and rescue operations are underway, said Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar on Tuesday.

    He further informed that the water level in the nearby Kosi river rose significantly blocking the route to the resort.

    “Around 100 people were stuck at Lemon Tree Resort located at Ramnagar-Ranikhet route. All of them are safe and process to rescue them is on. Water from Kosi River entered the resort after the river overflowed, blocking the route to the resort,” said the DGP.

    WATCH | River washes away under-construction bridge as rains cause havoc in Uttarakhand

    National weather forecasting agency — India Meteorological Department — has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state and heavy rainfall has been predicted for the next few days.

    An under-construction bridge over the Chalthi River in Champawat got washed away due to a rise in water level today.

    Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the situation arising due to heavy rains in the state.

    Around 100 people were stuck at Lemon Tree Resort (in pics) located at Ramnagar-Ranikhet route. All of them are safe & process to rescue them is on. Water from Kosi River entered the resort after the river overflowed, blocking the route to the resort: Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar pic.twitter.com/2UUmWJaaYR
    — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021
    As a precautionary measure, the Badrinath Char Dham Yatra has been halted and passengers en route to Badrinath Temple were stopped in safe places. According to the Chamoli district administration, 2,500 devotees, who had gone to Badrinath, are still stationed at the Badrinath Temple waiting for the national highway to re-open as it is blocked due to falling debris following incessant rains in the districts.

    Dhami on Monday took a detailed review of the situation.

    Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had a telephonic conversation with Dhami today to provide necessary assistance to the pilgrims from the state, who are stranded there due to natural calamity and rains. 

  • Uttarakhand rains: Around 100 people stranded in resort, rescue operations are on, says DGP

    By ANI

    RAMNAGAR: Following torrential rains in parts of Uttarakhand, nearly 100 people have been trapped at Lemon Tree Resort located at Ramnagar-Ranikhet route and rescue operations are underway, said Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar on Tuesday.

    He further informed that the water level in the nearby Kosi river rose significantly blocking the route to the resort.

    “Around 100 people were stuck at Lemon Tree Resort located at Ramnagar-Ranikhet route. All of them are safe and process to rescue them is on. Water from Kosi River entered the resort after the river overflowed, blocking the route to the resort,” said the DGP.

    WATCH | River washes away under-construction bridge as rains cause havoc in Uttarakhand

    National weather forecasting agency — India Meteorological Department — has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state and heavy rainfall has been predicted for the next few days.

    An under-construction bridge over the Chalthi River in Champawat got washed away due to a rise in water level today.

    Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the situation arising due to heavy rains in the state.

    Around 100 people were stuck at Lemon Tree Resort (in pics) located at Ramnagar-Ranikhet route. All of them are safe & process to rescue them is on. Water from Kosi River entered the resort after the river overflowed, blocking the route to the resort: Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar pic.twitter.com/2UUmWJaaYR
    — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021
    As a precautionary measure, the Badrinath Char Dham Yatra has been halted and passengers en route to Badrinath Temple were stopped in safe places. According to the Chamoli district administration, 2,500 devotees, who had gone to Badrinath, are still stationed at the Badrinath Temple waiting for the national highway to re-open as it is blocked due to falling debris following incessant rains in the districts.

    Dhami on Monday took a detailed review of the situation.

    Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel had a telephonic conversation with Dhami today to provide necessary assistance to the pilgrims from the state, who are stranded there due to natural calamity and rains. 

  • WATCH | River washes away under-construction bridge as rains cause havoc in Uttarakhand

    By ANI

    CHAMPAWAT: In Rain-battered Uttarakhand, an under-construction bridge over the Chalthi River in Champawat got washed away due to a rise in water level.

    National forecasting agency, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state and heavy rainfall has been predicted for the next few days.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the situation arising due to heavy rains in the state. Dhami on Monday took a detailed review of the situation.

    #WATCH | An under construction bridge, over a raging Chalthi River in Champawat, washed away due to rise in the water level caused by incessant rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/AaLBdClIwe
    — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021
    The Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district has been completely blocked due to debris at seven places following incessant rains over the last 48 hours, the district administration said on Tuesday.

    As a precautionary measure, the Badrinath Char Dham Yatra has been halted, and passengers en route to Badrinath Temple were stopped in safe places. 

    Incessant rains have been lashing parts of Uttarakhand since October 16, forcing the state to temporarily suspend the Char Dham Yatra on Monday. Higher reaches of the hill state, including Darma, Vyas and Johar Valley, have received snowfall of more than six inches in the last 48 hours

    #WATCH | Uttarakhand: Nainital Lake overflows and floods the streets in Nainital & enters building and houses here. The region is receiving incessant heavy rainfall. pic.twitter.com/G2TLfNqo21
    — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021

  • WATCH | Rriver washes away under-construction bridge as rains cause havoc in Uttarakhand

    By ANI

    CHAMPAWAT: In Rain-battered Uttarakhand, an under-construction bridge over the Chalthi River in Champawat got washed away due to a rise in water level.

    National forecasting agency, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state and heavy rainfall has been predicted for the next few days.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the situation arising due to heavy rains in the state. Dhami on Monday took a detailed review of the situation.

    #WATCH | An under construction bridge, over a raging Chalthi River in Champawat, washed away due to rise in the water level caused by incessant rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand. pic.twitter.com/AaLBdClIwe
    — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021
    The Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district has been completely blocked due to debris at seven places following incessant rains over the last 48 hours, the district administration said on Tuesday.

    As a precautionary measure, the Badrinath Char Dham Yatra has been halted, and passengers en route to Badrinath Temple were stopped in safe places. 

    Incessant rains have been lashing parts of Uttarakhand since October 16, forcing the state to temporarily suspend the Char Dham Yatra on Monday. Higher reaches of the hill state, including Darma, Vyas and Johar Valley, have received snowfall of more than six inches in the last 48 hours

    #WATCH | Uttarakhand: Nainital Lake overflows and floods the streets in Nainital & enters building and houses here. The region is receiving incessant heavy rainfall. pic.twitter.com/G2TLfNqo21
    — ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2021