Tag: Uttarakhand government

  • Strict COVID-19 guidelines will deter pilgrims from attending Mahakumbh: Saints, Traders

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN:  With strict guidelines in place for Mahakumbh 2021, suspicions over the success of ‘Grand’ religious event has started to pop up.

    Saints, business groups and other stakeholders have raised their concerns over the strict norms, which they claim could discourage pilgrims and devotees from travelling to Haridwar for Mahakumbh 2021. 

    “Such strict norms will clearly discourage devotees and pilgrims from all over the world from visiting Haridwar. The focus should be on better arrangements and not discouraging people from visiting the Mahakumbh,” said Mahesh Giri, a saint from an Akhara in Haridwar. 

    According to the SOP, pilgrims must have a COVID-19 RT-PCR negative test report (test done 72 hours prior to the date of visit) and must register themselves with the state government before visiting the religious congregation starting on February 27.  The SOPs also advocate ‘appropriate COVID-19 behaviour’ like social distancing, wearing of masks, and installing Aarogya Setu App mandatorily.  

    READ HERE | Planning to attend Mahakumbh? Uttarakhand govt releases SOP, here is everything pilgrims should know

    Kiran Kumar, a hotelier from Haridwar, commenting in the issue said, “The year 2020 engulfed entire tourism industry, forcing shutting down of many establishments and thousands losing jobs in Haridwar itself. We were thinking maybe Mahakumbh is a God sent opportunity for us but with such strict guidelines that idea is no longer feasible.”

    Suggesting that the Kumbh Mela authorities ‘may consider’ curtailing the total duration of the Kumbh Mela, the SOP listed 15 preventive measures to check the spread of the COVID during the religious congregation.

    “Kumbh Mela is not only a religious pilgrimage, but also perhaps the largest mass gathering at one place. It is celebrated four times over a course of 12 years and spans four locations. This year the Kumbh Mela would be held at Haridwar (Uttarakhand). The likely dates for this event are from 27th February 2021 to 30th April 2021. It is expected that about 1 million (10 lakh) people will attend the mela on a regular day and about 5 million (50 lakh) people will attend the mela on auspicious days,” said the SOP. 

    As religious tourism got hit badly in Uttarakhand due to COVID 19 epidemic, priests opted for odd jobs including factory workers earning between Rs 8000-12,000 per month.  Many priests from Haridwar including the ‘Ganga Temple’ at Har ki Pairi had opted to work in factories in evening shift to sustain themselves. 

    The epidemic had hit the religious institutions so hard that providing salaries and ration has become difficult for the temples in Haridwar.

    Apart from the chief priest of the temple total 8 ‘Vedpathi’ (Vedic scholars acting as priests) are employed who take care of temple duties shift wise.

    Morning shift which starts at 5, include the work of ceremonial bath and other rituals while the second shift starts at 2 pm ending at 11 pm.

    All the employed priests are allocated shifts rotation wise to handle devotees and other work of the temple which has been disrupted due to the epidemic.

     

  • Planning to attend Mahakumbh? Uttarakhand govt releases SOP, here is everything pilgrims should know

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Coronavirus test report for pilgrims visiting Mahakumbh 2021 has been made compulsory now. 

    Union ministry of health and family welfare on January 22 issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed during the religious fair, which is likely to start from February 27 and continue till April 30. 

    “The government of Uttarakhand would widely publicize, as also convey to all other state governments that only devotees with negative RT-PCR test report (test done 72 hours prior to the date of visit) shall be allowed to enter the Kumbh Mela site. The devotees may carry test reports either on their mobile phones or in hard copies,” stated the SOP.

    The SOPs also advocate ‘appropriate COVID-19 behaviour’ like social distancing, wearing of masks, and installing Aarogya Setu App mandatorily. 

    “The Government of Uttarakhand shall ensure that the Healthcare workers and the other frontline workers engaged during Kumbh Mela medical and public health operations are vaccinated on priority in the ongoing vaccination of this group. Only vaccinated Healthcare and other frontline workers be deputed for Kumbh Mela duties,” the SOP read.

    Suggesting that the Kumbh Mela authorities ”may consider” curtailing the total duration of the Kumbh Mela, the SOP listed 15 preventive measures to check the spread of the COVID during the religious congregation.

    The measures include:

    The appointment of a designated COVID-19 ‘Nodal Officer’ of appropriate seniority to be responsible for addressing the virus concerns within the Mela area who will be regularly coordinating with other stakeholders to ensure implementation of this Standard Operating Procedure at the operational level
    Identifying spatial boundaries of the Mela Area keeping in view the physical distancing requirements and prepare a detailed site plan which would facilitate compliance with thermal screening
    Physical distancing, sanitization, etc, setting up of multiple and separate entries and exits for devotees shall be ensured,
    setting up of help desks along with wide publication with adequate number of staff to ensure that people do not  wander around for want of direction
    Planning for the event should specifically factor this so that crowds are regulated and managed to ensure physical distance and frequent sanitization and many others
    mandatory contactless hand hygiene and multiple thermal screening provisions at the entrance
    Anyone found symptomatic during thermal screening should be politely refused entry and advised seeking immediate medical care
    The crowd density does not remain the same throughout the day and usually peaks around certain hours of the day and on auspicious days
    “Kumbh Mela is not only a religious pilgrimage, but also perhaps the largest mass gathering at one place. It is celebrated four times over a course of 12 years and spans four locations. This year the Kumbh Mela would be held at Haridwar (Uttarakhand). The likely dates for this event are from 27th February 2021 to 30th April 2021. It is expected that about 1 million (10 lakh) people will attend the mela on a regular day and about 5 million (50 lakh) people will attend the mela on auspicious days,” said the SOP. 

    The SOP also asserts on capacity building by the state government in terms of medical care. Stating that the existing bed capacity of government, referral and private hospitals– all combined is about 2,800 in Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun, the SOP says that this needs to be ‘substantially augmented’. 

    “The expected surge of the floating population and potential outbreak of  COVID or other epidemic-prone diseases will overwhelm the existing facilities. Mega-size temporary hospitals (1000 beds) that would augment bed capacity by at least 2,000 beds shall be established. State Government may contact DRDO for setting up such facilities,” said the SOP.

    The document also added that the state government shall also assess the requirement of PPE kits, consumables, human resources, oxygen and ventilators, and if required, shall procure and store well in advance.

  •  More than half of Uttarakhand’s 12.19 lakh MGNAREGA workforce women: Data

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Data from Uttarakhand state government revealed that out of total 12.19 lakh MGNAREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) cardholders, 53.65% are women.  In the last year, a total of 2.66 lakh people enrolled under the scheme in the state.

    According to MGNAREGA data, the total number of active workers in Uttarakhand is 8.17 lakh (Around 67.19%). 

    Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Monday said, “I have instructed the senior officials of the government to review MGNAREGA every 15 days and see what better can be done. Around 80% of the allocated budget for the financial year 2020-21 has been released for development works. We all need to work hard to compensate what we lost during Covid 19 induced lockdown.”

    The CM also confirmed that job days in the scheme will soon be increased to 150 from 100 days.

    Interestingly, engineering graduates, diploma and Masters degree holders have also applied for manual jobs in the scheme. 

    The New Indian Express last year reported that in an attempt to provide jobs to people of Uttarakhand including returning migrants, the state government had sent a proposal to the center requesting approval to provide 200-days of work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. 

    At present, the scheme provides guaranteed 100-days of work in a year. The state government officials said that this is an effort to provide more work opportunities to the people of the state. 

    In May this year, the state government launched ‘Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana’ to provide jobs for returning migrants. 

    The scheme aims to provide investment subsidy from 15-25% to those who want to start their own businesses such as restaurant, beauty parlour, pisciculture, dairy farm, bar and meat shop in the state.  

  • Uttarakhand to start ‘Snow Leopard tour’, pilot project in Uttarkashi district

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government has planned to start ‘Snow Leopard Tour’ on the lines of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. 

    Rajiv Bhartari, head of the first force (HoFF) said, “As a pilot project tour will be organized in Uttarkashi district of the state in February 2021 and depending on the response it will be extended on other regions of the state where the elusive cat is found.”

    The aim of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) assisted tour is to generate ecotourism and spread awareness about conservation of the species. The state has already started snow leopard count estimation in November 2020 covering over 12800 square kilometers of area in 10 state forest divisions where the species is found. 

    The results are expected in November 2021. At present, according to estimates, Uttarakhand has around 86 snow leopards. The exercise which is being termed as the first ever in the country by experts got delayed due to COVID-19 epidemic.

    In Uttarakhand, snow leopards are found in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, Gangotri National Park, Askot Wildlife Sanctuary and other places of altitude between 3000-4500 meters in total geographical area of around 13,000 square kilometers.

    The animal is considered to be one of the most enigmatic wild cat species due to its reclusive nature which has earned it a title of ‘Ghost of the Mountains’.

    Earlier, in October 2019, the first national protocol for snow leopard population assessment in five Himalayan states including Uttarakhand ‘Snow leopard Population Assessment in India (SPAI) was released by the union environment ministry.

    Keeping in view the reduction in the global population of the big cat estimated between 4000-6500, the first international steering committee meeting to step up conservation efforts for the animal was organized in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in March 2015 of which India is a signatory too. 

    This global snow leopard project seeks to identify at least 20 landscapes and secure them as protected areas for the species till year 2020. 

    India has identified three such landscapes ranging around 47,000 sq km of area- Hemis-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Gangotri-Nanda Devi in Uttarakhand, and Kanchendzonga-Tawang in Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.