News Analysis India

Tag: Uttarakhand

  • Covid curfew extended for another week in Uttarakhand, Char Dham yatra opened for locals

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN:  The Uttarakhand government on Monday extended the Covid curfew in the state till June 22 but announced some important relaxations such as opening the chardham yatra for locals on the condition of a negative RT-PCR test report.

    The period of the current curfew in the state was to come to an end at 6 am on Tuesday morning.

    “We have decided to extend the curfew for another week to June 22 in view of the COVID-19 situation.

    The old SOPs will largely remain in force except a few major changes such as opening the doors of the Himalayan temples for locals with negative RT-PCR reports,” Cabinet Minister and state government’s official spokesman Subodh Uniyal said.

    “People of Chamoli district now have the permission to visit Badrinath temple for ‘darshan’ if they have a negative RT-PCR test report. Similarly, people of Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi districts can also now visit Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri respectively with a negative RT-PCR test report,” the minister said.

    ALSO READ: Mahakumbh, now Char Dham, why embarrass ourselves? Uttarakhand HC slams govt’s carelessness

    The famous four Himalayan temples in Uttarakhand though open since May for daily prayers have been out of bounds for pilgrims.

    Revenue courts have also been reopened with certain restrictions, he said.

    Means of public transport like auto rickshaws and tempos have been allowed to ply on the roads and shops selling sweets can now open for five days in a week, Uniyal said.

    Fifty people can now attend marriage ceremonies and funerals instead of the present permission for 20.

    However, those attending weddings will have to bring a negative RT-PCR test reports.

    District Magistrates have been authorised to relax the restrictions for market places in rural areas based on their assessment of the Covid situation, he said.

    On the decision to extend the curfew, Uniyal said the cases of COVID-19 may have come down but it would be premature to say that the pandemic challenge has been overcome.

  • Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand Assembly Indira Hridayesh passes away

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand Assembly and Indian National Congress MLA from Haldwani, Indira Hridayesh, passed away in Delhi on Sunday. 

    Uttarakhand state government has announced full day mourning on Monday when her last rites are scheduled to be held in Haldwani, Nainital district of Uttarakhand. 

    Hridayesh (80), who had gone to Delhi on Saturday to attend organisational meetings of the party for upcoming 2022 assembly polls in the state, suffered a heart attack.

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many others expressed their condolences on her demise.

    “Dr Indira Hridayesh Ji was at the forefront of several community service efforts. She made a mark as an effective legislator and also had rich administrative experience. Saddened by her demise. Condolences to her family and supporters,” PM Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter. 

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed their condolences on her demise. 

    The veteran Congress leader is survived by her three sons and their families including grandchildren.

    Hridayesh was selected for the legislative council in 1974 for the first time in undivided Uttar Pradesh followed by 3 more terms. 

    In year 2000, after Uttarakhand state was carved out of earstwhile UP, Hridayesh became member of the state legislative assembly. 

    She held various important cabinet positions in Congress government including minister for public works, parliamentary affairs, finance, legislative affairs and many more.

    She was elected for the state assembly in year 2017 from Haldwani. 

    Her sudden demise is a blow for Congress as she was one of the most important leaders of the state who has support of the masses and ample electoral as well as political experience. 

    Harish Rawat, former CM of Uttarakhand said, “She was one of the strongest pillars the state had. She was elder sister to me as well as the people of the state. Her sudden demise has left a void which can never be filled.”

  • Four including 2 police officers arrested with 8,008 kg charas in Uttarakhand

    By ANI
    DEHRADUN: As many as four people including two constables of armed police posted at Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand, have been arrested by the Kichha police of Udham Singh Nagar with 8,008 kg of charas.

    Two constables will be dismissed from their positions, said Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar.

    Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Dilip Singh Kunwar informed that 1,094 kg of charas was recovered from one car and 6,914 kg from another car near the culvert of Lalpul Mazar in Kichha.

    The accused Deepak Pandey and Prabhat Singh Bisht are soldiers of Pithoragarh Police Lines, father of other accused Vipul Saila is a head constable in Nainital district, the SSP said.

    The DGP while speaking to ANI said, “Both the constables of Pithoragarh Police, who were caught in the smuggling of charas in huge quantities, will be dismissed from their jobs.”

    He further said, “People with criminal activities have no place in Uttarakhand Police. In future also if any policeman is found indulging in criminal activities then he will be expelled from the police force.” 

  • Good samaritans from Uttarakhand and Canada upgrade remote hospital in Uttarkashi district

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: A group of people from Uttarakhand and Canada came together to upgrade a 20-bed community health center (CHC) in Naugaun of Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand. The government medical facility is an upcoming one which aims to cater to a rural population of over 1000 in nearby villages.

    Speaking to The New Indian Express, Dr Shikha Prakash, resident of Dehradun and co-founder of ‘Valley Culture’ initiative which preserves the traditional food practices of Uttrakhand and bridges the gap between Rural and Urban India by bringing the fresh Himalayan produces at their doorstep said, “This is our payback to our farmers and the people of Uttarakhand. The least we could do with blessings of honorable governor Ma’am and upfront officials such as district magistrate of Uttarakashi and officials from the Governor’s House including  ADC to the governor (Police) Ruchita Juyal.”

    Prakash, recalled the day when her compatriots from foreign countries including Kapil Gupta from Canada talked about doing something meaningful. The group supplied total 18 kind of items including wheelchairs, IV stand, stretcher trollys, computer tables and a 20KV generator worth over Rs 10 lakh. 

    The group came together after learning that local government facility needs an upgrade and decided to contribute for the cause. “We decided to do a fund raiser with a single goal in mind, save lives. Within 10 days we were able to plan and raise funds to upgrade the CHC Navgaon in Uttarkashi for a 20-bed setup including installing a 20KV generator. This endeavour would not only be beneficial for immediate assistance but also be a benchmark for post COVID medical needs,” said Kapil Gupta who resides in Canada at the moment. 

    Named as “India Sahayoga” by the group, the goal of raising funds and delivering the items in the medical facility was achieved in a span of 10 days with the motto – ‘This time from Urban India to Rural India’. 

  • Probe in Uttarakhand on Mahakumbh testing data

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN:  The Uttarakhand government has ordered an inquiry after discrepancies were found in Covid-19 testing data during Mahakumbh earlier this year.  At least one lakh samples of rapid antigen tests done by a private lab could have been forged, said state health department officials. A preliminary inquiry revealed discrepancies data regarding collection of samples and sending bills to the government. 

    An official, who was part of the inquiry, said fake entries were made by the lab. This has been reported to higher officials in the government. A resident of Haridwar, who had not given his sample, received a text message stating that his RT-PCR test had been done. He filed a complaint with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The ICMR intimated the government. That is how this was revealed. 

    The government had hired nine private labs for testing during Mahakumbh. The deal was Rs 354 per test. Till date, over 15.29 lakh tests have been conducted in Haridwar district. Most of these were during the Mahakumbh.

    Despite repeated calls.and messages, Health Secretary Amit Negi and District Magistrate of Haridwar, C Ravishankar, were not reachable for a comment on the matter.  Earlier, in a hearing on May 20, the Uttarakhand High Court commenting on Mahakumbh and Char Dham Yatra had said the state was causing embarrassment to its own people and questioned why could it not learn from its mistakes. 

  • Case against Delhi-based firm for providing used, defective medical equipment to PHC in Uttarakhand

    By ANI
    PITHORAGARH: A case against a Delhi-based firm namely S K Enterprises has been registered by the Chief Medical Officer, Dr H C Pant of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand for allegedly providing defective and used medical equipment including surgical gloves and syringes, said Prabhat Kumar, SHO, Dharchula police station.

    The case was registered under Disaster Management Act and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Dharchula police station on Sunday, the SHO told ANI.

    “A case has been registered against S K Enterprises, based in Delhi under sections 420, 409, 51B of the IPC and also under the Disaster Management Act. We have seized the gloves and other medical equipment provided to the hospital. Further investigations are underway,” said Prabhat Kumar.

    As many as 2,300 gloves have been seized by the police.

    The District Magistrate (DM) of Pithoragarh, Anand Swaroop, had directed the Chief Medical Officer on Wednesday to register an FIR. After the matter came to DM’s attention, he reached the Community Health Center, Dharchula where the supplies were sent to investigate the issue.

    “I got a new packet of gloves opened in front of me and the officers informed me that they are used gloves. I myself saw that those used gloves came out of a new and sealed packets. This is a big negligence,” the DM had told ANI earlier. 

  • Uttarakhand mulls providing tablets to government school students

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand is mulling to provide tablets to government schools students of Class 11 and 12. Total 1.36 lakh students will be benefitted with the decision. The proposal which is pending with the government is likely to be approved soon.

    State education minister Arvind Pandey said, “Our government is committed to work to boost education standards in the state. We will be implementing our plans in phased manner.” However, the officials from the state education department did not divulge any time limit for the distribution of the tablets. 

    The tablets will be upgraded with education material which will benefit the students in case of bad internet connectivity in the hilly and remote areas of the state. In February this year, center approved the BharatNet Phase II project in Uttarakhand under which as many as 12,000 villages of the Himalayan state would be connected with high speed 4G internet. 

    According to data provided by Information Technology Development Agency, Uttarakhand out of total 15745 villages in the hill state 434 villages did not have mobile network coverage till May 2020. The decision is said to prove a push for mobile connectivity in IT era and amidst Covid epidemic when mobile connectivity.

    Uttarakhand border villages are compelled to use Nepalese Sim cards due to no or poor availability of Indian network providers including government owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

  • Uttarakhand tops among Himalayan states in number of COVID-19 deaths

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand is on top of six Himalayan states when it comes to death rate due to COVID-19. Six out of 11 states/UTs in the country that have the highest death rates are Himalayan states.

    “The second wave has exposed fragility of the mountain states of India. Death rates are alarmingly high compared to the other states of India. This observation deserves attention of highest levels of the government of India,” said Anoop Nautiyal, whose Social Development for Communities has been collating and analysing Covid 19  data from March 15, 2020. 

    After Punjab (2.6 per cent), Uttarakhand (2.0 per cent) and Nagaland (1.9 per cent) have the highest death rates in the country. Other Himalayan states making the list are Himachal Pradesh (1.7 per cent) Meghalaya (1.7 per cent) Sikkim (1.6 per cent) & Manipur (1.6 per cent). 

    In the list of top 10 states in terms of death rate, six are Himalayan states while five are non-Himalayan states- Punjab (2.6 per cent), Maharashtra (1.7 per cent), Delhi (1.7 per cent), Goa (1.7  per cent) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (1.7 per cent). 

    With 446 new cases on Sunday total number of active cases reached 16125 in Uttarakhand. Cases of black fungus/Mucormycosis reached 299 out if which 47 died and 18 have been cured. 

    Meanwhile, Uttarakhand government is mulling to extend some relaxation in curfew restrictions in five districts from June 8 which have shown improvement in terms of COVID situation. The districts of Bageshwar, Champawat, Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar recorded a test positivity rate of below 5 per cent in the past one week. 

    Officials told that more shops are likely to be permitted to open in these five districts and curfew timings are likely to be relaxed. The government is also planning to permit the plying of public transport vehicles with a two-third occupancy.  

  • Pithoragarh DM orders legal action against purchasers, suppliers of defective materials used to treat Covid

    By ANI
    PITHORAGARH: Pithoragarh District Magistrate (DM) Anand Swarup on Wednesday directed the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to register an FIR against the purchaser/supplier of defective materials used in the treatment of Covid-19 in Dharchula, Pithoragarh.

    “We received used surgical gloves and faulty needles in the new stock that came in. Strong disciplinary action will be taken against the supplier,”Swarup said.

    He also reprimanded the hospital in-charge in this matter.

    During the inspection of an under-construction oxygen plant and COVID ward at the Dharchula Community Health Center (CHC) on Wednesday, the para medical staff complained about the poor quality of gloves with blood stains, ink smeared on them, as well as used vaccine syringes. On this, the DM called the CMO Dr. HC Pant on the spot and instructed him to register an FIR against the company supplying the material.

    Speaking to ANI, the DM said, “I got a new packet of gloves opened in front of me and the officers informed me that they are used gloves. I myself saw that those used gloves came out of a new and sealed packets. This is a big negligence.”

    “Legal action should be taken against the purchasers/suppliers of such used and defective material, who have committed such crime. Such incidents will only lead to the spread of the virus. We will take stringent action against such people and an FIR will also be filed against the culprits,” he added. 

  • Uttarakhand: Char Dham yatra to resume depending on Covid situation

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: The officials said that Char Dham Yatra to Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri and Yamunotri can be opened for selected districts of Uttarakhand if Covid-19 situation further improves in the state. 

    Ravinath Raman, chairman of Char Dham Devsthanam Board, who also happens to be commissioner of Garhwal division told TNIE, “We are watching the situation and board meeting has been called in the second week of June 2021. The decision will in this regard will be taken in accordance with Covid 19 situation. We are not going to rush things, come what may.”

    The yatra has been suspended this year with rituals allowed to be performed by the priests to uphold tradition. 

    Last year, the Yatra started for pilgrims of Uttarakhand on July 1, 2020 while for the pilgrims from outside the state the Yatra was opened in last week of July 2020. 

    “We may open the Yatra for home districts where the shrines are located or may be only for the villages in the vicinity of the shrines. But this will be done only if we are confident about Covid situation subsiding,” added Raman. 

    In comparison to year 2019 when more than 38 lakh pilgrims visited the Char Dham of Uttarakhand, numbers came down to 4.2 lakh in 2020 due to Covid 19 pandemic.

    Earlier in May 2021, Uttarakhand High Court commenting on Mahakumbh and Char Dham Yatra said that Uttarakhand is causing embarrassment to its own people and questioned why the state cannot learn from its mistakes. 

    The bench irked by videos and pictures of Char Dham circulating on various social media platforms questioned that, “Anyone is supervising (Char Dham Yatra) or is it left to the priests? What happens if coronavirus spreads among the priests? Even when deity is being worshiped, you can’t permit twenty priests in a small size of space such as sanctum sanctorum.”