News Analysis India

Tag: Uttarakhand

  • Mahakumbh impact? Uttarakhand active Covid caseload jumped 1,800% in 25 days

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: An explosive 1,800% spike in active cases in Uttarakhand between March 31 and April 24, a period coinciding with the Haridwar Mahakumbh, indicates that the congregation may have turned into a super spreader event in the state.

    Prior to the event, the total number of active cases in the hill state stood at 1,863 (March 31). However, after the event started on April 1, the number of active cases reached a whopping 33,330 (April 24). According to the government data, over 35 lakh people had gathered at Haridwar on April 12 and the figure was pegged at over 13.51 lakh on April 14. Both the days were considered as auspicious for rituals.Government spokesman and minister Subodh Uniyal said complacency and arrival of tourists were to be blamed for the surge. “We are doing everything to ensure that this is over soon,” he added.

    The last Shahi Snan of Kumbh is scheduled for Tuesday. Responding queries on the event, Mahant Ravindra Puri, secretary of Niranjani Akhada – the second most prominent akhada among the 14 — said: “We have already informed that the Shahi Snan would be symbolic.”With Char Dham Yatra scheduled for next month, the HC has ordered the state to ensure it does not turn into another Kumbh. It has ordered the government to formulate guidelines for the yatra.

    Ravinath Raman, chairman of Char Dham Devsthanam Board and commissioner of Garhwal division said, “The guidelines will be issued soon with every possible precaution so that the spread is not amplified. Our SOP will be on the lines of the safety measures of the Centre and state government and what we issued last year with added precautions.”

  • Uttarakhand Police issues WhatsApp number to register complaints against black marketing of remdesivir

    By PTI
    DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Police has issued a mobile number for people to register complaints against black marketing of remdesivir injections, oxygen cylinders and other life-saving drugs.

    The mobile number has been issued amid rising cases of coronavirus for effectively stopping black marketing of drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 and oxygen cylinders, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar said.

    People can lodge their complaints in case of any such black marketing through WhatsApp on the mobile number 9411112780, he said.

    Appealing to people, the DGP said, “Provide information about people engaged in black marketing of oxygen cylinders and life saving drugs.

    Identity of the informers will not be disclosed.

  • Death toll in avalanche in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli rises to 11

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: One more body was recovered from avalanche site in Malari-Sumna of Niti Valley in Chamoli district in Uttarakhand on Sunday, taking the total body count to 11.

    The district administration officials told that post-mortem of those found is being conducted and compensation will be provided to their families and dependents. 

    Swati Bhadauria, district magistrate of Chamoli district said, “The reach operation is on and total 11 bodies have been recovered till now. Post-mortem is being conducted of the deceased and their families will be compensated as per law.”

    Rescue operations are still on by the Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force to locate and find the missing. 

    Speculations are still on as to what caused the avalanche. However, experts said that there are lesser chances of a glacier break.

    Kalachand Sain, director of Wadia Institute Of Himalayan Glaciology, Dehradun said, “Anything can be said conclusively only after thorough investigation. It seems unlikely that the avalanche occurred due to breaking of the glacier.”

    A scientist from the Uttarakhand Disaster Management Department told TNIE on the condition of anonymity, “It is important to note that landslide or avalanche proneness of a place is relatively easy to decipher as these often take place repeatedly at an identified vulnerable location and indications of previous avalanche or landslide activity can easily be observed in the form of chutes, buried exotic boulders and scars. It is therefore necessary that even temporary establishments housing humans for various purposes be set up after seeking geologist’s advice and reviewing previous hazard history of the area. This would help in averting loss of human lives.”

    Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to him on phone.

    The CM tweeted, “Honorable Prime Minister spoke to me on phone about Sumna village glacier break. He expressed his concern and conveyed his condolences for those who lost their lives.”

    मा. प्रधानमंत्री श्री @narendramodi जी ने नीति घाटी में सुमना गाँव के निकट ग्लेशियर टूटने की घटना संज्ञान लेते हुए मुझसे दूरभाष पर जानकारी ली और चिंता जताई। साथ ही घटना में हताहत लोगों के प्रति दुःख व्यक्त किया है।
    — Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 24, 2021

    The incident took place at around 4pm around 4 km ahead of Sumna in the Girthiganga valley on Joshimath-Malari-Girthi Dobla-Sumna-Rimkhim road. 

    This is a strategic road leading to the Sino-Indian border. The avalanche overrun two labour camps of the Border Roads Organization. 

    It is important to note that this is not the sole incident wherein camps established on the road side have been devastated by landslide, avalanche and floods. 

    In the past the region has witnessed many similar incidences and in April 2003 similar incidence around Sunna took toll of 11 Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel.

    Interestingly, both the incidences (February 7 and April 23, 2021) were accompanied by abnormal weather phenomenon by the gap of just 75 days.

    The previous incident on February 7, 2021 was accompanied by sharp rise of temperature with Tapovan and Auli recording one day rise in maximum temperature by 5.4 and 9.6’ C respectively while the present one was accompanied by abnormally heavy snowfall in April. 

    “No one really knows if these incidences are attributed to climate change or represent local weather variability. Be whatever, we have to be prepared for such incidences and do our level best to save lives,” added the scientist. 

  • Fresh avalanche claims 10 in Chamoli

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN:  A little over two months after the deadly glacier burst and avalanche that claimed hundreds of lives in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli, a similar incident has hit the same district. There was another avalanche caused presumably by a glacier break in Malari-Sumna region in Niti Valley near the Tibet border on Friday. A total of 10 bodies have been recovered and 384 persons rescued.

    Swati Bhadauria, district magistrate of Chamoli, said: “Rescue operations are underway and the injured have been airlifted to Joshimath. One has to be referred to in Dehradun.” Officials said that a majority of the victims are from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. There are also a few from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and elsewhere. They were working at a road project under the Border Roads Organisation. According to estimates, around 430 persons were staying in two camps for the workers when the avalanche followed by the glacier break struck. 

    Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat after conducting an aerial survey said: “Operations by combined teams of Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and district administration are underway in full swing. No damages have been reported from nearby villages.”The avalanche hit the camp at around 4pm.

    Rescue operations were launched immediately, but efforts got delayed due to bad weather. Though an army camp is located at about just three kilometres from the spot, snowfall and rain impeded rescue efforts. Officials from BRO said that access points are blocked. The higher reaches of hilly areas of Uttarakhand including Niti Valley received 4-5 feet of snowfall recently. 

  • Eight bodies recovered, 384 people rescued after glacier burst in Uttarakhand

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Eight bodies have been recovered and 384 people have been rescued from the site of a glacier break in Malari-Sumna of Niti Valley in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Six people with critical injuries are undergoing treatment.

    After conducting an aerial survey of the spot on Saturday morning, Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that rescue operations are in full swing.

    “Rescue operations by a combined team including the Indian Army, district administration and National Disaster Response Force are underway. No damage to nearby villages has been reported,” said the CM after an aerial survey.

    The break is said to be near a road project in the border area which is being built by the BRO.

    The avalanche hit the camp of the Border Road Organization in Malari-Sumna on Friday at around 4 pm after which rescue operations were launched immediately but efforts got delayed due to bad weather.

    Officials from the BRO said that the access points and roads are blocked by the snowfall which can delay their journey to the spot.

    The higher reaches of hilly areas of Uttarakhand including the Niti Valley received 4-5 feet of snowfall.

    The Indian Army issued a statement on Friday evening saying that ‘blizzard conditions’ kept rescue operations at bay till late in the evening.

    “In a night rescue operation undertaken by the Army, another 150 GREF persons trapped in the BRO Camp have been rescued and brought to safety. Rescue operations are still in progress to locate the remainder persons still trapped under snow or stranded at work sites since late evening. Mountaineering rescue teams and air effort are at stand by for further rescue operations,” said the  Indian Army.

    Sumna is around 40 km from Raini village towards the Indo-Tibetan border from Joshimath of Chamoli district.

    Earlier on Friday, after reports of a glacier burst in Malari-Sumna of Chamoli district at Indo-Tibetan border surfaced, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said he spoke to the Union home minister Amit Shah who promised help and support.

    Rawat tweeted, “Honorable union home minister has personally taken note of the incident and promised full support and help. I am thankful on the behalf of the people of Uttarakhand for his considerate and sensitive response.”

  • Centre assures all support to Uttarakhand government after reports of glacier burst in Chamoli

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: After reports of glacier break in Malari Sumna of Chamoli district at the India-Tibet border on Friday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that he spoke to Union Home minister Amit Shah who has promised help and support.

    Rawat tweeted, “Honorable Union Home Minister has personally taken note of the incident and promised full support and help. I am thankful on the behalf of the people of Uttarakhand for his considerate and sensitive response ”

    Earlier, in the evening, reports of a glacier break started pouring in fueling rumors which were denied by the district administration.

    Chamoli DM Swati Bhadauria said, “We have unconfirmed reports of glacier break. Officials from the Border Road Organization and other have left for the spot to take stock of the situation. We cannot say anything until we get some real information.”

    Later, the CM himself took it to Twitter and stated that he has ordered ‘halting’ of projects in the area and alert has been announced.

    नीती घाटी के सुमना में ग्लेशियर टूटने की सूचना मिली है। इस संबंध में मैंने एलर्ट जारी कर दिया है। मैं निरंतर जिला प्रशासन और बीआरओ के सम्पर्क में हूँ।
    — Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 23, 2021

    Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar also informed through Twitter that team has been already dispatched to assess the ground situation but bad weather is the only hurdle to get information on the scale of any kind of damages. 

    The break is said to be near a road project in the border area which is being built by the BRO. 

    Scale of damages and loss of life is not known yet. The area largely remains sparsely habited or uninhabited apart from forces like Indo-ibetan Border Police, Indian Army and many other forces guarding the borders.

    जिला प्रशासन को मामले की पूरी जानकारी प्राप्त करने के निर्देश दे दिए हैं। एनटीपीसी एवं अन्य परियोजनाओं में रात के समय काम रोकने के आदेश दे दिए हैं ताकि कोई अप्रिय घटना ना होने पाये।
    — Tirath Singh Rawat (@TIRATHSRAWAT) April 23, 2021

    The higher reaches of hilly areas of Uttarakhand including the Niti Valley received 4-5 feet of snowfall. Officials from the BRO said that access points and roads have been blocked by snowfall which can delay their journey to the spot. 

    In February this year, a glacier break in Raini village of the district resulted in loss of 79 lives and damaged two power plants. Hundreds are still missing in the disaster. The February flashfloods also brought back memories of 2013 Kedarnath disaster. 

  • Relaxation in Inner Line Permit soon in Uttarakhand

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: After Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat said that the Army is planning to ease out inner-line restrictions in Uttarakhand to boost  tourism in the border areas, long pending demand of approval of tourism activity in border areas and removal of ‘inner line permit’ from certain border areas may come to fruition. 

    State tourism minister Satpal Maharaj, welcoming the move said, “This is a welcome move which will help tourism industry of the state. My gratitude to the CDS as this will also help in reverse migration.”

    At initial level, plans are to open up Mukhba, Bagholi and Harsil in the Gangotri with ILP, said Maharaj. 

    General Rawat was on visit in Dehradun where he met top officials of the state including Ashok Kumar Director General of Police, Uttarakhand.

    Rawat had said, “Law and order situation in Uttarakhand is good, which makes it ideal for growth of tourism sector. The Army is planning to relax inner-line permit.”

    Uttarakhand state government has been seeking clearance for approval of tourist activity in Gartang Gali area, located on the Indo-China border in Uttarkashi district and several other areas such as Nelang valley, Nabhidang, Chakrata, Tyuni and many others. 

    The areas where restrictions for ‘Inner Line Permit’ removal has also been requested includes border areas of Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Chamoli, the districts mainly bordering with China. 

    Receding population on Uttarakhand-Nepal-China border has become a source of worry for the state government and Indian security forces amidst increasing border tensions with Nepal. 

    Uttarakhand shares 350 kms border with China and 275 Kms with Nepal.

    By lifting restrictions on ILP, the aim to develop areas for ‘Border Tourism’ acting as ‘Second line of Defence’ and to encourage tourism and settlement of inhabitants which will help security forces develop vigil on ground. 

    The ILP is required to visit in some areas of the state which are ecologically and otherwise deemed sensitive to regulate footfall in those areas. 

  • Uttarakhand HC directs govt to file report on actions taken to fight second wave of COVID

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday directed the state government to raise the points mentioned in the court’s order before the state cabinet on its meeting on April 22 and file a report about the actions taken in the meeting. 

    The division bench including Chief Justice RS Chauhan ordered the personal appearance of Chief Secretary, health secretary, and finance secretary of the state on next date of hearing on May 10, 2021 and the submission of report on actions taken till May 5, 2021.

    Dushyant Mainali, the petitioner in the matter, who appeared in person in the court said, “We apprised the honorable court of the ground situation and the court has issued directions to combat the second wave.” 

    The court also directed the government to immediately provide mobile testing facilities in the hills, and interior areas of the state while hearing a public interest litigation regarding Covid 19 situation.

    Directions to the government: 

    increase Covid dedicated hospitals immediately from present five across the state,
    provide PPE and other safety gears to the medical staff and all other staff in state government health centers,
    increase Covid Care Centres immediately from present 12,
    immediately establish temporary hospitals with the help of DRDO and other agencies,
    purchase variety of testing kits available in the market,
    increase CT Scan facilities so that every District Level/Base and other government hospitals is well equipped to identify patients who are infected by the latest, highly contagious variant of the Covid 19 virus also known as ‘Double Mutant’ 
    And for safeguarding the underprivileged, the HC directed checking for overcharging by private hospitals and to make sure action is taken if rules are being violated. The state government must also ensure 25% of the beds in private hospitals are provided to people living below poverty line. 

    “The court issued directions to publish data of available beds, empty beds, occupied beds, nearby testing centres and list of hospitals with online real-time data available to public,” added Mainali. 

    The secretary of health department of Uttarakhand was directed to submit a report regarding details of number of beds, ICU beds, beds with ventilators and oxygen, test labs, private hospitals, data of Remdesivir available and steps taken for the supply, data of PPE kits and safety gears availability and the rate of its daily consumption and steps taken following the suggestions of the district monitoring committies. 

  • Police search for 20 ‘absconding’ Covid patients who attended Mahakumbh

    By Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand state police on Sunday registered case against 20 Covid-19 positive patients who ‘absconded’ from a hospital in Muni Ki Reti area in Tehri district. 

    Sanjay Gunjyal, inspector general of police said, “Cases have been registered against 20 people who ran away for flouting norms and endangering the lives of other people. Teams have been formed to look for them. We have also alerted Rajasthan government to where these people belonged.”

    These people visited the Kumbh from different parts of the country and were admitted to the hospital after testing positive. 

    Meanwhile, Uttarakhand state registered maximum number of Covid-19 cases in week 57 (April 11-17) with a total of 13,924.

    The number of deaths also increased to 104 in comparison to week 56 when 27 lives were lost.

    Active cases in Uttarakhand reached 17,293 on Sunday with detection of 2630 new cases across 13 districts of the hill state. 

    Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat chaired an emergency meeting with key officials of the state to review Covid situation in the state. Decisions were made to increase fine for not wearing masks from Rs 200 to Rs 500.

    The CM also instructed strict action against those violating norms and not adhering to Covid safe behaviour. 

    The state government also reduced number of guests to be allowed in marriages and other public gatherings except the ongoing Mahakumbh in Haridwar to 100. Earlier, last week the limit was called at 200.  

  • Uttarakhand witnesses 89 times increase in COVID cases during Mahakumbh 2021

    Express News Service
    DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand has registered whopping 89 folds increase in duration of April 1-15 in comparison to February 14-28.

    The state added 172 cases from February 14-28 while 15,333 cases surfaced between April 1-14 amidst ongoing Mahakumbh in which over 50 lakh gathered in two days- April 12 and 14. 

    Anoop Nautiyal, from Social Development for Communities Foundation which has been analysing the Covid 19 data since March 2020, said, “Look at the figures and one can see through the grim situation. The state has conducted total 3,22,404 tests in last 16 days. This is an average of 20,150 tests against the Uttarakhand High Court directions of testing minimum 50000 samples in Haridwar only.”

    ALSO READ: No comparison between Markaz, Kumbh: Uttarakhand Chief Minister

    The number of daily Covid cases have reached 2000-2500 per day after commencement of the Mahakumbh in Haridwar from April 1 in comparison to 30-60 cases everyday in February,

    A review meeting on the situation in the state was taken by Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday. The CM instructed to ramp up testing and ensure all precautions to check the spread of Covid 19. 

    Total 2,402 new Covid cases were reported in Uttarakhand on Friday taking the total active cases count in the state to 13,546. The recovery rate further came down to 85.01% with positivity rate touching 3.65% across the state. 

    Meanwhile, the state has vaccinated total 12,85,993 people out of which 2,25,005 have got second dosage of the vaccine too.