UTTARAKHAND

In a major decision, the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed that themeetings of the State Cabinet should be held in the villages. The government would also launch the Mukhyamantri Paryavaran Mitra scheme in Uttarakhand in an attempt to encourage sanitation and cleanliness in the villages. Under the scheme, one sanitation worker would be deployed in every village of the State. Dhami gave the above directives during his meeting with the officers of department in the State secretariat on Thursday. He said that the Mukhyamantri Chaupal scheme would be launched under which he would take part and stay in the village during night. He directed that the foundation day programmes of the Gram Sabhas should be organised in the villages.

He said that the officers and the public representatives would take part in the Chaupals and for it a village wise roster would be made. Dhami said that a plan for development of the village would be prepared on the basis of the suggestions received in the Chaupals. He said that the real India resides in villages and special emphasis on the development of the villages should be done for the all round development of the State. He said that the officers should focus on setting up model villages in the State and for it a master plan should be prepared. The CM opined that short term and long term targets should be set up for rural development. He suggested that the best practices of other States should be studied and implemented if found suitable.

The Panchayati Raj minister Satpal Maharaj said that effective efforts should be made to strengthen the economy of the villages. He said that the village Pradhans should be given Rs 10,000 as disaster fund.

On a terse note he said that the loan targets of different schemes for the year should be completed before December 15. He said that the bankers and the officers of departments concerned should work in tandem to achieve target. The CM directed that the district magistrates should undertake weekly reviews of the loans given under different schemes. Dhami said that the people should be made aware about various welfare schemes of union and state governments and they should know about the loan available under these schemes. He suggested that the DMs and Bank officers should start a campaign and ensure that the problem associated with loans are solved on the spot in the special camps.

In the meeting the CM directed the officers that the targets under the Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana (MSY) should also be completed in time. He said that the DM concerned should do regular monitoring of the loans approved under the MSY. Dhami reviewed the progress of National Rural Livlihoods Mission (NRLM), Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Swarojgar Yojana, Home stay, special component plan, PM Mudra Yojana, National Urban Livlihoods Mission (NULM); stand up India, PM Swanidhi and MSY on the occasion.

TheUttarakhand Police, in an effort to digitise work, will soon introduce an “e-beat book” in every police station across the state. Under the initiative, the police are developing an app on which the ground-level cops would upload photos and Videos, besides basic information about any incident after reaching the spot.

The app is being developed by the department’s Crime & Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) wing.

It will enable the policemen on the ground to share first-hand information of any incident under their beat with the SHO of the police station concerned.

The nod to the dam which was first approved in 1976 and work on which was halted in 1992 due to lack of funds has reignited a decades-old debate, with environmentalists again red-flagging the project as a flood risk to Delhi and ecological threat to the Himalayas.

The financial approval to the 300 MW Lakhwar Multipurpose Project, which will straddleDehradunand Tehri districts with its 22 kilometre long reservoir, was given by the ministry. The project is now awaiting final clearance from the .

The multipurpose project will provide drinking water and electricity to six states Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. It will also provide Irrigation on 33,780 hectares. For the project, 90% of the cost is to be spent by the Centre while the remaining 10% will be borne by the states.

A 300-meter-long artificial lake that formed at 7,000 feet following heavy rain in Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district has sparked fear of flash floods among local residents.

The lake has formed in the Maalupati area after a landslide prompted by heavy rain blocked a seasonal nullah, Bhupendra Singh Mahra, district Disaster Management officer.

The officer added that the situation was being monitored and that the assessed threat level from the water body has been reduced since the water level of the lake was constantly going down.

With Char Dham yatra yet to start for pilgrims this year, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday announced a Rs 200 crore package for 1.64 lakh people associated with the annual pilgrimage and other sectors. Due to the closure of the yatra for devotees, hotel and transport business, porters and other activities are almost at a standstill.

People engaged in various activities of tourism business and registered with the departments would be provided financial assistance of Rs 2,000 per month for six months. The move will benefit as many as 5,000 people.

Under the Uttarakhand Tourism Travel Business Manuals, financial assistance of Rs 10,000 would be provided to the 655 registered tour and adventure tour operators. River guides, 630 of them, will get Rs 10,000.

As compared to 3,425 hectares of forest land that was gutted in 885forest fire incidents in Uttarakhandbetween November 1, 2021 and June 19, 2022, merely 885 hectares were burnt down this season (November 1, 2022 to June 19, 2023), registering a massive 74.1% dip in forest area that was affected, as per the state forest department.

Even as after a delayed start, forest fires flared up around mid-June this year, the impact of cyclone Biparjoy, which caused rains and thunderstorms, made sure they died down again soon.

In Uttarakhand, forest fires usually start raging by April, considered the start of the peak forest fire season, when temperature soars in the hills and forest floors dry up and turn inflammable. This year, due to unseasonal rains and snowfall from March to May, summer was delayed and forest fires much less than usual. An uptick in cases was recorded from June 9-14, when temperatures across state started settling 4 to 5 degrees above normal. With a week-long dry spell, the mercury had touched the 39-40 degrees Celsius mark.

Though the has allowed Char Dham Yatra for locals of three districts which are Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Chamoli from July 1 and for others in the State from July 11, the transport department has not commenced the application process for green cards. Responding to this, Transport secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said that the department is preparing to start the online application system for green cards but its starting date is not fixed.

Uttarakhand Metro Rail Corporation(UKMRC) will construct state-of-the-art rapid transit systems inDehradun,Haridwarand Rishikesh within next four years to ease traffic congestion, its MD Jitendra Tyagi said.

The country’sfirst Neo Metrowill start on two corridors in Dehradun. Also, Haridwar will see the country’s first Pod taxi,” he said, adding that the move will give a major boost to Environment-friendly and cost-effective public transport in the state.
Neo Metro is the rubber tyre-based mass transit system that draws power from an overhead electric conductor. It runs on a dedicated elevated track. Provide on Demand (Pod) taxis are driverless electric vehicles that move on a specially designed track.

Ropeways and Pod taxis will be developed in PPP mode, while the Centre and the state will have equal share in theNeo Metroproject, the official said. UKMRC MD Tyagi said the two Neo Metro corridors from ISBT to Gandhi Bagh and FRI to Raipur will cover the breadth and length (22.42 km) of the city.

As per the act a notified disease is the one which is required by the law to be reported to the government authorities. It helps the authorities to monitor the disease and warn about its possible outbreak.

The steps also help in coordinated and integrated treatment of the disease as per the protocol.Mucormycosis is a fungal infection which enters the respiratory tract through the nose. The symptoms of the disease are high fever, nasal congestion, headache, eye pain, impaired vision, redness in the eyes, bleeding from the nose, blackness inside the nose, loose teeth, jaw problems and chest pain.

As per the experts the covid-19 patients who are under treatment for a long time, patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or those with low immunity are under risk of getting infected with the Black Fungus.