UTTARAKHAND

Uttarakhand government has taken up a target to make 1.25 Lakh Lakhpati Didis (Women earning one lakh rupees per year through ) till the year 2025. The chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that this effort coinciding with the silver jubilee years of the formation of Uttarakhand would give an impetus to the Economic Development of the women of the State.

Speaking as the chief guest at the Lakhpati Didi Fair organised by the rural development department at Survey of India ground here on Friday, the CM said that one cannot imagine creating an ideal Society in absence of women Empowerment. The State Government has initiated many steps to make the women economically capable. A loan of Rs 5 lakh is being provided to the women self help group (SHG) without interest, he said.

The CM and other guests facilitated the women earning more than one lakh of rupees per year through the SHGs as Lakhpati Didis on the occasion. Dhami also handed over cheques to the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Two decades after massive landslides severely damaged around 100 houses inUttarkashi’sVarunavatmountain in 2003, local residents have proposed to develop the mountain as a “Disaster Management tourism” site. The idea, they say, is to “let people take in the beauty of nature while remembering its fury.”

In a recent expedition, a group of hoteliers and nature lovers rediscovered a 3km-long trek route to the top of the mountain. This route, which was once used by local villagers, starts from Uttarkashi bus stand and passes through a herbal forest and villages such as Bagyal Gaon, Pata and Sangrali.

Developing Varunavat as a tourism site does not mean to construct concrete structures or increase vehicular traffic. Instead, the administration can develop a trek route, cycling trails, eco-park and an open museum by setting up signboards with information about the 2003 disaster and treatment work.

Indias biggest open-air fernery has been inaugurated in Ranikhet of Uttarakhand. The new centre will serve the dual goal of conservation of fern species as nicely as create awareness about their ecological function and promote similar research.

About the centre:

The fernery is domestic to a massive number of fern species, some of which are endemic to the state, some maintain medicinal price whilst some are threatened species that demand care and conservation.

The fernery has the greatest collection of fern species, 2d to solely Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical and Research Institute (TBGRI), Thiruvananthapuram. However, it is the countrys first open-air fernery in herbal surroundings which is no longer below any poly-house/ colour house.

The Ranikhet fernery has around one hundred twenty different kinds of fern, and spreads over 4 acres of land at an altitude of 1,800 metres.

The facility has been developed underneath Central Governments Compensatory Afforestation Management Funds Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) scheme, with the aid of the Research Wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department over a length of three years.

Union Health ministerMansukh Mandviya, inaugurated the state’s first public catheterisation lab in Dehradun along with a mammography machine, digital radiography and a 30-bed ICU at theGovernment Doon Medical College and Hospital.

He said development inUttarakhandis ‘quite visible.’ “Uttarakhand has a critical contribution to the country’s Growth. Economically weaker segments have access to healthcare as all others. Health is a priority for this government. The Centre has approved 157 new Nursing colleges and states which develop these will be given an assistance of Rs 10 crore each. Our over 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres are doing well,” he said. He said Aiims Rishikesh has successfully sent Vaccines to remote hill areas through drones. “Soon, samples from remote areas will be collected in this manner and reports will be shared electronically. Teleconsultation is already happening,” he said.

Located at an altitude of over 8,850 feet atDeoban, nearly 99 kilometres fromDehradun, and spread over around three acres,Indias first cryptogamic gardenopened for tourists on Sunday. It houses almost 76 different species of cryptogams, a primitive plant species found since the Jurassic era. Cryptogams are considered among the best bioindicators, as they grow only at places without pollution and with ample moisture.

The garden has been developed in Deoban as it has a majestic pristine forest of Deodar and Oak trees, besides being pollution-free, said Sanjiv Chaturvedi, chief conservator of forests (research).

Notably, Uttarakhand is Home to 539 species of lichens, 346 species of algae, 478 species of bryophytes and 365 species of pteridophytes.

Theurban development minister Prem Chand Aggarwalallotted houses to a total of 794 beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) of Kanakpur and Kashipur through the online lotterysystem. Aggarwal said that the department is currently working on the construction of 17,304 houses in 21 projects after getting approval from the central government.

He said that various authorities have proposed 3,104 residential units for economically weaker sections (EWS) in five projects while 14,200 houses have been proposed by the housing and development board in a total of 16 projects.

He said that a total of 464 houses have been constructed and made available to the beneficiaries by the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) so far. The board is also working on the construction of 14,200houses for EWS. He said that these schemes were approved by the central government but work on the project got delayed due to legal problems, and it started in March last year.He said that in the said projects, land with housing is being made available to the board by the private developer at the rate of Rs Six lakh per house out of which Rs1.50 lakh are being given as a grant by the central government and Rs one lakh as a grant by the .

The CM appealed to the citizens to plant trees to contribute their bit for environmental conservation. Stating that protection of the Environment is related to the life of the common man, he said that environmental conservation is a . Referring to this years World Environment Day theme of ecosystem restoration, he said that special focus will have to be laid on tree plantation and environmental protection to decrease rising pollution levels along with checking the rising pressure on the ecosystem.

According to the Dehradun municipal commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey, this recertification has made the city eligible to get 500 marks in Swachh Survekshan 2021 and will considerably contribute to the citys aim of achieving a rank among the top 100 cleanest cities in the country. Our team has worked hard to improve sanitation facilities in Dehradun which helped us to maintain this status. We are optimistic that we would get a better ranking in Swachh Survekshan too, asserted Pandey.

The suggestion to rename Uttarakhand’s biggest airport came from Rajeev Talwar, an advisory committee member.

Significantly, in 2018, the state cabinet had also passed a resolution to rename Doon airport after the former PM. This came after the Harish Rawat government proposed to rename the airport after Adi Shankaracharya in 2014.

TheDairy Development Departmentannounced its plan to open 100 milk cafes in the state to promote Aanchal milk products and create job opportunities. The initiative will kick off in the Udham Singh Nagar district with two new milk cafes inRudrapur.

Chauhan said that the initiative, spearheaded by and Animal Husbandry Minister Saurabh Bahuguna, aims to generate EMPLOYMENT opportunities to support the local community.