UTTARAKHAND

Man-animal conflict kills over 1,000 in 2 decades in Uttarakhand

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In the last two decades, sinceUttarakhandbecame a new state, 1,054 people lost their lives and 5,112 suffered serious injuries in man-animal conflicts, revealed the information obtained under the Right To Information (RTI).

Each year, human animal conflict is rising in Uttarakhand. The information obtained from the chief minister’s office highlights a staggering toll on human lives due to encounters with wild animals. According to the data starting from 2000, the year Uttarakhand was formed, to 2022, a total of 1,054 people fell victim to wildlife attacks, while an additional 5,112 individuals were injured in such attacks. In 2023 so far (from January to April 21), six people lost their lives in man-animal conflicts, out of which four people were killed by tigers, one by an elephant and another by a leopard. Total of 23 people got injured in such wild attacks in this duration.
The figures reflect an alarming rise in fatalities caused by such incidents, with the past year proving to be particularly deadly. In 2022 alone, 82 lives were lost and 325 people sustained injuries in attacks by the wild animals.

IIRS study claims landslides not related to hydropower projects

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The Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun has carried out a study on the incidents of landslides in the vicinity of hydro projects and has prepared a report on landslide studies in commissioned / under construction hydro projects utilising remote sensing and GIS technology.The study revealed that landslide activities around hydropower projects are not related to the construction activity of the project while the topography, geological conditions and rainfall have been found to be the major causative/ triggering factors of landslide activities.

The IIRS carried out the study in nine NHPC power stations/ projects which include Dhauliganga in Uttarakhand, Subansiri Lower in Arunachal Pradesh, Teesta-V and Rangit in , Salal, Dulhasti and Uri-II in Jammu and Kashmir, Chamera-I and Parbat-II in Himachal Pradesh. The study undertook preparation of landslide inventory maps 10 years before the start of construction of the project upto the current status of the project/ power station. The report highlights that in most of the cases, the landslide area decreased considerably in comparison to the landslide area observed before construction of the project. According to the report, it appears from the temporal statistics that in most of the cases, the construction of hydropower projects and related activities and post commissioning hydrological condition might have helped in stabilising the area. Further, the size of hydropower projects, size of reservoir, local geology, Soil and land cover conditions (especially vegetation cover) seem to play some slope stabilisation role for mitigating landslides in the project areas.

The report has been prepared with the help of satellite image-based interpretation, subject to resolution and availability of satellite image.

Uttarakhand govt asks defence ministry for choppers to control forest fires in hills

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In the wake of risingincidenceof wildfires inUttarakhand, the has written to theministry of DEFENCE, citing what has been termed a worsening situation offorest fires, to provide twoIAFhelicopters which would be deployed in the Garhwal andKumaonregion to douse theforeststhat are burning in these areas.

The forest fires are a result of 80% lesser rains the state received than usual, leaving the entire forest floor dry, and leading officials to anticipate a rerun of the 2016 situation when IAF helicopters had to be deployed as 4,538 hectares of forest area was turned into ashes in wildfires causing loss worth Rs 46.29 lakh.

Notably, in 983 fire incidents this year, over 1,291 hectare forests have been gutted and six human lives were lost, which resulted in loss of Rs 38.29 lakh. The state has lost 735.22 ha forest in Garhwal region followed by 531.01 ha in Kumaon and 24.9 ha of wildlife administration.

In Uttarakhand, 0.17% forest cover comes under extremely fire-prone area, 1.60% is under very highly fire-prone, 9.32% under very highly moderately fire-prone, 21.66% highly moderately fire-prone and 67.25% in less fire-prone categories.

CM inaugurates States biggest sewage treatment plant in Haldwani

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Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated Uttarakhands biggest 28 MLD sewage treatment plant along with legacy waste treatment plant in Haldwani constructed at a cost of Rs 35.58 crore and Rs three crore respectively.Both Plants have been constructed at Gaulapar in Haldwani to improve the sanitation condition in Haldwani and nearby cities.

Dhami said on the occasion that the construction of these plants under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) schemeis a big step taken by the government towards cleanliness. He said that the operation of the STP in Haldwani will save the Gaula river from pollution and farmers will be able to use the organic manure from the plant. He also informed that the government has installed sewage plants in 132 drains polluting the Ganga River as well as its tributaries. At present, construction work of 11 sewerage plants is in progress.

6.28 lakh beneficiaries in 15-18 yrs age group to be vaccinated in a week- Dhami

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All the 6.28 lakh youngsters in the 15-18 years age group in Uttarakhand will be vaccinated in a week. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said this after launching the anti-Covid vaccination of beneficiaries in the said age group here on Monday. Dhami thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of the public for this. He referred to the mega vaccination campaign undertaken in India under Modis Leadership while recalling the limited Resources available at the time when Covid first hit the nation. Appreciating the measures taken to tackle the pandemic, he said that the nation now has adequate resources to deal with it. Vaccine and other necessary implements are available in Uttarakhand too, he added.

The States Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the beneficiaries in the 15-18 years age groupbeing vaccinated in Uttarakhand from Monday will also include those from other states who are studying here. He said that 85 per cent target has been met in administration of the second dose which will be completed soon. The state will begin the drive to provide booster dose to frontline workers and those aged above 60 years from January 10. Rawat said that various decisions had been taken in the under Dhamis leadership. The process of recruiting applicants to 800 ANM posts will be completed soon. Apart from this, 3,000 Nursing staff and 1,000 ward boys will also be recruited soon, added the Health minister.

The history of tea cultivation in Uttarakhand is about 150 years old. In 1824, the British writer Bishop Heber, while expressing the possibility of cultivating tea in the Kumaon region, said that tea plants grow naturally on the land here but are not used. Heber had said that Kumaon’s soil, temperature and other weather conditions closely match those of China’s tea gardens. Tea cultivation has a come a long way in Uttarakhand since it was encouraged by the British. Today, there are some tea gardens which not only produce good quality tea but also provide locals with a source of employment. The Simgadi tea garden located along the border of Bageshwar and Pithoragarh districts is one such example.

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About three dozen Women here have become self-sufficient from this plantation. They get 18 to 20 days of work every month, but only a few days in the three rainy months. They get remuneration at the rate of Rs 316 per day. Along with their farming, these women are augmenting their income with their work in the tea garden which is also motivating the women of other villages to do the same.

The Uttarakhand Tea Development Board established the tea garden at Simgadi in 1994. The former Uttarakhand chief secretary RS Tolia and statehood activist Ganga Singh Pangti also played a role in establishment of this tea garden. At a time when lack of EMPLOYMENT opportunities remains one of the major factors for Migration from the mountainous regions, the tea garden is providing a reason for villagers to remain here. Pangti said that most of the people living in Simgadi are associated with this work. A woman earns upto Rs 7,000 per month from her work in the tea garden. He further said that there was a time when the tea from Uttarakhand was exported to all over the world with the tea from Berinag, Chaukori and Kausani leaving its mark.

Chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat inaugurated Garud the telemedicine service started by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh on Monday. A total of 898 trained medical and paramedical students will provide relevant information and consultation to citizens in all 110 Tehsils through this service.

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Speaking at the inauguration of the telemedicine service, the chief minister appreciated the initiative taken by Aiims Rishikesh to involve youths of the medical and paramedical . He said that the State Government is making consistent efforts to ensure that as many doctors as possible are posted in the state. The biggest challenge in the current times is to strengthen connectivity and Health systems in the border areas of the state, he said. Rawat said that it had been noticed in the past few days that while the Covid situation appeared to have stabilised in the urban areas, the graph is rising in the rural areas. Considering this, all the officials concerned have been directed to establish control rooms at each block. Before this, control rooms were being made at the district level. The chief minister further said that the state government is presenting the testing data in a transparent manner.

The testing in Uttarakhand is more than the national Average which clearly shows that more testing is being conducted in the state. The state government is also making efforts to ensure that all necessary preparations are completed before the onset of the third wave of Covid-19.

Ukhand to set up Birth waiting homes for pregnant women

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The has decided to use the working Women hostels and one stop centres of women and child development department in Dehradun and Haridwar districts as the Birth waiting homes for the pregnant women. A decision in this regard was taken in the 34thmeeting of the executive committee of the Uttarakhand Health and family welfare committee at the State secretariat.

The birth waiting homes would have the facilities of stay and health food would be provided to her here. He said that the remuneration of Ayush doctors deployed in the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) would be at par with that of the Allopathic doctors. Kumar said that the Anganwadi workers would be included in the Jan Arogya Abhiyan- A step towards healthy life from January 2023. He said that in principle acceptance has been given for the proposal to operate the upcoming 300 bed cancer care hospital in Harrawala Dehradun under the Public Private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) mode. A tender document for this would be prepared by the medical health and family welfare department with the assistance of the PPP cell and the contract management team of Uttarakhand Health System Development Project (UKHSDP). He informed that the special doctors as per the IPHS norms would be made for strengthening the health Services of the State under the You quote We pay basis.

A defence focused incubator will be set up in the premises of Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University (UTU). The incubator will be set up with the help of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK), an organisation that is supported by the Science and Technology department of the Central Government.

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After the establishment of the incubator, the administration can promote AI and Robotics culture in the state. Banerjee also said that ARTPARK aims to establish not just a good product but a technology that can help the Indian army in resolving the problems causing due to the challenges faced in the current global scenario.

The government is working on making the incubator in the UTU premises for the production of lithium batteries. This project is worth about Rs 43 crore and Army Design Bureau has also proposed to provide the fund of Rs 1.50 crore each for about eight projects to the university

Collective effort needed for disability-free Ukhand- CM

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Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that concerted and collective efforts should be done for disability (Divyangata) free Uttarakhand. He said that the has taken up a target for making Uttarakhand TB free by the year 2024 and drugs free by 2025. Giving the slogan of Jai Divyang the CM said that all should take forward the slogan and initiate work towards Divyangata free Uttarakhand.

Dhami expressed these views while participating in a programme organised to distribute the artificial limbs to the differently-abled at the CM camp office. The programme was organised under joint aegis of the Mahavir Sewa Sadan and Parmarth Niketan.