Punjab sends relief material for Uttarakhand victi...

Rishikesh, June 25 Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Punjab, Navjot Kaur Sidhu today reached Rishikesh  along with 6 truckloads of ...

IAF copter carrying 20 crashes near Gaurikund; 8 bodies found

7,000 still stranded as landslides, rain hamper rescue; toll 822

Gauchar, June 25
An Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed near Gaurikund this evening killing eight persons, including five IAF personnel and pilots. The helicopter was returning from Kedarnath after dropping supplies. The toll may rise to 20 as the helicopter was carrying ITBP and NDRF men.

Elsewhere, fresh landslides, cloudbursts coupled with torrential rains hampered rescue operations as the death toll in the June-16 flood rose to 822 with 142 bodies being found, including 127 in Kedarnath. Around 7,000 people still remained stranded in Uttarakhand.

Further, mass cremation of hundreds of bodies was delayed amid fears of disease outbreak. Rescuers battled rains to evacuate 1,000 people.

The IAF helicopter crashed around 4.30 pm north of Gaurikund amid poor visibility.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) vice-chairman M Sashidhar Reddy said eight bodies had been recovered, and that chances of finding any survivors were remote.

The IAF in a statement said five of its personnel were killed. ITBP Director General Ajay Chadha told the TNS: “We have been told that six ITBP men and nine NDRF personnel were on board.”

The helicopter was tasked with dropping firewood for mass cremation. The helicopter was part of a fleet of 80 ordered from Russia in 2008 at a cost of $1.3 billion (Rs 6,500 crore). The first induction was done in February 2012.

“IAF’s rescue operations (in Uttarakhand) will continue,” the IAF statement said. A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident.

The IAF flew fewer sorties today and evacuated around 500 people, including 120 from Badrinath, as rescue operations were disrupted by cloudbursts and rain.

The 500 people rescued earlier from the Himalayan shrine were brought down safely to Joshimath by road, a distance of 44 km.

Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar told mediapersons in Dehradun that IAF helicopters rescued 120 people from Badrinath and 327 from Harsil. At least 127 more bodies were recovered since yesterday from the Kedarnath area. Fifteen corpses were found floating in the Ganga in different districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr and Bijnore, taking the toll in the tragedy to 822, officials said.

The IAF, Army and Uttarakhand administration launched an operation to transport firewood and fuel for the last rites of those killed in the Kedarnath valley.

Agencies undertaking relief and rescue operations have expressed concerns over imminent spread of disease as bodies continue to rot in the temple town area 10 days after the tragedy.

Truckloads of dry wood and ghee have been dispatched to Kedarnath and efforts were on to conduct mass cremation of bodies after their identification, postmortem and DNA preservation formalities, a senior police official said.

State Director General of Police Satyabrat Bansal said the DNA of unidentified bodies was being preserved and they hoped the weather cleared tomorrow to facilitate the cremation.

“No survivors remain in the jungles around Kedarnath. They have all been brought out,” Ravinath Raman, nodal officer of rescue operations in Rudraprayag district, said in Guptkashi.

With rain hampering rescue operations in the morning from Badrinath, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna appealed to their relatives not to run out of patience, saying they were safe.

In Patna, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said he had asked the Uttarakhand Government not to allow any VIP to land in the flood-ravaged areas to avoid any disturbance to relief work.

The ITBP today decided to send in a fresh contingent of troops and bring out those tired and exhausted. The paramilitary force, according to sources, is replacing around 45 men with an equal strength in Kedarnath, Badrinath, Harsil and Gaurikund areas.

Punjab hires private chopper to evacuate pilgrims trapped in Uttarakhand

Chandigarh - The Punjab government has hired a private helicopter to airlift the pilgrims stuck in Uttarakhand following flash floods, cloudbursts and landslips, triggered by incessant 340-mm downpour.

On the directions of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who despite being on a visit abroad is continuously monitoring the current situation, the Punjab government has also constituted a four-member team of senior officers that has already left for Dehradun to monitor the ongoing rescue operations of the pilgrims, who had been trapped at various places in Uttarakhand due to bad weather, causing road blockades at several places.

The team would further visit Joshimath and Hemkund Sahib to minutely observe and coordinate the rescue operations. Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, along with his officers, is keeping constant liaison with Uttarakhand administration to provide all type of help and support for this massive rescue operation at war footing.

Two days back, Badal had directed the Chief Secretary to extend all help and support to the Uttarakhand government in launching a massive operation to rescue the victims.

The Chief Minister had also directed the state government to take immediate necessary measures.Acting on the Chief Minister’s direction, Chief Secretary and Ropar MLA Daljit Singh Cheema had established a contact with the Uttarakhand government.

“The Punjab government is providing all type of assistance to the Uttarakhand government as rescue operation was going on at war footing,” claimed a state government spokesperson. A team, led by Special Secretary Education K S Pannu and DIG Khubi Ram and assisted by other police officers, has left for Dehradun to monitor the entire ongoing rescue operation.

Road Trip to Shakumbhri Devi

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Know About Your Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand became the 27th state of the Republic of India on 9th November 2000. The State came out of Uttar Pradesh. Demand for Uttarakhand was first made in 1930 at the Karachi session of INC. It occupies 17.3% of India's total land area with 51,125 sq km.

Uttarakhand is a place with great diversity of the region where snow-clad mountains, green hills, fertile valleys, flowing rivers and thriving lakes add to the natural beauty.

Uttarakhand is also known as the Abode of the gods, there are several highly venerated pilgrimage places. The tourists must visit Kedarnath, Badrinath, Hemkund Sahib, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Jageshwar, Bageshwar, Rishikesh and Haridwar for their religious importance on Uttarakhand Travel. Each hilltop or bent is known to have a temple, big or small, which are considered very sacred by the locals.

Its a region with several natural lakes, which are the center of attraction of the town and good for sporting activities. The popular hill stations of Uttarakhand are Almora, Bhimtal, Munsiyari, Mussorie, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Ranikhet, Chopta, Valley of Flowers, Joshimath and Lansdowne. For unlimited serenity and tranquility in pleasant pollution free environs, hill station on Uttarakhand Travel are ideal for vacations.

Uttarakhand is also ideal for several adventure sports activities because of its geographical attributes. The tourist here takes the maximum pleasure out of adventure sports like trekking, ice-skiing, white water rafting, sailing, boating, kayaking, canoeing, yachting, water-skiing and parasailing. To climb the big mountain stretch or to pass the dense jungles of the hills is in itself very exciting. The huge water-filled rivers and deep lakes are perfect for water sports.

People who come here also prefer to visit the abundant wildlife sanctuaries and national parks in the state. Also dont miss the chance tovisit the Valley of Flower National Park, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuaries, Nanda Devi National Park, Govind National Park, Assan Barrage National Park, Rajaji National Park and Corbett National Park.

Capital Dehradun (Interim)

High Court Nainital
Longitude 77° 34' 27" E to 81° 02' 22" E
Latitude 28° 53' 24" N to 31° 27' 50" N
Total Area 53,484 sq. km.
Total Forest Area 34,434 sq. km.
Hilly Area 92.57%
Plains 7.43%

Districts: Uttarakhand has 13 districts Almora, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Champawat, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Udham Singh Nagarand Uttarkashi

Languages Spoken: Langauges spoken here are Garhwali, Kumaoni, Jaunsari and Hindi.

Pilgrimage Sites: Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri, Panchkedar, Panchbadri, Panchprayag, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Hemkund Sahib, Purnagiri, Chittai, Kaliyar Sharif, Nanakmatta Sahib, Rettha Sahib etc.

Tourist And Historical Places: Nainital, Mussoorie, Pauri, Almora, Ranikhet, Khirsu, Champawat, Dayara, Auli, Khatling, Bedni Bugyal, Valley Of Flowers, Lansdown, Lakhamandal, Paataal Bhuvaneshwar, Gangolihaat, Jolljivi, Kataarmal, Kosani, Jageshwar, Dwarahaat, Someshwar, Baijnath, Pindari Glacier etc.

A lawyer who is also a campaigner for social and human rights causes

Dehradun - A state agitationist and lawyer by profession, Alok Ghildiyal has been an active campaigner for social causes in Dehradun. He has been at the forefront in raising issues linked to corruption and the rising crime graph in the Capital that has seen a spurt in such incidents in recent times. Public conveyance problems and the challenges of encroachment and fast degrading environment have been prominently raised by Ghildiyal time and again.

A resident of Kargi, Dehradun, Alok Ghildiyal is a lawyer by profession and has been practising in the Dehradun district court for over 18 years. Since his college days in DAV (PG) College, Alok Ghildiyal actively participated in agitations linked to civic issues of the city. He completed his Ll.B in 1993, when the movement of a separate state agitation had started simmering. As a young man then, he actively participated in the statehood movement. And even today, after over a decade of the formation of the state, he is actively working to address the genuine concerns of the Uttarakhandi people.

As a legal luminary, Alok has also been a human rights activist for more than a decade now. He is the state secretary of the Uttaranchal Human Rights Association, Dehradun, for 11 years and has been raising the issues of human at various platforms. A former vice-president of the Dehradun Bar Association, Alok is also a legal adviser to the Uttarakhand Ex-Army Officers League, one of biggest organisations of ex-army officials in the state.

Today, in his early forties, Alok Ghildiyal admits that Uttarakhand of the state agitators’ dreams was still to be realised. He said rising corruption and select development was a big issue as state agitationists had thought of a state that was free from corruption and had developed hilly areas.

He believes that Dehradun was today not the same as it was some decades back. Large population pressure on the city has degraded the environment.

Trees are being felled rampantly and the residents of Dehradun are a mute witness to such development. Alok said he has been raising the issue at every platform, seeking stricter environmental laws to save greenery of Dehradun.

Former beauty queen Niharika to run for promoting tourism

Dehradun, May 6 - Former Miss India Earth Niharika Singh will participate in a marathon, scheduled for May 25 and 26 in Rishikesh, to promote tourism and spread the message ‘Save the Ganges’ among the masses. Addressing the mediapersons here today, District Tourism Officer YS Gangvar said, “The Tourism Department is organising a two-day marathon ‘Running and living adventure run’. On the first day, a 5-km stretch from Astha Path to Triveni Ghat and on the next day, a 21-km stretch from Shivpuri, Malakhunti to Kotlaganv will be covered.” The registration for the event will continue till May 18 at Hotel Ganga Kinare and yatra office of the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam. Niharika Singh, addressing the media via video-conferencing, said she was excited about the event. She said It would be better than other usual marathons organised in metropolitan cities of the country. Efforts should be made to promote tourism in the state.