Dehradun, 24 April 2005

There is good news for poor farmers having small unirrigated land holdings in the hills of Uttaranchal. Pilot efforts by the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), the State Department of Science and Technology and the local womenfolk have led to profitable cultivation of pulses and traditional coarse grains in several villages of Garhwal region that were having a dismal agricultural production till two years ago.

Showcasing the produce at a workshop held here on Saturday, the woman farmers proudly narrated how their domestic economies had witnessed an upward surge through cultivation of pulses, sometimes for the first time in the area and they were able to fetch double the normal price by selling them in the bigger towns including Dehra Dun.

Munni Devi of village Gwad in district Rudraprayag said that she was able to meet most of the family expenses and save something after taking up cultivation of finger millet, foxtail millet, rice bean and horse gram over the past two years. Laxmi Devi of Paini of Chamoli district is all smiles after reaping a rewarding crop of `chaulai’ that was just double the earlier yields after using the HESCO technology and improved seeds. Roshan Lal from Dunda village in Uttarkashi is the proud grower of black gram for the first time in that region.

Vineeta Sharma, Director of the Science and Society Division expressed happiness over the progress made in the field and hoped the womenfolk of Uttaranchal would make good money by supplying the highly nutritious pulses and coarse grains which were being recommended by doctors for good health.

Madal Lal Sharma, Additional Director of the Central Bureau of Investigations, a keen farmer himself said that the hill folks had to work harder to increase production as a very big market for their produce existed. “The dream of a separate Uttaranchal did not mean merely creation of the State but economic empowerment of the women and the men so that all could be prosperous,” he said.

Anil Joshi, patron of HESCO and other scientists interacted with the delegates and tried to answer their queries. A few representatives from Leh and other parts of Jammu and Kashmir were also present to learn the tricks of replicating similar ideas in their villages. P.K. Mohanti, Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, presided over the workshop.

News Source: http://www.hindu.com

Dehradun, 24 April 2005

Max New York Life, a leading life insurance company operating in India for the last four years, today announced its entry into Uttaranchal.

Following the footsteps of other multinational rivals like Aviva, Max New York Life opened a new office in Dehra Dun and said it would also open more centers in north India to expand its business.

The company, which has already opened 49 offices in India in nearly 35 cities, would enroll agents to target a cross-section of people in the hill state, its Chairman Analjit Singh said.

Stating that the company has achieved a business of Rs 16,700 crore by selling 509,000 policies, Singh said Max New York life would also focus on widening its distribution mix by pursuing the franchise model, bancassurance, rural business, direct sales force involving group insurance and telemarketing opportunities and also corporate alliances.

In this regard, Max had launched 14 products and nine options/riders in the Indian Market, Singh said.

News Source: http://www.business-standard.com

Hyderabad, 22 April 2005

The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad has released a report which declares that 1200 villages in the Uttaranchal are highly prone to landslide disaster. The report says that, located in one of the most seismically active area of the country, these villages live on the verge of destruction by earthquakes, landslides and rockfalls.

According to Dr P C Nawani, Director of Geological Survey of India, Dehradun, “The area of Uttaranchal comes in high-sensitive zone. NRSA has given a report in this regard. It started working on the report in the year 2001 on a request from Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh governments. NRSA has provided an account of risk zones from the landslide point of view. Earthquake factor too is present. The agency has also conveyed to the government about the rehabilitation and treatment measures to be taken in this regard.”

However, a more detailed study would be beneficial in order to solve the problem, says Nawani.

According to the report, all these 1200 villages lie along the Rishikesh – Badrinath- Gangotril- Kedarnath passageway. About 600 villages lie along the Rishkesh-Badrinath route, 200 along the Rudraprayag- Kedarnath and about 150 along the Pithoragarh- Malpa route. Similarly, about 275 villages prone to landslides lie along the Rishikesh-Uttarkashi-Gangoti-Gomukh trek.

The state government is seeking help from the Centre in this regard. According to Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari, the Government has asked the Centre to implement the disaster management scheme in the area on a larger scale.

“We have asked Geological Survey of India to inform us about those villages, which are more prone to the dangers. First of all, we would like to provide a safeguard to those villages and then we would like to chalk out a plan for other villages as well. We have also asked the Centre to implement the disaster management scheme in Uttaranchal on a larger scale. The same thing has been proposed for the State of Jammu and Kashmir,” said N. D. Tiwari.

In the past, a number of landslides have ravaged the area displacing several families and killing hundreds. Frequent landslides could be attributed to internal and external forces. uman interference too leads to unforeseen disasters. (ANI)

News Source: http://www.webindia123.com

Dehradun, April 14 2005

In the wake of reports of disappearance of tigers from the Sariska sanctuary, all national parks in the wildlife rich state of Uttaranchal have been put on high alert, forest department sources today said.

The forest officials, along with their guards, are patrolling the jungles, particularly Jim Corbett National Park, ever since the news of disappearance of tigers from Sariska came to light, they said.

Uttaranchal has six national parks and an equal number of sanctuaries. According to the 2003 wildlife census, the state has 245 tigers with Corbett alone accounting for 142. (PTI)

News Source: http://www.hindu.com

Nainital, April 13 2005

Uttaranchal’s famous handicrafts industry of softwood wood-carving is dying a slow death as less and less artisans are opting for the trade.
The wood carving of the region is breath taking for its simple designs on doors, windows, furniture and also miniature forms of Gods and Goddesses, animals and humans in wood.

However, with no proper training facilities available in the state and no help from the government’s side to existing craftsmen, the industry is on the verge of extinction.

According to Ramlal Arya, a master craftsman, non-availability of raw material is one major problem besides government’s apathy.

“First of all, we do not get proper raw material. We also don’t get any help from the government. I thought of expanding my work, but I couldn’t. Uttar Pradesh government really helped us, but since Uttaranchal has come into existence, we are not getting any help,” says Arya, who owns a small workshop and a shop in Nainital.

According to Arya, the outlook of the youth towards the trade has also changed. Now they opt for alternate means of livelihood as they find it unprofitable and labourious.

The craftsman failed to teach the art to his sons, as they were simply not interested.

“Today’s youth is highly educated. He is not interested in such work. He wants to make money quickly, which is not possible in this trade. Even my children are not interested in carving wood,” he adds.

Arya says government help is very crucial to revive the dying art form.

“The art is on the verge of extinction. I am tired. If the new generation doesn’t take interest in it, it will die,” says Arya, who has two awards for wood carving from the Uttar Pradesh government to his credit.

If government pays attention, wood carving can turn out to be a profitable business as the carved products are in high demand in the international market. (India News)

News Source: http://www.newkerala.com

Dehradun, 9 April 2005

Till now people were facing strike by traders, employees, auto drivers or unions but now there is another group who has taken the route of strike to bring attention to their demands.

Pilgrims who are about to visit Uttaranchal next month are likely to face problems. Char-Dham (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamnotri) priests are protesting against the introduction of ‘Unified Act’ under which the arrangements for the pilgrimage will be done by the Char Dham Development Committee, a government organisation.

Priests have warned the authorities that if the government does not take this proposal back then they would not open the doors of the temple for the pilgrims coming next month.

“We will fight against the Act proposed by the government. We will not execute this Act even if we have to sacrifice our life for it,” said Jagdish Prasad Dimiri, vice-president Char Dham Sangarsh Samiti.

Hundreds of people form various parts of the world come to visit Dehradun popularly known as Dev Bhoomi. Till date the management of all the four pilgrims were done by the temple authorities themselves. This year state government decided to bring all the pilgrimage site under one authority.

According to the sate government, the introduction of the state ‘Unified Act’ would not affect priests in any way and the procedure will be the same as earlier.

Government officials are trying to make priests understand the benefits of the implementation of the Act.

“The doubts in them (Priests) is natural as they are not fully informed about the decisions taken by us during the meeting. So we will try to solve this problem by talking to them. I am confident that no such thing will happen which will hamper pilgrims coming here,” said NN Prasad, Tourism Secretary of Uttaranchal.

The state government has already formed the Char Dham Development Committee and it is being chaired by the State Tourism Minister. Before implementing the Unified Act, it (the Act) is going to be discussed in the Legislative Assembly. But the protest shown by the Char Dham Sangarsh Committee before implementation of the Act might affect the Char Dham pilgrimage.

News Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com