Dehradun, 30 April 2007

Doors of the holy Kedarnath Shrine, one of the four ”Dhams”, situated in the Rudra Himalaya range in Uttarakhand, were reopened today for the public after closure for six months during the winter season.

The doors were opened at 0430 hrs amid vedic rituals and chanting of hymns in the presence of the representatives of local administration, priests and thousands of devotees who had reached the shrine to witness the ceremony. The Kedarnath shrine, located at a height of 3581 meters, was built by Adi Shankaracharya.

It is the highest among 12 Jyotirlingas.

As winter approaches in November, the shrine gets closed for the public and the holy statue of Lord Shiva is carried down to Ukhimath for worship. The statue is reinstated at Kedarnath and doors of the shrine reopen for the public with the advent of summer.

Badrinath Shrine is scheduled to open tomorrow. Gangotri and Yamunotri shrine had already opened on April 19. Last season a record number of 5 lakh pilgrims visited the Kedarnath Shrine and offerings amounting to Rs 2 crore were received at the shrine, according to Anusuiya Prasad Maikhuri, the Chairman of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee.

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

29 April 2007

Long before the government woke up to the need to preserve monuments and historical artefacts associated with Old Tehri, a group of local historians, teachers, housewives and journalists in New Tehri, Uttaranchal, came together for a common cause.

With the Tehri dam under construction, the quaint old town was being submerged. “Government officials had to meet the deadline of dam reconstruction and see to the rehabilitation process,” says Mahipal Singh Negi, a local historian. “Consequently, no steps were taken to preserve things with historical significance.”

The locals got together and formed an organisation known as the Himalayan Food, Art and Culture Trust (HIMFACT). “Since we were not authorised to preserve the items on a large scale, we could only do video-filming and digital photography,” says Negi, one of the founder members.

Tehri finds mention in the Kedar khand of the Skandh Puran. Says HIMFACT member, VN Dobhal, “Ancient scriptures dating back to the 17th and 18th century, stone carvings of Rajasthan, a special kind of wood used in building houses known as ‘Devdar ki lakdi’, a bell tower as a memoir of Queen Victoria’s visit to India, are some of the things which have a historical significance and should have been preserved,” says Dobhal.

When Old Tehri was being submerged, locals collected all that they could. The government has now come forth. “It has allotted us some rooms in a temple compound to set up a museum. We hope to establish it by May this year,” says Negi.

“To start with, the museum will have its own library and photo gallery. We will stock documents of the 17th and 18th century. These include hand-written letters and documents, signed by the kings and queens. We also have almost 50 pandulipiyan (ancient Hindu scriptures). Traditional architecture (wood engravings etc) will also be displayed,” says Negi.

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

26 April 2007

In Uttarakhand, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was initially launched in 3 districts of the State and another 2 districts have been added for the year 2007-08.

The tally of households demanding employment in the State stood at 1.14 lakh and all of them were provided employment up to February,07. The average number of households provided employment in a district of the State is 37,871, while the national average is 91,685 households. Besides, 100 households completed the 100 days guarantee of employment provided in the Act.

The number of person days of employment provided in the State is 30.05 lakh. The average person days of employment provided in a district is 10.01 lakh compared to the national average of 36.47 lakh person days.

The employment was provided on 6,323 works, out of which 3,075 works have been completed. The average number of works taken up in a district stood at 2,108 against the national average of 3,581.

An amount of Rs. 39.10 crore has been released to the State during 2006-07. Against this, the utlisation up to February,07 is Rs. 38.28 crore, which is 53.93 % of the total availability.

The expenditure on wages is 60.04%, material is 37.90% and on administration is 2.05%. The average expenditure of a district in the State is Rs. 12.76 crore compared to the National average of Rs. 35 crore.

The Act provides that 1/3rd of the employment provided should be to women. In the State 26.86% person days of employment has been provided to women, 25.39% to SC and 1.56% to ST.

A visit to the State by the National Level Monitors in December, 2006 & January 2007 has revealed that water and soil conservation works constitute more than 70% of the work. Moreover, retired Government employees and prominent persons of villages identified as resource person to conduct social audit. Training is provided to them in Gram Sabha..

News Source: http://pib.nic.in

Dehradun, 27 April 2007

The World Bank Friday announced a $120 million rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) project for Uttarakhand.

The project aims at upgrading areas with no or partial coverage of water supply to full coverage with sustainable services, benefiting at least 1.2 million people of the state.

The scheme is designed to improve the effectiveness of RWSS services through decentralisation and an increased role of local governments and communities by supporting policies and institutional arrangements for improving service delivery.

Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S.K. Das said in an official press release: ‘After the successful implementation of project Swajal Phase-I, the State of Uttarakhand had embarked upon replicating the principles of community managed water supply and sanitation systems across the state through the central funded ‘Swajal-dhara’ programme.’

Smita Misra, a senior World Bank economist and project leader, said: ‘Under this project, rural local governments in partnership with rural communities, will plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain their water supply and sanitation schemes. Even in Multi Village Schemes, user water and sanitation sub-committees will be formed, and an ongoing consultation process for obtaining peoples point-of-view will be put in place.’

Only half of the state is estimated to be fully covered with now functioning water supply schemes. Nearly 30 percent of the schemes suffer from a shortfall in the availability of water, especially during the summer months, due to depletion of water sources.

News Source: http://news.monstersandcritics.com

25 April 2007

Gangotri (Uttarakhand), April 25: Every year a large number tourists and pilgrims arrive in Uttarakhand from various parts of the country to visit major pilgrim centres. But travelling here via roads has turned into a nightmare these days.

Residents of major pilgrim centres like Gangotri, Uttarkashi, Badrinath and Kedarnath complain that the condition of roads is deplorable. It requires an urgent attention of the State government. he condition of roads at many places is deplorable and often causes a lot of inconvenience for the touring pilgrims here.

“Roads are in a very bad state. The day water of River Ganga rises, it will be very difficult to carry on construction and repair work,” said Shivendra Singh, a local resident.

According to Raval Hari Singwal, Secretary of the Paanch Mandir Samati, Himalayan-Gangotri, the work being carried out by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) to make roads through blasting hills has furthered problems.

“Government should look after the roads before an increased number of devotees start coming in this season. We want that before opening of the doors (of Badrinath Dham Temple), the Government should complete road renovation and construction. The BRO, which is constructing the roads, is blasting the hills in a badly, thus, affecting the local people,” said Raval Hari Singwal.

During winter, temples like Badrinath Dham, often visited my a large number of Hindu devotees, are closed when there is an unbearable temperature. eanwhile, the State Tourism Minister Prakash Pant claimed that adequate resources and money is being provided to the concerned departments to ensure better roads, clean drinking water and other essential things.

“I went to “Yamunotri” by road and found that it was well maintained. We have also provided clean drinking water for the devotees at regular stops. I have not checked the Gangotri roads, I’ll be going and see to it. If there are improper arrangements, a strict action will be taken,” said Prakash Panth.

The tourism industry is a major contributor to the economy of Uttarakhand, with the Corbett National Park and Tiger Reserve and the nearby hill-stations of Nainital, Mussoorie, Almora and Ranikhet being among the most frequented destinations of India.

To this region, long called “abode of the gods” (Devbhoomi), also belong some of the holiest Hindu shrines, and for more than a thousand years, pilgrims have been visiting the temples at Haridwar, Badrinath, Kedarnath and Jageshwar in the hope of salvation and purification from sin.

Rishikesh near Haridwar has the major spiritual and yoga centers of India.

Gangotri and Yamunotri, the sources of both the River Ganges and Yamuna also fall in this region and are revered by millions of people.

Besides, these most popular pilgrim centres, the State has an abundance of temples and shrines, references to most of which can be found in Hindu scriptures and legends.

The architecture of most of these temples is typical of the region and slightly different from other parts of India, the ancient temples at Jageshwar being the most prominent for their distinct architectural features.

In January 2007, the name of the state was officially changed from Uttaranchal, its interim name, to Uttarakhand, as per wishes of a large section of its people.(ANI)

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

Dehradun, 19 April 2007

The annual pilgrimage to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri nestling in the Garhwal Himalayas began today with the reopening of the portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines.

Amid chanting of Vedic hymns and slokas, the doors of both the temples reopened coinciding with the auspicious day of ‘Akshaya Tritiya’ as icy winds swept the mountains.

Scores of pilgrims had darshan of both the temples on the first day of the pilgrimage season, officials said.

While the portals of Kedarnath would reopen on April 30, the Badrinath temple would be thrown open for pilgrims the next day.

Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines are situated at a height of 3,200 metres and 4,421 metres respectively in Uttarkashi district, Badrinath in Chamoli district at a height of 3,133 metres and Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district at a height of 3,581 metres.

The pilgrimage to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is considered the backbone of thriving religious tourism in the state that attracts nearly 16 lakh pilgrims every year from home and abroad. (Agencies)

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