Dehradun, 28 Sep 2007

The Uttarakhand government today launched efforts to trace five teams consisting of 100 mountaineers, trekkers, porters and guides from India and abroad who had gone for expeditions in the state and are stranded in various places due to heavy snowfall.

A climber from Gujarat, Kamesh Amin, died in a landslide at Urthing in Pithoragarh district yesterday as higher reaches of Garhwal and Kumaon Himalays continued to experience snowfall and the plains received rains, official sources said.

Four teams comprising trekkers, cooks, porters and guides are stuck in Garhwal Himalays on Harsil-Mana route while another mountaineering team was trapped at Urthing after scaling Panchachuli peak in Kumaon region.

“We are trying to find out members of four teams, which went to Mana-Harsil trek route recently, following heavy snowfall in the region,” said P C Dandriyal, sub-divisional magistrate of Bhatwari (Uttarkashi).

The teams include four climbers from Russia, seven from Germany and one from Australia, while the rest are Indians.

There are at least 60 cooks, porters and guides in the four teams. While three teams embarked on trekking on September 18, another went on September 19, the sources said.

The state government has urged the Defence Ministry to provide choppers to rescue the trekkers in the snow-struck higher reaches of Uttarakhand as bad weather is hampering the movement of rescue teams.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police teams have also been sent to the area to assess the situation.

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

Dehradun, 26 Sep 2007

Higher reaches of Garhwal and Kumaon Himalayas received the first snowfall of the season today, ushering in cold conditions in Uttarakhand.

Reports pouring in here from different parts of the state said higher reaches of Pithoragarh in Kumaon and Chamoli in Garhwal were receiving intermittent snowfall.

Temperatures in areas like Khirsu, New Tehri, Joshimuth, Kausani and Pithoragarh dropped considerably.

In capital Dehradun, rainfall since yesterday has brought down temperatures down by 3 to 4 degree to 28 degree Celsius.

Hill resorts of Nainital and nearby areas also received heavy rains with Almora receiving 115 mm of rainfall, MET Director Anand Sharma said.

Sharma said rains may continue tomorrow.

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

Mumbai, 23 Sep 2007

Realty companies Assotech Ltd and Supertech Ltd have said that they would develop a Rs 150-crore five-star hotel at Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, and that the Radisson Hotel Metropolis under the US-based Carlson Group of hotels, would manage it.

The developers are to design, furnish and equip the 120-room facility, which is slated for completion in June 2009. Sanjeev Srivastva, Managing Director, Assotech Ltd, said the property with conference/banquet hall was part of an integrated facility comprising retail and entertainment space spread across 4.7 acres.

Investments in Rudrapur have reached $2 billion and that many industry majors such as Bajaj, Tata Motors, HCL, Dabur and Ashok Leyland have set up plants there.

K.B. Kachru, Executive Vice-President – South Asia, Carlson Hotels Asia-Pacific, said Rudrapur was proving to be a promising industrial destination.

The trend is clearly indicating Rudrapur to be the most sought-after Tier-II city in future. “The hotel will be a part of the metropolis city project that we are currently working on at Rudrapur,” said R.K. Arora, CMD, Supertech.

Assotech and Supertech have floated a special purpose company for this project.

News Source: http://sify.com

Padampuri, 22 Sep 2007

The lives of hundreds of villagers in Uttarakhand are fast improving with the growing demand of flowers across the globe. More and more farmers are giving up traditional farming for floriculture in the state.

Traditional farming occupied 150 hectare of land for farming of cauliflowers, potatoes, whereas the area has now increased to 620 hectares for flower cultivation.

Floriculture is a totally skill based farming. From sowing the seeds to packaging, everything is done by the farmers, which brings down their production costs.

With little effort and less investment, the farmers are reaping rich dividends for their exotic produce.

“Vegetable farming requires a lot of hard work and even if we grow it in large amounts there are not enough benefits for us. If we grow cauliflowers worth 10,000 rupees and we grow flowers on the same area, flowers will earn us double the amount up to 20,000 rupees.

There is more profit in floriculture so we prefer to take it up than traditional farming,” said Raghuvir Singh, a farmer.

The farmers produce exquisite commercial varieties of flowers like carnation, lily, chrysanthemum, gladiolus, gerbera and Indian red roses that are in high demand in domestic as well as in European markets.

The high altitude, cold winds and moist soil in the region makes it ideal for floriculture, which need low temperatures to bloom.

In fact, such good is the produce that Uttarakhand has now emerged as the largest producer of Gerbera in the entire region of northern India.

The farmers are earning around 70.5 million rupees annually by just Gerbera alone.

“Flower cultivation is very profitable. We get approximately five to six rupees for a single cut flower.

There is less investment in it and it reaps great profit, so more and more people are taking it up,” Devi ram, another farmer.

Floriculture involves a great deal of farming acumen and the state government is extending full support to these farmers.

The government provides the farmers with good quality seeds apart from the necessary technical know-how.

“We provide all possible help to the farmers by supplying them with good quality seeds and extending all the necessary technical support.

Apart from the help that they get from the National Gardening Board the state government also provides equal help to them,” said U.K. Singh, Secretary, Horticulture Department, Uttarakhand.

Indian exports make for a little over half-a-per cent of the 80 billion dollar international flower trade.

India is a small player in the 40 billion dollar global cut flower industry, dominated by Holland, France, Italy, South Africa and Thailand.

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

Dehradun, 18 Sep 2007

Ending months of speculation, Bachi Singh Rawat, a four time MP from Almora, is all set to become Uttarakhand’s new BJP president.

As the deadline for filing of nominations expired this evening, Rawat was the only candidate whose papers were received by Tirath Singh, the returning officer for the party poll.

A formal announcement on Rawat’s election will be made tomorrow, state BJP spokesman Devendra Bhasin said.

Rawat was facing a bitter contest from Ajay Bhatt, the state BJP general secretary, initially. But at the eleventh hour, Rawat emerged as the consensus candidate with the apparent backing of the Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri, party sources said.

Khanduri, along with the outgoing BJP president B.S. Koshiyari and former chief minister Nityanand Swami, was among several senior leaders present when Rawat filed his nomination papers.

Rawat was the Union minister of state for science and technology in the NDA government at the Centre.

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

Tehri, 16 Sept 2007

A century-and-half-year-old market in Uttarakhand has been submerged due to rising water level in Tehri dam, badly affecting normal life in the area.

The 154-year-old Cham market settlement on the bank of Bhagirathi River has been flooded along with its nearby villages, like Murana and Dharwal, leaving its residents distraught.

“We are facing a lot of trouble. There is no provision for us. All our eatables and other belongings are submerged. Our children will die of hunger,” said Soma, a resident of Murana village.Over the years, the market had become a business-cum-cultural hotspot for the residents of almost 300 nearby villages, and also for those who have settled in the area.

Farmers used to sell their produce to the traders visiting the area in the market. The regular fairs and festivities were also organised here.

“Our market place is completely ruined. The fair that used to be held will no longer take place. The festivities, gaiety all will become a thing of the past. We will not be able to meet the people from the other side or vice versa,” said Jeet Singh, resident of Cham market settlement.

“In fact, what used to be a short walk from here, will now cost us around 150-200 rupees. We had a very big function here which is no longer there. It is like the end of our civilization,” Singh added.

The Tehri project was started on Bhagirathi River in Tehri district in 1976 as a joint venture between the Central Government and the then Uttar Pradesh Government.

The multi-purpose dam is being built by the Tehri Hydro Developmentorporation, and will be the world’s fourth biggest dam.

The state government had recently given permission to raise the water level to 820 meters.

Estimated to be built at five billion rupees initially, the cost of the dam has since escalated by more than 10 times. Almost 42 billion rupees have been spent on the project which, when completed, will generate 2,500 megawatt electricity. It will also control floods in the downstream plains and provide water to irrigate 270,000 hectares of land.

Environmentalists and scientists have opposed the construction of the 260-metre high dam, as they say it is coming up in an earthquake-prone area, besides it displaced about 100,000 people.

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