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Uttarakhand fire: Affected areas down by over 70 pc, says NDRF

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(Photo: Reuters/Max Whittaker)

(Photo: Reuters/Max Whittaker)

New Delhi: Latest satellite imageries of Uttarakhand have reported that the forest fire has gone out in over 70 per cent of the affected areas, even as the NDRF has deployed over 130 personnel to tackle the massive blaze.

“We have been informed that fresh images from satellite has shown that the effective area under fire in Uttarakhand has come down to 110-115 locations from the earlier about 427.

“It is expected that these figures will be brought down to 50-60 in the next few days by the combined forces fighting to douse the jungle fire,” NDRF Director General O P Singh told PTI.

He said the images from the sky were taken on April 29-30 and this has now given hope to all the agencies combating the fire that it will be contained soon.

The Director General said the NDRF men are also working to save animals who could have been trapped in the blazing fire.

A squad of over 135 personnel of this special force are deployed in Uttarakhand as part of multiple firefighting teams to combat the raging fire in the jungles of Uttarakhand that have destroyed about 2,269 hectares of jungles in several districts and claimed at least seven lives till now.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have spread out in 13 affected areas of three districts of Pauri Garhwal, Almora and Chamoli with fire fighting equipment to tackle the massive blaze.

“Our teams are working in 13 sectors in coordination with the officials and personnel of the state fire and forest department. The teams have been instructed to adopt the conventional method of cutting the fire line and containing the fire.

“We are using fire beaters and green bushes to cut the fire from spreading. About 135 personnel as part of multiple teams are working in Uttarakhand at present,” Singh said.

He said in Chamoli the NDRF is working in Pakhi and Gopeshwar areas, while in Almora the teams are working in areas like Binsar, Someshwar, Bikisen, Siplakhet and Dhauladevi.

Each team is covering an area of 8-10 sq km, he said, adding, additional NDRF teams have been kept on standby at its camp in Ghaziabad.

The force also saved a house from getting engulfed in the fire in the hilly jungle area of Mehlchori in Pauri district in which a family of four members lived.

Singh said he is in constant touch with his team leaders working in the state.

(PTI)

Ruckus in Parliament over Uttarakhand, Arunachal

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Parliament

New Delhi: Angry over imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh, Congress today created ruckus in Parliament, accusing the Modi dispensation of toppling democratically-elected governments of opposition parties, a charge rejected by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The issue generated heat in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the opening day of the session with Congress members in both Houses storming the Well and party chief Sonia Gandhi joining them in raising slogans.

In the Lok Sabha, Leader of Congress Mallikarjun Kharge and his party colleagues staged a dharna in the Well as their notice for adjournment motion on the issue was rejected by the Chair.

“It is a murder of democracy,” Kharge said as the Lower House assembled for the day, telling Speaker Sumitra Mahajan that he has given a notice for an adjournment motion on the issue. Members of JD(U) and AAP were also in the Well along with Congress.

AAP leader Bhagwant Mann was repeatedly seen pleading with the Chair to allow Kharge to have his say.

Amid a noisy protest by the treasury benches, Kharge said the Union government is purchasing MLAs, pressurising MLAs to install BJP government “by killing Costitution.”
The Speaker reminded Kharge that the matter is before the Supreme Court and hence he should not say anything further.

Kharge said he is referring to the action of the central government and not the ruling of Uttarakhand High Court which had revoked the President’s Rule. The Supreme Court later stayed the High Court’s order till April 27.

He said the BJP-government at the Centre celebrates the Constitution Day and birthday of key architect of the document B R Ambedkar, while it has “destabilised” democratically- elected governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

“There appears to be a great hurry by the NDA to grab power in every state… don’t forget there is Constitution… you could have waited for the March 28 floor test but you imposed President’s Rule on March 27,” he said.

He said the House had recently discussed the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case which is also sub-judice.

BJD’s B Mahtab said his party has also given notice on the issue. “The matter is in the court. We will wait for the verdict. We are confident that the court will deliver justice. But we are against arbitrary use of Article 356,” he said.

The Home Minister said the “crisis” in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh has not been created by NDA or BJP.

“It is an internal crisis of their party,” he said and welcomed Speaker’s decision that the issue cannot be raised in the present format as it is under consideration of the apex court.

In the Rajya Sabha, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad raised the issue accusing the central government of “deliberately provoking” the opposition and “inducing” disruption so that the House does not run.

Azad said for the last one year, it has been seen that efforts are being made by the ruling party to create a situation that the House does not function.

The senior Congress leader said he had never seen that a government “does things during the session or just days before the session so that Parliament does not function”.

He said during winter session, the duly-elected Arunachal Pradesh government was “brought down” and the Centre did not stop till it installed its own government there.
Azad said President’s rule has been imposed in the past also, but never in such a “crude” way.

When he said he wanted to congratulate the judges of the Uttarakhand High Court for “having the guts to fight the Government of India”, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said there should be “no commentary” on the judicial issues.

As Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi objected to the raising of the Uttrakhand issue saying the matter was sub-judice, Azad said the Centre “which disrespects the court, cannot be trusted”.

“Discussion will take place,” he asserted, as several Congress members carrying placards stood in the aisle.

Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) countered Naqvi saying Leader of the House Arun Jaitley had said in the last session that discussion on issues, even if sub-judice, cannot be prevented in the House. “Apply your own precedents,” he said.

Anand Sharma (Cong) said the Centre used proclamation of President’s rule to disturb an elected government. “We will discuss it. We will expose you,” he said.
Right then, Jaitley asked Congress members to debate the issue when the proclamation comes up for discussion.

“It will come up for discussion before the House. This will House will have an oppourtunity to discuss it. Therefore, when the proclamation comes up, please disucss it.

“But today, you cannot by an alternative motion anticipate a discussion which is to take place when the proclamation comes up. You cannot discuss it at the pre-proclamation stage,” Jaitley said.

However, Congress members did not relent and several of them trooped into the Well. They raised slogans like ‘Modi teri taanashahi nahi chalegi’ (Modi, your authoritarianism will not work) and ‘Loktantra ki hatya bandh karo’ (stop murdering democracy). Deputy Chairman P J Kurien then adjourned the House till noon.

When it reassembled, Congress members again raised slogans from the aisle. The House was adjourned by Chairman Hamid Ansari till 2 pm within a few minutes.

(PTI)

SC stays HC order on President’s rule in Uttarakhand till Apr 27

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Uttarakhand

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today stayed till April 27 the judgement of the Uttarakhand High Court quashing the imposition of President’s rule, giving a new turn to the continuing political drama in the state by restoring the Central rule there.

Before passing a brief order, a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh recorded an undertaking given by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that the “Union of India shall not revoke the Presidential proclamation till the next date of hearing”.

The apex court clarified that it was keeping in abeyance the judgement of the High Court till the next date of hearing on April 27 as a measure of balance for both the parties as the copy of the verdict was not made available to the parties.

While listing the matter for hearing on April 27, the bench said that the High Court shall provide the judgement passed yesterday to the parties by April 26 and on the same date the copy of the verdict shall also be placed before the apex court.

The Supreme Court’s stay has the effect of undoing the revival of the Congress government led by Harish Rawat by the High Court judgement yesterday.

During the hearing, the bench also observed that as a matter of propriety the High Court should have signed the verdict so that it would be appropriate for it to go into the appeal.

The apex court issued notice to Harish Rawat and Chief Seceretary of the state on the petition by Centre challenging the quashing of Presidential proclamation under Article 356 of the Constitution in the state.

Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, along with senior advocate Harish Salve, pressed for the stay of the HC judgement.

He said how one party can be put at advantage and assume the office of Chief Minister when the other party is pushed to disadvantage in the absence of the judgement.

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, appearing for Rawat and the Assembly Speaker, argued hard against the passing of any interim order saying “you are allowing the appeal by giving the stay”.

Sibal was of the view that allowing stay of operation of the High Court verdict would be like enforcing the proclamation of the President rule.

During the jam-packed hearing, the bench sought to pacify both the parties saying that it has to take a balanced view as this is a Constitutional court.

“We will take on record the copy of the judgement and go through it. This matter may go to Constitution bench,” the bench said.

(PTI)

High Court quashes President’s rule in Uttarakhand; floor test on April 29

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Uttarakhand

Nainital: In a big setback for the Centre, the Uttarakhand high court on Thursday set aside President’s rule that was imposed in the state on March 27.

The court added that the material considered for the imposition of President’s rule is ‘wanting.’ It has called for a floor test in the Assembly on April 29.

The HC’s order came on a plea by ousted chief minister Harish Rawat, who had challenged this imposition.

The high court had earlier criticized the Centre for imposing President’s Rule a day before a floor test was to be held in the assembly.

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday said that the president of India is not infallible and he, too, can go wrong. Therefore, the President’s decision is open to judicial scrutiny.

“Absolute power can spoil anybody’s mind. Even the president can go wrong and in such cases his decisions can be subjected to scrutiny. Indian courts have the power to scrutinize all orders,” the court said.

Court are exceeding their constitutional mandate with such grave observations on the president and are setting dangerous precedents.
Mahendra Varma

Uttarakhand plunged into a political crisis when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, revolted against the chief minister and turned to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for support.

In the 70-member assembly, the Congress has 36 legislators, including the nine rebels. The BJP has 28. The other six members, from smaller parties, are said to support the Congress.

(Agencies)

2013 Uttarakhand floods: Officers relished mutton, gulab jamuns, with hotel stay of Rs 7,000 a day

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Uttarakhand floods

New Delhi: When lakhs of people in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand went hungry during the 2013 disaster, officials of the state government savoured mutton chops, chicken, milk and cottage cheese in the course of their Rs 7000 per day hotel stay supervising relief efforts.

From claiming Rs 194 for half a litre of milk to supplying diesel to two-wheelers, claiming more than Rs 7,000 per day for hotel stay, paying relief twice to same people, purchasing 1,800 rain coats from same shop for three days to making payment of Rs 98 lakh towards fuel purchase to a helicopter company, a string of financial bunglings have come to light through responses to RTI queries.

Taking cognizance of these alleged irregularities when Uttarakhand was reeling under one of the worst natural disasters, state Information Commissioner Anil Sharma has suggested a CBI probe.

In a 12-page order, passed after hearing complainant Bhupendra Kumar of National Action Forum for Social Justice, Sharma has taken note of bills provided by various districts in response to RTI queries seeking to know details of funds spent on relief work in the aftermath of the tragedy that claimed 3000 lives, with many still missing.

Records provided by the authorities showed that some of the relief works began on December 28, 2013 and got over on November 16, 2013, full 43 days before having been launched.

Some other works were shown to have started in Pithoragarh on January 22, 2013, six months before the tragedy struck on June 16, 2013.

“From the records produced by the appellant, the Commission prima facie believes that appeal of the complainant along with all the annexure be sent to Chief Secretary, Uttarakhand, with the direction that it should be brought to the notice of the Chief Minister so that he can decide on initiating a CBI inquiry into these allegations,” Sharma said in the order.

Citing over 200 pages of records received from authorities in response to his RTI petitions, Kumar claimed during the hearing at SIC that while people starved without a roof on their head, officials in worst-affected Rudraprayag district claimed Rs 250 for breakfast, Rs 300 for lunch and Rs 350 for dinner, totalling Rs 900 per day, apart from hotel stay that cost Rs 6750 per night.

Kumar alleged that total expenditure per officer per day hovered around 7000 as he questioned the “obscene expenses”.

He claimed the records showed diesel bills of 30 litres and 15 litres for vehicles bearing registration numbers of scooters, motorcycles and three-wheelers. “These vehicles run on petrol and do not have such fuel tank capacity as shown in the bills,” he said during the hearing.

Kumar also provided records to show that Rs 98 lakh worth of fuel bills for four days had been cleared for a helicopter company.

“There are instances when the hotel stay of officers have been shown for period before the tragedy struck on June 16, 2013. The price for half litre of milk has been shown as Rs 194, while items like mutton, chicken, eggs, gulab jamun are also shown much higher than market rates,” Kumar said.

(PTI)

How will the Ramganga flow?

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Ramganga

by Chicu Lokgariwar, India Water Portal

Since the 1970s, the Ramganga has been governed by dam releases. Now an ambitious project seeks to restore environmental flows in the river.

We sat on a charpoy in Agwaanpur and talked of flood warning systems for the Ramganga. Of all the places I had visited, Agwaanpur, probably due to its urban nature, was the only one which boasted a rudimentary system. The police would inform the Maulvi that a flood release was expected, and he would repeat the warning using the loudspeaker normally used to summon people to prayer.

Mohammed Rahiz seemed unimpressed. “What’s the point of a warning”?, asked the handsome grey-bearded farmer. And his next sentence convinced me that he was right. “Theek hain, If we are within earshot, we get up from our work on the farms and come here. What about our fields? They can’t get up and run away, can they”? And then he went on to explain why these floods were so very devastating.

This is due to a change in what are known as ‘environmental flows’. Environmental flows are the varying levels of water in a river that are needed to maintain the river ecosystem. This means year-round deep water pools for dolphins, shallows during the time fish spawn, and floods to inundate wetlands and floodplains and to bless the farmers.

The farmers are well-used to floods during the four months of monsoon. The Chaumasa, as it’s called, is when farmers allow themselves the luxury of slowing down. This is their time to take stock, plan and gear up for the all-important Rabi or winter crop. The farmers that live the Gangetic basin do not approach any river at this time. As soon as the floods recede, exposing their fields covered by a coating of  fresh silt, they begin to till their land. It is here that the Ramganga deals with them unfairly. Frequently, floods occur after the seed has been sown, wiping out their investment.

But let’s not blame the Ramganga.

The fault lies with the dams and barrages constructed upstream of it. Simply put, there are three major changes that the dams do to the flow regime:

  1. Change in time: Water is impounded in the dam and released when it reaches the danger level. This means that rather than a steady stream of high flows throughout the Chaumasa, water flows in a series of unexpected pulses.
  2. Change in amount: This storage and release means that the water reaching a point is not just the runoff at that point for that period, but accumulated runoff for many days or weeks. Floods are thus noticeably higher than they were pre-dam.
  3. Lack of connectivity: Dams quite literally set up walls across rivers. Most famously, they impact the migration of fish and create isolated populations which die out due to inbreeding. However, this damming also impedes the movement of silt and sand. Decreasing the amount of silt in the river, also known as its silt load, changes the way in which a river behaves. A decreased silt load makes it more likely to erode banks, which is bad news for farmers.

This is made even worse because there is nothing that the farmers can do to counteract the god-like powers of the dam authorities.

The impact of dams on small farmers

Consider Razia, a landless farmers in Agwaanpur who is doing the best she can to make the most of her limited resources. With a blind father-in-law and a deceased husband, Razia is the head of her household. Every year, she pays Rs.10,000 to lease a bigha of land. Earlier, she would do Paalej farming- the planting of cucurbits. When unpredictable fluctuations in both river flows and market prices made this too much of a gamble, Razia changed her strategy. She saw that planting eucalyptus and poplar for sale was the new big craze in the area.

However, she cannot afford to wait for 5-10 years before securing a return on her investment. Instead, she went to the Forest Department and obtained eucalyptus seeds for free. She has now planted a nursery, and will sell 1 year-old saplings to the farmers.

A seemingly smart plan with a sure income, low investment, quick returns, and a ready market but one that isn’t certain by any means. No matter how hard she works and how intelligently she plans, Razia cannot predict when the floods will come and if they will wash away her carefully tended seedlings.

The technocrats’ point of view

The impacts of a river development scheme on the farmers of the same river basin seem to be secondary to those of far-off command areas as far as planners are concerned. The Ramganga is said to fulfil its objectives since it supplies adequate water to the Upper Ganga Canal command system. The devastation to the farmers who have traditionally lived along its banks is ‘the price of progress.’

Climate change is playing a role here too. Er. Ravindra Kumar, retired official of the UP Irrigation Department confirms that since 2010, increasingly erratic rainfall has led to unplanned releases. Regrettably, this has not inspired the UP Irrigation Department o reassess the value of the dam or look for alternate means of functioning. Instead, Er.Kumar says that the adopted strategy to deal with a future of more intense rainfall is the building of embankments at vulnerable places. Unfortunately, we have seen time and again that embankments only worsen flood situations but our state irrigation departments seem to have missed reading those same reports.

To restore the Ramganga

There is some help on the way. The World Wildlife Fund for India has begun an ambitious plan of demonstrating on the Ramganga that environmental flow releases are possible on a dammed river.  This entails working on several strategies at once.

  • We need to quantify what we are speaking of when we say ‘environmental flow releases for the Ramganga’. This means looking at historical flows, at the flows (amount and time) needed for fulfilling the river’s various functions including landforming, sustaining ecosystems, and sustaining riparian communities. This is a multi-disciplinary and participatory research exercise, which is being carried out now using a modified version of the Building Block Methodology. While intricate, the process is fairly straightforward.
  • The truly difficult part of it is what happens next. Somehow, WWF needs to talk with two state governments and get them to sanction releases as per this environmental flow requirement. Now, India is notoriously difficult when it comes to river-based data. It seems almost naive to enter into a dialogue over modifying dam releases so as to suit a flow regime determined upon by a motley bunch of academics and environmentalists. This, incredibly, is being done by means of sustained dialogue and negotiations.
  • And finally, comes the issue of ‘freeing up’ more water for the river. To do this, the organisation is promoting and demonstrating efficient water use for agriculture within the Ramganga basin. This choice of location appears to be for the purpose of confining activities within the basin. However, since the water abstracted from the river by the dam is fed into the Upper Ganga Canal network and so out of the basin, water-use efficiency should logically be demonstrated in the canal command area. This is a minor point, however. Both the command area and the Ramganga basin are part of the larger Ganga basin, and lessons from one are easily transferable to the other.

This does raise an important question, however.

How will this effort change the perception of agricultural water demand? In other words, how will assessing the environmental flow requirements of the Ramganga convince the dam authorities that less water needs to be abstracted from the river for the canal system?

That depends on WWF’s capacity for negotiation.

Mohammed Rahiz, Razia Begum and countless other farmers are likely waiting for the results of this with bated breath.

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