The ministry of tourism is less concerned about the impact of the floods on life and property, but is more focused on promoting tourism, says Swathi Seshadri. Anupam Chakravartty reports
The sacred portals of Badrinath shrine in Garhwal Himalayas were reopened on Monday after a gap of six months amid chants of vedic hymns and elaborate rituals.
'If you are constructing the tunnel in the Himalayan region, then if you have constructed 10 metres of tunnel, first you will have to do proper treatment and ensure the stability of this constructed structure.' 'You cannot just throw concrete on the ceiling and sidewall of the tunnel for permanent stability. That will not work.'
Tour operators in Odisha are set to suffer losses as tourists and pilgrims have started cancelling their bookings to various destinations in north India following the devastating floods in Uttarakhand.
'An earthquake of a slightly higher magnitude in the Western Himalayan region is going to be catastrophic -- not just because of the fragility of the region but because of how densely we have occupied it.'
The death toll in the Uttarkashi bus accident rose to 26 with the recovery of one more body after which the search and rescue operation was concluded, officials said on Monday.
The Garhwal region collectively has deposits worth Rs 2,100 crore and advances worth Rs 1,000 crore.
'Wherever in the world there is political instability, those countries are beset with severe crises today. But India is in a much better position than the rest of the world due to the decisions taken by my government in the national interest,' President Droupadi Murmu said in her address to both Houses of Parliament.
Trekking is a truly transformative experience. Let me tell you why.
In the last five years, 37 bridges have collapsed in Uttarakhand. Another 27 bridges are on the brink of collapse. 'Our politicians don't view these bridge collapses as a setback.' 'Rather they see them as an opportunity to make more money.'
A month after the worst natural calamity in Uttarakhand, the state government, which is grappling with a myriad of daunting tasks, on Tuesday started distributing compensation to the next of the kin of those killed in the devastating floods.
'Geological processes occur at time scales that are beyond human imagination, but we need to understand these events.'
With questions being raised whether large-scale deaths in Uttarkhand could have been averted, the MeT department today said it had issued "timely" warnings of heavy rains and landslides while the state government claimed there was not enough prior indication of a "crisis of this magnitude".
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday said that he had asked the Uttarakhand government not to allow any VIP to land in the flood ravaged areas in the state to pre-empt any disturbance to relief work.
'Half of China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, which are among the most populous countries in the world, are dependent on the rivers and glaciers of the Himalayas for sustenance.'
The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday put the number of missing people in last month's tragedy at 5,360 and announced that pilgrimage to Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines will resume by September 30 even as fresh rains pounded several parts of the state and claimed 11 lives.
"Won't you vote out a government which sullied the reputation of the abode of God," the prime minister said.
'If Modi-Shah had not changed the leadership, one section would have parted ways with the BJP for sure.'
We understand the electoral compulsions, the desperate need for the BJP to have at least 50 per cent of the Hindus vote for them in Uttar Pradesh in a few months. For that, you need polarisation, put your own Muslim compatriots on the 'other' side. This is how your domestic politics runs contrary to your national, strategic interest, warns Shekhar Gupta.
Sudhir Bisht recalls the battle of 1984, in which UP's strongman H N Bahuguna was felled by Bollywood superstar turned political novice Amitabh Bachchan.
'He has been made CM of Uttarakhand because everybody thinks he is not a challenge to anyone.'
'The Mahabodhi temple is the only example in the world where a religion's most sacred place is controlled by people belonging to another religion.'
Fires are blazing across Jammu and Kashmir, the state of Uttarakhand and have reached the doorstep of Himachal Pradesh's capital city Shimla.
The RSS realises that with a majority BJP government at the Centre and in several states, now was the best time to undermine and perhaps outdo the Congress-Left 'stranglehold' over campuses and young minds.
'I'm a rascal, I'm going to play a paramahansa?!'
