U'khand bans construction along rivers

About a fortnight after a devastating flash flood in the state, Uttarakhand government on Monday imposed a blanket ban on construction of houses and commercial establishments along the banks of rivers.

It has also set up an authority to carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation work across the flood-hit areas.

The authority, to be headed by the Chief Minister, will comprise experts from different fields who will help prepare a long-term plan for reconstruction in the flood-hit areas to ensure that these areas do not face such magnitude of devastation from natural calamities.

The two decisions were taken by the state Cabinet, keeping in view the massive damage caused by the calamity in different areas across the state, said Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a package of Rs 1,000 crore for reconstruction and rebuilding works in the flood-hit areas of the Congress-ruled state. The government is now looking to World Bank (WB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) for financial help.

“We are trying to get financial help from WB and ADB,” Congress general secretary and in-charge of party’s communication department Ajay Maken said while addressing media at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi. A thorough reconstruction package would be sent for the approval of WB and ADB. “We hope their teams will visit Uttarakhand soon to make an assessment of the ground situation,” he added.

“Apart from a package of Rs 1,000 crore announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for reconstruction and rebuilding, Rs 2,500 crore to Rs 3,000 crore more is expected from WB and ADB for the purpose,” Union Rural Development  Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters at Dehradun.

Maken said the Centre has approved 14,000 more houses under Indira Awaas Yojna to help those who lost their houses in the flood in many villages in the state.

Connectivity of roads will be restored through the Central government’s Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna. Additional funds would be allocated under the Centre’s rural job scheme.

“A total of 1.09 lakh people have been evacuated so far. Kedarnath valley, Matli, Bhatwari,
Maneri and Harshil have been fully evacuated. If weather permits, Badrinath will also be evacuated today (on Monday),” Maken said.

The state government is in the process of sending a team of 200 people to Kedarnath to cremate bodies as per proper religious rites, he added.

At Dehradun, Bahuguna refused to speculate on the casualty figures in the calamity, saying that bodies were yet to be extricated from the huge quantity of debris lying across the affected areas, and the whereabouts of over 3,000 persons reported missing were yet to be ascertained.

“In a situation like this, being the chief minister I would prefer not to quantify the casualties. Police officials who have visited the affected areas say 500-600 bodies are visible. Many may be lying underneath heaps of debris and many reported missing are yet to be found,” he said.

Heavy rains add to flood fury in UP

Rising Ganga and Yamuna rivers posed serious threat to Allahabad as heavy rains in large parts of Uttar Pradesh caused major rivers to swell further adding to the flood fury, reports DHNS from Lucknow.

In the past 48 hours, rains battered several towns and broke all past records at many places. The industrial town of Kanpur received 360 mm rains in June breaking the past record created 42 years back, reports said.

Roads have been washed away at several places while a few bridges too have caved in cutting off road connection in the eastern region of the state.

Rampaging Ghaghra and Saryu rivers have inundated large tracts of lands in Gonda district forcing thousand of people to shift to safer places, officials said.

The officials said that the Ganga and the Yamuna were rising at Allahabad threatening the low lying areas. A flood alert had been issued. “The rivers have been rising at the rate of two mm per hour,” the officials said.