Nearly 402 families have been uprooted; rescue operations on with the help of the army and paramiltary forces; prime minister, UPA chairperson assures of all possible help

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Tuesday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and sought a relief package of Rs 600-crore for the flood-hit state. Bahuguna, along with Union minister Harish Rawat and some of the MPs from the state called on the prime minister in New Delhi and apprised him of the situation arising from the recent devastation caused by flash floods.

The Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) group and Volkswagen—the two auto major groups—have evinced interests in setting up new manufacturing facilities in Uttarakhand, claimed a government official from the hill state.

“We have received two proposals from the two auto companies (M&M and Volkswagen) for setting up new manufacturing facilities in the hill state,” said the official. The state-owned State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited (Sidcul), which is the nodal agency for industrialisation in the hill state, has promised the two companies it can provide land at Sitarganj where it is planning to develop a new industrial estate.

In one of the first signs of an industrial strife, street protests have begun in the key industrial estate of Haridwar in Uttarakhand which has been plagued by heavy power cuts in the past few days.

After the two-days blackout as a result of grid collapse on July 30-31, the government has resorted to heavy rostering in the industrial areas, a move which is being seen as a measure to avoid its heavy dependency on the northern grid. A group of industrialists at Haridwar held a protest demonstration to highlight their anger against what they termed “complete power breakdown.”

Heart-wrenching scenes witnessed in Gangori, which bore the brunt of nature’s fury

Thirty one people were killed in the flash floods in Uttarakhand on Saturday and at least six missing from Gangori, which bore the brunt of nature’s fury. Heart-wrenching scenes were witnessed at Gangori, where the maximum number of deaths were reported, with relatives and villagers crying for help. Efforts were on to move about 700 Char Dham pilgrims stranded at various places to safer spots on foot, as the roads were completely damaged and the hostile weather was not allowing airlifting of the people.

Ten people were killed and 38 others went missing as incessant rains battered Uttarakhand today triggering landslides, cloud bursts and flash floods which flattened homes and stranded hundreds of pilgrims with the Chardham Yatra coming to a grinding halt.

The Garhwal region bore the brunt of the natural calamity. The state government has sounded a high alert after the MET department’s warned of very heavy rains and sought the help of the army to mitigate the sufferings of the people.

The state-run power generation company Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam (UJVN) has decided to renew a loan of Euro 103 million from KFW, a German financial institution, for modernisation and renovation of six old hydel projects.

The terms and conditions of the loan had expired in 2010, company officials told Business Standard. “Our chairman Subhash Kumar held talks with the Union power secretary P Uma Shanker to renew the loan from KFW,” said UJVN Director (Operation) B C K Mishra.

The Planning Commission on Monday approved a Rs.8,200-crore Annual Plan for Uttarakhand for 2012-13 which is Rs.400 crore more than last year.

“The Commission is fully aware of the infrastructure deficit in the State and its constraint in meeting the cost of infrastructure development…We will try to give Uttarakhand all help and assistance to ensure its overall growth and development,” said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia after meeting Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna.

Hundreds of pro-dam activists left Srinagar (Garhwal) in buses on Monday to take part in a one-day dharna by Uttarakhand Minister for Drinking Water & Education Mantri Prasad Naithani at Jantar

“The Prime Minister should consider the development and aspirations of the deprived people of Uttarakhand and not give in to pressure tactics of anti-India forces that staged a drama at Rajghat and Jantar Mantar in New Delhi today,” said Jan Manch convenor Rajendra Todaria.

Senior Uttarakhand State activist and journalist Jai Prakash Uttarakhandi addressing media persons in Mussoorie threatened renewal of “Uttarakhand-type agitation” if the Centre does not immediately order resumption of work on all the suspended power projects.

Corbett National Park (Uttarakhand) Security in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) was recently breached by gangs of poachers belonging to five different communities.

“This is unprecedented,” said S.K. Datta, chief conservator of forest, wildlife and intelligence in Uttarakhand. “The local Sapera, Kanjar and Bawariya communities joined hands with members of the Bagdi community which hails from Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, with the members of the Bagariya tribe which hails from districts in Rajasthan and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh, to enter the CTR with the intention of poaching.”