Monsoon fury continued to wreak havoc on Uttarakhand on Tuesday with flash floods, landslips and cloudbursts claiming 54 lives and leaving 61,890 Char-Dham yatris stranded in Chamoli, Rudraprayag,

Raging rains lead to rising reports of falling trees, caving walls in Mumbai; and landslips in Uttarakhand The unrelenting monsoon showers are proving a danger for Mumbaikars with collapsing trees and walls. Following Saturday’s heavy showers, Sunday’s afternoon high tide only worsened the situation.

Uttarakhand government has released Rs 39 crore for disaster management in view of the state's extreme vulnerability to natural calamities during monsoon.

Despite the Centre's recent clarification the eco-sensitive zone along Bhagirathi river in Uttarkashi district will not affect development, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today asked it to review the decision.

The Centre had recently issued a gazette notification declaring a 100-km stretch between Gomukh and Uttarkashi along the Bhagirathi river as an eco-sensitive zone. But the measure triggered widespread protests in the region over the development issue. The chief minister had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh calling for review of the measure, with a plea that it would affect hydel projects with a capacity of 1,743 Mw.

They fear developmental activity will come to a halt

Notwithstanding the Prime Minister’s assurance, activists of the all-party Uttarkashi Bachao Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti on Tuesday staged a dharna at Uttarkashi and said they would launch a Statewide agitation if the Centre did not immediately cancel a gazette notification on an eco-sensitive zone between Gomukh and Uttarkashi.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and opposed the new 4,179.59 sq km eco-sensitive zone in the Bhagirathi Valley, which put tough restrictions on tourism and hydel projects in the hill state.

Bahuguna, leading a delegation comprising the party's state MPs and Congress general secretary Birendra Singh at Parliament house, told Singh there should be a review of the eco-sensitive zone where the area has been increased from 40 sq km to 4179.59 sq km, without taking the consent of the state. Bahuguna also met the minister for state for environment and forest, Jayanthi Natarajan, separately on the issue and urged the centre to set up a high-powered committee to review the eco sensitive zone.

The Uttarakhand Government would request the Centre to review the notification on eco-sensitive zone between Gomukh and Uttarkashi as its implementation would adversely affect all development activity and economic progress of the region.

Briefing newspersons after a high-level meeting at the Secretariat here on Thursday, Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain said it had been decided to seek a review by the Centre after discussing the legal aspects, adverse effects and practical issues involved.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna today strongly opposed the Centre's recent notification declaring a vast stretch of land from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi on either side of the Bhagirathi river

The Uttarakhand government has strongly opposed the Central government' decision to issue a gazette notification to declare area around both sides of the about 100km-long banks of the river Bhagira

In a two-day National Discussion seminar, which was organised under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan by Union Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry at CGO Complex, New Delhi on Saturday, Uttarakhand Peyjal M