We will never know the exact number of dead: Uttarakhand CM

June 30, 2013

Uttarakhand_CMDehradun, Jun 30: The exact number of people dead or washed away may never be known, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said today as estimates of casualties in the worst natural disaster in the state run from several hundreds to several thousands.

"We will never know the exact number of those dead and the number of people who have been buried or washed away," he said in an interview.

State Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal had stated yesterday that the number of those killed could breach the 10,000 mark but the Chief Minister had said the figure was incorrect.

"There are 500-600 bodies which are visible, not only in Kedarnath area, but also in the entire state," he said as Uttarakhand makes a difficult limp back to normalcy from the tragedy.

Bahuguna said as far as people from the state who are missing are concerned the district authorities will work on that. "For the victims of my state we will give the compensation and put them on fast track."

As for those who are from other states they should lodge complaints in their state, he said.

"If the states confirm to Uttarakhand that people from their states had come on pilgrimage here and that these number of pilgrims should be presumed to be dead and have not come back, we will accept their version and the compensation amount will be paid to respective chief secretaries for distribution to victims of the respective states," he said.

"There is a DIG rank officer (Mr. Gunjiyal) who is up there in Kedarnath and has been assigned the task of cremation of bodies. The process of cremation is on.

"The bodies which were lying on the streets (have been taken for cremation). A number of bodies are stuck in the buildings where they were living but for them (to be extricated) you require some machines. Some JCB machines are being made available," Bahuguna said.

Bahuguna said the Air Force and PWD were deciding on the design and make of JCBs which will be carried on choppers to these places.

"Bodies which are in Rambada no one can reach (them) but the question is what do we do to them so that the environment is not polluted. Some chemicals and powder have to be used."

Asked about the criticism over the response to the disaster, he said the response from the Army and the government was very prompt.

"There was no delay. Only because of bad weather and connectivity problem it took time for them to reach. But when they reached and the very fact that thousands were evacuated and in the last so many days more than a lakh people were evacuated without there being a law and order problem, the credit should go to the state government that there was no law and order problem."

He said there were more than 200 villages where there is no connectivity and these have to be rehabilitated. A survey is being conducted for this and experts will be consulted.

"Food will be sent to these villages. Work is in progress. We are dropping food so that these villages can sustain themselves for two months. Relief material is being parked at the district headquarters."

The Chief Minister said in a week's time mule paths will be made in all the locations so there can be some connectivity.

"No village will be left out where relief will not reach. That is our priority. It will take time as you cannot make metalled roads during monsoons.

"I don't agree with this that it is a man-made disaster. Calamities are not in our control. I cannot control tsunami, earthquake or cloudburst. What can I do in such a scenario is how can I save my people. Calamities are not under our control...what can be the plan, we can do scientifically (is being done)."

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News Network
April 5,2020

New Delhi, April 5: People were seen buying diyas and candles across the country to light them at 9 p.m. on Sunday to fight the "darkness of coronavirus" as requested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Although the country is under a lockdown and all the shops barring those selling essential items are shut, but a number of makeshift roadside shops and carts have cropped up selling earthen lamps or diyas at various places.

The earthen lamps, along with other 'puja samgari', are also sold near various temples. Those shops also opened on Sunday.

Gatherings at the temples and other religious places too are barred.
Those who did not find diyas in their localities contended with candles available at the local general stores.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on April 3 appealed to people in a televised address to light diyas and candles on April 5 at 9 pm to fight the darkness spread by coronavirus pandemic.

"Friends, amidst the darkness spread by the corona pandemic, we must continuously progress towards light and hope. We must defeat the deep darkness of the crisis by spreading the glory of light in all four directions," said the Prime Minister in a video message.

"And that is why, this Sunday, on April 5, we must all together, challenge the darkness spread by the corona crisis, introducing it to the power of light. On this day, we must awaken the superpower of 130 crore Indians. We must take the super resolve of 130 crore Indians to even greater heights," Modi said.

He asked the people to turn off all the lights in their homes and stand at doors or balconies and light candles or diyas, torches or mobile flashlights for 9 minutes on April 5.

"In that light, in that lustre, in that radiance, let us resolve in our minds that we are not alone, that no one is alone! 130 crore Indians are committed, through a common resolve!" he said.
PM Modi's call to light diyas, torches or mobile flashlights amid the lockdown has proved to be a boon for shopkeepers selling diyas and candles.

"Sales of diyas have increased to 50 per cent and we also got orders. It has happened because of Modi ji's appeal. We are with him in this," Ram Ravi Kumar, a shopkeeper in Delhi told news agency.

Vikas Kumar, a resident of Patna, said, "I have bought 50 diyas for today. PM Modi had said that people have to light the diyas for nine minutes after switching off light at home."
Modi has asked citizens to not assemble anywhere while participating in this programme and emphasised on the importance of social distancing to prevent coronavirus spread.

Meanwhile, the number of positive cases of coronavirus in the country continues to surge. As per the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is 3,374 with 79 deaths.

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Agencies
May 21,2020

Eminent river engineer and former professor of civil engineering at IIT in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Prof. U.K. Choudhary has said that the judicious use of river technology can help resolve the Coronavirus crisis as well as the plight of Ganga river.

Choudhary, who is also founder of Ganga Research Centre at IIT (BHU), said: "The Ganga water contains a significantly higher proportion of bacteriophages - a kind of virus that kill bacteria. Our ancient scriptures like Vedas, Puranas and Upanishads say that Ganga jal is medicinal water. Scientists later found that Ganga water has bacteriophages capable of killing pathogens."

Explaining further, he said, "Let us analyze the source of bacteriophages. If we take three rivers of Himalayan origin having sources at different heights -the Ganga (Gomukh), Yamuna (Yamunotri) and the Sone river, we find the colours of waters are different. The whitish colour of Ganga water, greenish colour of Yamuna water and the brownish colour of Sone water is also indicative. As Gomukh is the highest among the three, its water comes from lowest depth of aquifer as compared to Yamunotri and Sone river," he explained.

Thus, the quality of river water is proportional to height of origin point. This defines the genetic character of Ganga water. The balanced flow of this water in entire length of the Ganga defines the medicinal property of Ganga water," he stated.

Prof Chaudhary said that the bacteriophages in the Ganga can curb the spread of coronavirus through soil, water and air.
He suggested that the idea is to preserve the medicinal value of Ganga water and to use it to fight Corona. He said that this can be done by opening the gates of all the dams and barrages in a way that the discharge through each is similar to the water at Gomukh. In this way, the concentration of bacteriophage will be enhanced in Ganga water making it more effective against pathogens.

"With increasing diffusion of bacteriophages in water and soil, the spread of Coronavirus will be impacted and reduced. This methodology and technique can also help maintain the quality of Ganga water later when the problem of Corona ends," he said.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

New Delhi, May 17: Eight of the 10 most valued domestic firms suffered a combined erosion of Rs 1,37,311.31 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries (RIL) taking the biggest knock.

Only Bharti Airtel and ITC from the top-10 list managed to close the week with gains.

RIL's market cap plunged Rs 65,232.46 crore to Rs 9,24,855.56 crore.

The market valuation of HDFC Bank declined Rs 22,347.07 crore to Rs 4,87,083.88 crore and that of Hindustan Unilever Limited tanked Rs 13,192.26 crore to Rs 4,77,458.89 crore.

ICICI Bank's market cap dropped Rs 9,770.06 crore to Rs 2,08,900.79 crore.

Infosys witnessed a decline of Rs 9,518.84 crore in valuation to reach Rs 2,77,814.09 crore while that of HDFC tumbled Rs 9,370.38 crore to Rs 2,83,293.70 crore.

The m-cap of Kotak Mahindra Bank slipped by Rs 7,805.2 crore to Rs 2,25,327.22 crore.

Tata Consultancy Services' market valuation dipped Rs 75.04 crore to Rs 7,10,439 crore.

In contrast, Bharti Airtel added Rs 13,147.89 crore to its valuation to stand at Rs 3,02,292.43 crore.

ITC's valuation also rose by Rs 7,744.11 crore to Rs 2,02,330.13 crore.

In the ranking of top-10 firms, RIL retained the number one spot, followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, Airtel, HDFC, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and ITC.

During the last week, the Sensex declined 544.97 points or 1.72 per cent.

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