Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Wednesday said the State has succeeded in restoring the faith of the public in Uttarakhand with about five lakh people having undertaken the Char Dham Yatra so far this year even as he maintained that it’s unnecessary to raise issues like buried skeletal remains of 2013 disaster victims not being extracted from Kedarnath considering that heavy excavation work has been proscribed in this sensitive area.
Regarding the status of Government efforts following the 2013 disaster, Rawat said that as per the State policy the first stage of the post-disaster efforts was focused on rescue and relief facilitated for all the disaster affected. This was followed by restoration of surface links and telecommunications to all affected areas in record time. This was followed by restoration of livelihood of the affected with those involved in various professions now being able to earn their livelihood.
The CM said, “We provided the most liberal relief and compensation compared to any Indian State experiencing similar situation. We provided compensation not only to the owners of the disaster affected businesses but also to the workers employed by the owners. So far, about five lakh people have visited the Char Dham shrines. The number of visitors reaching Kedarnath daily has almost reached the visitor inflow level of 2013. We are expecting that 10 lakh people will be visiting the Char Dham shrines this year. At present, even the lesser known tourist destinations of the State are overflowing with visitors,” he said.
Regarding the disaster mitigation and management in Uttarakhand, Rawat said, “We are working on the policy of ‘building back for better’. Our focus is on developing professionally competent trained manpower for which we will also be strengthening the State Disaster Response Force backed by voluntary organizations like the Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) Home guards, NCC, NSS, Scouts and Guides. We are also working to make the District Disaster Management Authorities effective and taking other measures to erect a system that ensures immediate response in case of disaster. The State has already provided land for installation of Doppler radars in Almora and Surkanda apart from which four automatic weather stations are also operating at Bhilangana, Gairsain, Munsiyari and Tyuni. Additionally, we are also focusing on the homes at risk with more than 350 villages marked for relocation, for which we require Central assistance.”
Responding to the Opposition objecting to skeletal remains of 2013 disaster victims still lying buried at Kedarnath, Rawat said, “Considering the sensitivity of the area and the fact that some sites are covered by upto 20 metres of debris, heavy excavation work has been proscribed by experts. Our search for such remains has not been called off but we are not undertaking heavy excavation to find the remains. As it is, skeletal remains of all victims of the Malpa landslide that killed Protima Bedi could not be found while such remains are also present at Roopkund in Uttarakhand at en route to Mount Everest.”
Replying to a query on the State’s plan for International Day of Yoga, the CM said that in stead of focusing simply on publicity, the State is working on an action plan for Yoga which will be introduced in September.