Click on the links below for details

Tanakpur to Delhi train to start from 10 March 2019

Anant Ambani Appointed As Member Of Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee

2 � Day Annual Flower Fest Begins Today

Chopper services soon from Pantnagar to Haridwar, Nainital, Ramnagar

Doon-Mussoorie ropeway to be among world�s longest

Gauchar declared �Best Ganga Town� in country

Tanakpur to Delhi train to start from 10 March 2019

Good news for people of Kumaon�s Nepal and Tibet border areas. The long-standing demand for running a express train from Tanakpur to Delhi is going to be completed on 10 March 2019. So far, train number 14555-14556 from Bareli to Delhi has been extended to Tanakpur.

Pilibhit MP and Union Child Development Minister Maneka Sanjay Gandhi will flag off the train from Pilibhit station on 10 March 2019.It has been said that the event will be held at 11:30 am. Rajendra Singh, PR of Ijtantagar division of North Eastern Railway said that the final time table has not yet been decided.

TOP

Anant Ambani Appointed As Member Of Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee

Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries boss Mukesh Ambani, has been made a member of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee, a state government official said in Dehradun on Friday, 8 March 2019.

Anant Ambani has been a regular visitor to the Badrinath and Kedarnath sanctuaries alongside his dad. The sanctuary committee is headed by Mohan Prasad Thapliyal.

Other than Anant Ambani, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has also nominated 30 other individuals who are generally Bharatiya Janata Party workers and social activists as members of various government organizations and bodies.

TOP

2 � Day Annual Flower Fest Begins Today

The annual two day spring flower festival, Vasantotsav, will kick off at Raj Bhawan on Saturday. The event will be polythene-free, which means that no one would be allowed to bring plastic into the venue.

Speaking to media persons on Friday, 8 March 2019, Governor Baby Rani Maurya said that the festival would showcase special cultural performances of school students and exhibitors from across the hill state. "To make the festival an environmentally friendly event, we have decided that no one would be allowed to use or bring plastic here," said the governor. In 2018, the festival had recorded a footfall of 1.5 lakh. Organisers are expecting a similar turnout this year as well.

TOP

Chopper services soon from Pantnagar to Haridwar, Nainital, Ramnagar

In an effort to provide air connectivity between more destinations in Uttarakhand, chopper services will soon be provided form Pantnagar to Haridwar, Nainital, Ramnagar and Haldwani. The services will run under Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme of the Centre.

S K Singh, director of Pantnagar Airport, said that "Agreements have already been signed with two companies to provide chopper services which are likely to start in the next couple of months. Airfare will be in the range of Rs 1,200 � 1,500 per seat. Each chopper will be a five-seater."

Meanwhile, regular flights to Lucknow, Kanpur and Mumbai are also expected to start from May 2019 from Pantnagar airport.

Plans are also on to have an upgraded terminal, an extended runway and an officers� colony at the airport. The airport will have green energy lights, a modern instrument landing system and high precision solar energy lights. Singh said that already improved connectivity between Dehradun, Pantnagar and Delhi from the airport is attracting more tourists already.

This comes even as the Doon-Pithoragarh-Panatngar flight, also run under the UDAN scheme, has remained suspended following allegations by passengers that its door opened mid air. The ATR-9 plane operated by Heritage Aviation was forced to make an emergency landing at Pantnagar airport minutes after take-off on February 9.

Following the incident, the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) initiated a probe into the incident, and local and activists also demanded that he 9 seater plane be replaced.

TOP

Doon-Mussoorie ropeway to be among world�s longest

Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Wednesday, 6 March 2019 laid the foundation stone for the much-awaited Dehradun-Mussoorie ropeway project, which once completed will reduce travel time between the state capital and the Queen of Hills to around 10-12minutes. The Rs 300- crore project which will connect Purkal Village in Dehradun to Library Chowk in Mussoorie is expected to be completed within a three year time span.

Speaking on the occasion, Rawat said that the Doon-Mussoorie ropeway would be among the five longest ropeway projects of the world. �The ropeway would be made on a public private partnership (PPP) mode. A French company would provide technical assistance in the project,� the CM said. He added that the ropeway project "will definitely boost the tourism of Mussoorie.� �Around 1000-1200 people can be transported at one time using the ropeway. We will ensure that there is also a proper transportation system in place to bring tourists from ISBT, railway station and airport to the ropeway," the CM said.

Rawat added that parking was a major problem at Mussoorie and two parking slots near Jaypee Hotel and PWD office have been identified to solve the issue. He further said that in order to ease the traffic woes in Mussoorie, construction of roads at Hathipaon, Rajawala Doga, Chamasari and Byara-Dhanaulti is being undertaken. "A provision of Rs 200 crore has been made to end the drinking water problem at Mussoorie," The CM said.

He also inaugurated the building of a community health centre at Mussooie which has been built at a cost of Rs 5.50 crore. State tourism minister Satpal Maharaj said that efforts were on to connect more places in the state with ropeways. "These projects will save time and without acquiring much land, people can easily travel rom one location to other," said the minister.

Meanwhile, local residents in Mussoorie hailed the move. "This is a welcome step which would provide impetus to tourism in the town," said Sandeep Sahni, president of Uttarakhand Hotel & Restaurant Association. He however suggested that the Picture Palace area of Mussoorie, which attracts significant number of tourist, should also be connected with the ropeway.

Anuj Gupta, chairman of Mussoorie Municipal council. Added, "The ropeway once completed is expecte to reduce traffic influx to Mussoorie. However, there are a lot of challenges still as a number of NOCs are still required. I hope this process is completed in a timely manner."

TOP

Gauchar declared 'Best Ganga Town' in country

Gaucarh, a small town in Karnaprayag tehsil in Chamoli district, was on 6 March 2019 Wednesday adjudged the �Best Ganga Town� under the Swachh Survekshan 2019. The union ministry of housing and urban affairs introduced this new category in this year�s annual survey.

Gauchar is located at the left bank of Alaknanda River, one of the main headstreams of Ganga, and has a population of around 15,000. Officials say that innovative ideas as well as public participation made this small town one of the best along the holy river.

A presentation held during the award ceremony in Delhi showed the 84% of the commercial and residential areas in Gauchar were clean and the use of septic pits instead of traditional sewage system brought down the amount of human faeces flowing into the river to almost zero.

"Measures such as plastic ban, clean Ghats and making the city open defecation free contributed in making the towns clean," said Chandresh Yadav, director of urban development directorate. The Swachh Sarvekshan, which is in its fourth year, is considered to be the world�s largest cleanliness survey in which 4,237 cities are covered. The entire survey was conducted in 28 days where over 64 lakh residents gave their feedback.

TOP