Uttarakhand: CM Dhami Gambhir on forest fire, instructions given to provide drinking water, electricity and roads for Chardham Yatra

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today held a meeting through video conferencing with top officials of the state government and all the District Magistrates on important issues like forest fire, drinking water problem, upcoming Chardham Yatra, electricity supply etc. in the state and issued guidelines from Uttarakhand Sadan in New Delhi.

Responsibility for forest fire should be fixed from top to bottom

Regarding forest fire in the state, the Chief Minister said that forest fire has emerged as a big challenge before us. He directed Chief Secretary Radha Raturi to fix the responsibility of officers from top to bottom in this matter. The Chief Minister said that the responsibilities of the divisions should be distributed among all the officers posted at the headquarters level and regular reports should be taken from all of them. He said that the District Magistrate should also fully cooperate with the Forest Department in the work of preventing forest fires. The Chief Minister said that we also have to ensure that safety measures are taken for the fire watchers working in the field and for this, options like insurance etc. should be considered for them. Also, it should be ensured that DFO and higher level officers visit the spot. He said that the fire cannot be controlled by sitting in the office. Whatever strict action needs to be taken for this, it should be taken. District Magistrates were also instructed to take decisions according to the circumstances.

The Chief Secretary assured the Chief Minister that positive results would be seen in the matter of forest fire within a week. The Chief Minister was informed by the newly appointed Chief that till now a total of 350 cases have been registered in forest fire incidents out of which 60 named cases were registered. He said that wherever the incident is being reported, teams are being sent immediately and the fire is being brought under control within one to six hours.

During this time, the Chief Secretary was also informed to the Chief Minister that the state government has signed an agreement with NTPC regarding Pirul and NTPC has also started taking Pirul from the state. In such a situation, this will also prove to be effective in preventing fire in the future.

Chardham Yatra is both a challenge and a test, devotees should take a good message

Reviewing the preparations for the Chardham Yatra, the Chief Minister said that the Chardham Yatra is both a challenge and a time of testing for us. He directed the DGP to ensure that the security personnel deployed in the temple premises behave well with the devotees and immediately come forward to help them. He said that any devotee who leaves here should take a good message with him. He said that the first 15 days of the journey are very challenging for us and necessary instructions have already been issued for this. There should be minimal movement of VIPs in these 15 days. He said that every kind of information about Chardham should be disseminated as much as possible so that the pilgrims do not have to face any kind of problems. He told the District Magistrates to take special care of cleanliness on the travel routes. The Chief Secretary informed that additional sanitation workers have been deployed on the Yatra route by District Magistrate Rudraprayag. The Chief Minister gave instructions to deploy adequate number of doctors and paramedical staff in rotation for health services. He said that most of the complaints come regarding heli services and there is a need to take strict action on this. DGP Abhinav Kumar informed that DIG Law and Order has also been given the responsibility for traffic management. In view of the traffic jam on Lakshman Jhula, Muni Ki Reti, Shivpuri road, Dehradun’s SP Dehat has been appointed as the nodal officer. Additional SP Kotdwar and CO Narendra Nagar will support them. The Chief Minister said that all departments and officers should take ownership and work with a positive spirit.

Challenges are yet to come in terms of drinking water, so make preparations from now onwards

In the meeting, the Chief Minister was informed by Secretary Drinking Water Arvind Singh Hayanki that a total of 317 villages and 148 localities in urban areas in the state have been identified where there is a problem of drinking water and efforts have been made to supply drinking water in these areas through various options. Going hab. He said that maximum complaints are being received from Dehradun, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Didihat, Kotdwar, Champawat. Along with the ban on giving connections for commercial construction in all the districts from April 1 to June 30, all DMs have been directed to ensure that vehicles are dry washed in the workshops. Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan said that all the District Magistrates have been given the target of identifying 10 small drains in every district and reviving them. Similarly, 10 small rivers are being identified at the state level which can be revived. He told that the Government of India is going to start a water conservation campaign from June 1 to 7, preparations for which are also underway at the state level. The Chief Minister said that water conservation is a challenge for us. He said that arrangements for rain water harvesting and solar energy should be made in all government buildings. He said that the challenge is yet to come in terms of drinking water, hence make the preparations strong from now on.

The roads on the Chardham Yatra routes should be shiny

The Chief Minister said that before the commencement of Chardham Yatra on May 10, all the roads should be made sparkling. PWD Secretary Pankaj Pandey informed that field visits are being conducted regularly by the Additional Secretary and other officers. The Chief Minister said that it should be ensured that the condition of all the roads should be fine by May 10.

Work on short and long term plans for electricity supply

Secretary Energy Meenakshi Sundaram informed that 24×7 power supply will be ensured in Chardham. For this, two officers have been put on duty for Chardham. He informed that the construction of 23 KV sub station in Kedarnath and Badrinath Dham is in progress. The Chief Minister said that more electricity will be required in the coming days, for this we have to work on both short and long term plans.