-The Hindu   Uttarakhand is still in dire need of a development plan that is also sensitive to the fragile ecosystem that was crippled by the floods and landslides of 2013 Santosh Naudiyal stood on the verandah of a building in Rudraprayag last December while he narrated his story. On October 1, 1994, the night of the Rampur Tiraha massacre, Santosh and his friends boarded a bus to New Delhi to participate in...

-Live Mint Fast clearance of river projects and the lack of disaster preparedness have wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand Relief operations in disaster-ravaged Uttarakhand have ended and the time seems ripe to take account of the institutional frailties that have contributed to the ongoing human disaster in the state. Chief minister Vijay Bahuguna has been blamed for inaction when the disaster first struck and has also admitted that the state did not...

At least 25 Gujjars including women and children have been reported missing following incessant rains and snowfall in the Himalayan region during the past few days. Reports said that the worst hit was the Wadwan area in the Jammu region, where about 25 people are reportedly missing along with their livestock. “We have reports about these families and we are trying to establish contact with their relatives in Patnitop,” divisional commissioner...

KEY TRENDS   • In 8 out of 17 states/ UTs the flood management works were not taken up in an integrated manner covering entire river/ tributary or a major segment of rivers/ tributaries and the Preliminary Project Reports/ Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) were not prepared in accordance with the  scheme guidelines. There were huge delays in completion of FMP works which ranged from 10 months to 13 years due to delay...