New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, participating in the NITI Aayog meeting in the capital on Saturday, said that Uttarakhand is continuously working towards fulfilling the goal of Viksit Bharat.

Highlighting the fact that the hilly state was prone to disaster and natural calamities, he thanked the Prime Minister for making special financial provision in the Union Budget.

He said that Uttarakhand has secured first position in the recently released Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Index ranking, which is a matter of pride for the state. He also spoke about Uttarakhand becoming the first state to pass the ‘Uniform Civil Code’ Bill.

The Chief Minister said that there was a pressing need to work on water conservation and increase the groundwater given the crisis of drinking water in many cities.

“Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority has been formed in Uttarakhand, which is working on the project of water conservation and reviving water sources and connecting snow-based rivers with rain-based rivers,” he said and also requested special financial assistance and technical support from the Central government.

The Chief Minister said that for a Viksit Bharat, there is a need to promote entrepreneurship in rural areas, for which cluster-based incubation centres and growth centres will prove to be important. Two rural incubation centres and 110 growth centres have been established in Uttarakhand as a pilot project.

He also requested the Centre for technical and financial support in setting up incubation centres. To meet the energy shortage, the Chief Minister requested the states to allow the approval and implementation of hydropower projects of less than 25 MW capacity and to implement the proposed 24 per cent capital subsidy for the construction of small hydropower projects in the Himalayan states along with the North-Eastern states.

The Chief Minister said that everyone needs to pay special attention to important issues like global warming and climate change. In view of this, the Uttarakhand government is paying special attention to running development schemes in coordination with ecology and the economy. The issuance of GEP on the lines of GDP has been started in the state.

The Chief Minister further said that in any developed nation, its urban areas make a special contribution as a growth engine. It becomes difficult to provide basic facilities in these cities due to excessive population. To solve this problem, ‘counter magnet areas’ will have to be developed between different cities of the country.

He said that there is a need to pay special attention to AI readiness and quantum readiness for the concept of Viksit Bharat by the year 2047 for research, development and innovation.

He also brought the attention of the top policymakers to the fact that in the eighth meeting of NITI Aayog last year, some proposals related to the development of Himalayan states were put forward. He urged the Centre to facilitate making specific policies on those proposals, for the development of the Himalayan state.

–IANS

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Guwahati, July 27 (IANS) Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision is to make the northeast region the growth engine of the country.

The DoNER Minister said that the Prime Minister termed the region as ‘Purvodaya’ and this region would be the gateway of India’s progress and prosperity. “This vision has been on track for the last 10 years in terms of the huge outlay increase for the northeast.”

“For over 65 years, the northeastern region was not cared for and treated as an orphan. After Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, the Centre has started giving special emphasis to the region,” the Union Minister told the media in Guwahati.

He said that Rs 11,000 crore has been allocated in the Central Budget 2024-25 for flood management in Sikkim and Assam.

The Minister said that while presenting the Budget in the Lok Sabha, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that more than 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank (IPPB) would be set up in the northeastern region.

The decision once again amplifies the Prime Minister’s vision of developing India’s northeast region, he said.

Jyotiraditya Scindia, who also holds the Ministry of Communications, said that during the Congress regime, Rs 1,775 crore was the budget for the DoNER ministry and now, it has increased to Rs 6,000 crore.

He said that during the Congress government at the Centre between 2004 and 2014, Rs 64,000 crore was given to Assam as tax devolution with Rs 6,500 per year.

“In 2014-2024, during the ten years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government, increasing the tax devolution by four times, Rs 2.30 lakh crore was given to Assam. This year (2024-25) Rs 39,000 crore was given to the state as tax devolution,” the Union Minister said.

He said that in addition to 15th Finance Commission allocation, Rs 13,000 crore was given to Assam in the last ten years as Capital Expenditure.

Claiming that major industrial projects would soon enter the region with the proper infrastructure in place, Jyotiraditya Scindia cited the example of the Rs 27,000-crore semiconductor unit to be set up by the Tata Group near Guwahati and termed it as a ‘game changer’ for the entire region.

“The Central Budget 2024-25 is a holistic budget, which would set a new era of development for the entire country,” the DoNER Minister said.

–IANS

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Guwahati, July 27 (IANS) Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Saturday that within the next year earlier telecom connectivity would be extended to 100 per cent of villages in the country.

The Union Minister said that special funds of Rs 26,500 crore have been sanctioned by the Cabinet for the expansion of telecommunication network in all villages and he has himself been monitoring the progress of work on a weekly basis.

He said that the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is committed to 100 per cent saturation. “We have identified around 24,000 odd villages in the country that still need saturation in terms of telecom communications. Out of 24,000 villages, 13,000-14,000 villages have already been covered,” the DoNER and Communications Minister told the media in Guwahati.

A special scheme to extend telecommunication networks in all villages has already been rolled out and funds were sanctioned for the purpose, he said.

He said that despite terrain-related problems, areas in the northeastern states are among these villages, and strategies are being worked out to reach these places and telecommunications would be extended there.

Provisions of the new telecom Act enable setting up required infrastructure and mixed technologies, like V-SAT and satellite, are being utilised with the “target of cent per cent saturation within 12 months, he said.

–IANS

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Guwahati, July 27 (IANS) Two prominent student bodies of the northeast — All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) — have condemned the act of a pressure group trying to disrupt the plying of tourist vehicles from Assam to neighbouring Meghalaya.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, the student organisations said, “The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) are perturbed to witness that tourist carrying vehicles from Assam, both of private and commercial registration, are being stopped at several places in Meghalaya and denied entry to the state.”

“Under the aegis of North East Students’ Organization (NESO), the AASU and the KSU have discussed the issue with utter seriousness. While discussing the same, the KSU states that the organisation is not aware of any such incident of stopping vehicles from Assam and it firmly does not conform to any such initiative,” the statement added.

The AASU and KSU leaders said that the vehicles ferrying tourists from Assam should come to Meghalaya without any worry. However, it is pertinent for both the Assam and Meghalaya governments to hold a dialogue on the issue and solve it permanently.

Meanwhile, at least 10 members of the Hynniewtrep National Youth Front (HNYF) which had stopped tourist vehicles from Assam from entering different tourist places in Meghalaya were arrested, the police said on Saturday.

The HNYF activists tried to prevent the tourists of Assam from visiting Sohra and Dawki, two attractive destinations in Meghalaya, on Friday.

The police said that the security arrangements have been beefed up around Sohra and Dawki so that there is no disruption in tourist activities.

The state is looking to introduce the Inner Line Permit, according to HNYF.

President of the HNYF Sadon Blah stated that the organization has demanded this kind of action to compel the government to enact a law limiting the flow of visitors’ cars entering the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong expressed regret for the incidents and said, “It was very unfortunate. Tourists come to Meghalaya to enjoy the scenic beauty. The law will follow its own course, and we won’t let such things occur again.”

Numerous Meghalaya tourism bodies have denounced the HNYF for its decision to bar visitors from Sohra and Dawki.

–IANS

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Lucknow, July 27 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government is all geared up to provide world-class health services to the devotees attending the Maha Kumbh-2025. The state government has earmarked a significant investment of approximately Rs 125 crore allocated for 18 health-related projects.

This funding will be used to upgrade hospitals in Prayagraj city and CHC-PHCs located along routes leading to the event. The facilities will be equipped with advanced technology to enhance service quality.

A total of 43 temporary hospitals will be established in the fair area to ensure optimal health services for the devotees. Additionally, 305 beds will be reserved across four city hospitals. Doctors and paramedical staff will be on duty around the clock to manage emergency situations effectively.

Mahakumbh Mela Officer Vijay Kiran Anand has said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth is continuously holding meetings and giving directions to ensure the grand and safe organization of Maha Kumbh 2025. As per his vision, 18 health-related projects are being implemented in Prayagraj at an estimated cost of around Rs 125 crore.

Till date, Rs 41.73 lakh have been released by the government for health-related works, and an additional Rs 57.97 lakh have been approved and will be released soon.

Additional Director (Health), Dr Rakesh Sharma, mentioned that the government initially allocated Rs 28 crore for upgrading four hospitals in the city: Motilal Nehru Hospital (Colvin), Tej Bahadur Sapru (Beli) Hospital, State Tuberculosis Hospital Teliyarganj, and District Women’s Hospital (Dufferin). These hospitals are reserving 305 beds for devotees, with 50 beds specifically reserved for female devotees at Dufferin Hospital.

Furthermore, Rs 13.73 lakh has been allocated for ambulances, biomedical waste management, mortuary vehicles, disaster management, and office expenses. This fund will be used to deploy 125 road ambulances, 20 river ambulances, and 1 air ambulance.

To accommodate the needs of devotees, the Maha Kumbh Mela (Fair) area has been divided into 25 sectors. Accordingly, 43 temporary hospitals with a total of 380 beds are being established in the Mela area.

This includes a 100-bed central temporary hospital, two 25-bed sub-central temporary hospitals, two 20-bed infectious disease temporary hospitals, and eight 20-bed temporary hospitals in eight sectors. These hospitals will cover approximately three sectors of the Mela area.

Additionally, ten first aid posts with one bed each and 20 outpatient health posts are being set up. These health posts will be located in parking lots, stalls, and other locations. A budget of Rs 14.25 lakh has been allocated for these facilities. Furthermore, Rs 10 crore will be spent to control vector-borne diseases in the Mela area.

To cover the costs of food, surgical items, and local purchase of medicines for patients admitted to these hospitals, Rs 12.73 lakh are being spent. Additionally, Rs 21.24 lakh is being spent on upgrading 12 Community Health Centers (CHCs), 2 Primary Health Centers (PHCs), a post-mortem house, and a drug warehouse located on the way to the Mela area.

407 doctors to be deployed at Kumbh Mela, gynaecologists will be available 24/7

As per Kumbh Mela Officer Vijay Kiran Anand, as many as 407 doctors will be stationed in the Mela area to provide 24-hour health services for devotees. Additionally, 182 nursing staff, 150 ward boys, 354 pharmacists, and 60 lab technicians will also be deployed.

Special arrangements are being made to cater to the large number of female devotees expected at the event. Three shifts of 48 female doctors will be available at the Mela hospitals. A labour room is being set up at the central hospital, and gynaecologists will be on duty around the clock in the Mela area. A team of 40 specialist doctors will also be present.

Emergency services will also be available 24/7 at the Community Health Centers (CHCs) and Primary Health Centers (PHCs), with extra supplies of medicines, bandages, and other necessities.

–IANS

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