Tuesday, 08 June 2021 | PNS | Nainital
Hearing a public interest litigation related to the February 7 disaster at Raini in Chamoli district, the Uttarakhand high court has sought the response of the State and Central governments by June 25. Hearing on the PIL filed by advocate PC Tiwari was conducted by the division bench of chief justice RS Chauhan and justice Alok Kumar Verma.
In his petition, Tiwari has pointed out that during the 1970s, Gaura Devi and other women of Raini village had initiated the Chipko movement when they had hugged the trees in the jungles of the village to protect them from being felled. The petitioner has contended that many people had lost their lives in the February 7 disaster due to the negligence of the companies and the government. Stating that this area is prohibited due to the presence of the Nanda Devi biosphere reserve, he questioned why the government permitted construction of a hydro power project in the area even though this area was already vulnerable to disasters. According to the petitioner, there was no early warning system of any type in the area hit by disaster. Stating that it took about 15 minutes for the avalanche to cause the devastating flash flood, the petitioner stated that the presence of an early warning system could have saved many lives. Seeking adequate compensation for the victims of the disaster, the petitioner has also sought that the company and government be booked for causing death by negligence.
It will be recalled that following the flash flood in the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers, the authorities had recovered more than 70 bodies while about 130 persons missing were subsequently declared dead.
