Friday, 10 May 2024 | Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun
Shubh Yatra
Amidst the ongoing process of the Lok Sabha elections in the country, the world famous Char Dham Yatra is starting on a grand scale in Uttarakhand. Going by the rush of pilgrims on the opening day and the number of registrations, the Yatra this year is set to break all the previous records in terms of the visitor footfall. A day before the start of the Yatra, a whopping 22,76,969 pilgrims have registered which has kindled expectations that the record created by the arrival of about 50 lakh pilgrims in last year’s Yatra is set to be broken this year. The tremendous response for the Yatra- often referred to as the backbone of Uttarakhand’s economy- augurs well for the tourism industry and the State. However, on the flip side, the huge rush of pilgrims poses a major burden on the infrastructure and resources of the small Himalayan State. The management of traffic and huge pilgrim flow aside from providing necessary facilities to the pilgrims and ensuring their safe stay in the State will doubtless put the administration on a critical test during the Yatra period.
Rainy rescue
Even as the Supreme Court opined that depending on rain is not an answer for the raging forest fires in Uttarakhand, the rain god finally came to the rescue of a beleaguered forest department of the Himalayan State. The rains finally did what the gargantuan machinery of the state government failed to accomplish. The planners should understand that frequency and intensity of the wildfire increased after the local people started disowning forests due to strict and archaic laws which view them as invaders and foes rather than friends of the forests. There is an urgent need for revising these laws to increase community participation in saving forests from blaze. A modern, effective, integrated and holistic plan is needed to be set in place to combat the forest fire menace. Though the long-raging forest fire has been doused to some extent, one wonders why some of the decorated environmentalists and one politician- a self- professed champion of forest rights of locals with ‘ Jal, Jungle & Jamin’ slogan-are maintaining stony silence when the ravaging fire is consuming the State’s precious forest cover. It appears that the fire earlier blazing inside this leader zealously championing forest rights of locals has dampened down completely after he shifted political allegiance before the 2022 assembly elections.
Sting stink
The corridors of power in the Himalayan State are agog with talks of a sleaze video ostensibly showing a young lawmaker in compromising position with a woman. Though everyone is talking about the existence of the video it mysteriously has not gone viral yet. Uttarakhand has a history of stings and the State paid the price in terms of the political instability and loss of credibility of the political class.
In the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – powered deep fake pictures and video clips, the authenticity of such stings has come under a cloud. However, these stings can still rip up the personal reputation and family life of the targeted individual. In the current case, the grapevine has it that the young Netaji has been honey- trapped and subsequently blackmailed, which, if true, is unfortunate.
