Friday, 07 June 2024 | Gajendra Singh Negi
Managing misadventure
The recent unfortunate death of nine trekkers in the alpine highlands of Himalayas in Uttarkashi district warrants immediate implementation of the safety protocols for the adventure activities in the State. The ill-fated group of 22 trekkers was returning to the base camp after successfully scaling the 4,600 meter high Shastra Tal Tuesday afternoon when a blizzard hit them fatally. The group had several members who were in their 50s and 60s with one member being 71 years old. The authorities must set up a system to subject all the enthusiasts to a thorough medical check-up before being allowed to trek in the high Himalayas. Further, the elderly trekkers should be dissuaded from hiking in challenging terrains in the high altitudes. Similarly, the administration should strictly impose safety protocols in all the adventure activities such as rafting, hiking, paragliding, rock climbing, bungee jumping, sky diving and others going on in the State. The authorities should also keep a vigilant eye on the activities of the agencies and groups engaged in lucrative business of adventure tourism and ensure that they are adhering to the guidelines and have required expertise for the adventure activity they are engaged in.
TSR returns
After successfully taking on the challenge posed by the son of Congress veteran Harish Rawat in the poll battlefield of Haridwar, former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat has heralded his return to the political mainstream in the Himalayan State. The career of TSR took a sudden plunge in March 2021 when in an unexpected turn of events, he was unceremoniously removed from the coveted CM’s post. A stickler for the party discipline, TSR- a former RSS pracharak – maintained a studied silence on the BJP brass’s harsh action against him even though many, including his supporters, overtly resented the removal. He kept wandering in political wilderness until the party fielded him as its candidate from Haridwar Lok Sabha seat by denying the ticket to the incumbent MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank. TSR knew that Haridwar with a sizable Muslim and Dalit population would not be a cakewalk for him, but he took up the challenge in earnest. Having won the election with a comfortable margin, the former CM is now in the race to become a minister in the new Narendra Modi cabinet along with Anil Baluni, Ajay Bhatt and Ajay Tamta.
Frivolous fortune
In the recent Lok Sabha elections, the Congress was routed for third consecutive time in Lok Sabha elections in Uttarakhand with BJP romping home with a 5-0 score line. However, one Congress leader from the State, Satpal Brahmchari has succeeded in finding a place in the 18th Lok Sabha. Brahmchari who runs an Ashram in Haridwar had unsuccessfully contested Vidhan Sabha election from Haridwar city assembly constituency against Madan Kaushik of BJP in assembly election of 2022. He was offered party ticket by Congress leadership from Sonipat in Haryana in the recent LS elections and he succeeded in wresting the seat from BJP. In another example of changed fortune, the high profile independent MLA from Khanpur, Haridwar, Umesh Kumar who had contested from Haridwar LS constituency as an independent candidate not only lost the election but also forfeited his security deposit. What is humiliating for Kumar is the fact that in the LS election, he finished a poor third behind rivals Trivendra Singh Rawat of BJP and Virendra Singh Rawat of Congress even in Khanpur, the constituency he represents in the State Assembly.
