Gairsain: Congress legislators, during the zero hour, raised the issue of the February 7 disaster in the Joshimath area of Chamoli district and called for more steps to prevent loss of lives and develop an early warning system. The opposition party also demanded better compensation and strengthening of telecom services in the border areas of Uttarakhand. Indira Hridayesh, leader of opposition, said that better planning could have saved the lives of many people.
Cabinet minister and government spokesperson Madan Kaushik said a committee of experts has been formed to make recommendations and telecom companies are being provided with offers to set up mobile towers near the border areas.
Decreasing gap between knowledge and society can make India world leader in S&T: Raghavan
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Last Updated: Mar 02, 2021, 02:50 PM IST
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Synopsis Human interventions into science and technology have deep-rooted impacts, and the current need is to become a more learning-based self-sustained organisational society, as traditionally we used to be, Raghavan said while delivering a talk online on the occasion of the National Science Da
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The talk was organised by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG).
Increasing opportunity for knowledge generation and decreasing the gap between knowledge and society can make India a world leader in science, innovation and technology, Principal Scientific Adviser K VijayRaghavan has said. He also stressed on the increased usage of artificial intelligence (AI) in analysing large data.
Chamoli flash flood: A wake-up call
Print edition : March 12, 2021
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A general view of the damaged Dhauliganga hydroelectric power project in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on February 10. Photo: PTI
Path of debris after hill slope failure. Photo: NTPC-THDCIL Survey Report
Path of debris after hill slope failure. Photo: NTPC-THDCIL Survey Report
The lake after river damming at the confluence of the Rishi Ganga and its tributary. Photo: NTPC-THDCIL Survey Report
Geologists and glaciologists see the recent landslide and flash flood in Uttarakhand as part of inevitable natural processes given the fragility of the Himalayan region, but affirm that close monitoring and study of such processes are crucial to preventing the recurrence of disasters that result in significant human cost.
The disaster triggered avalanches, burst glaciers and flooded rivers, devastating villages, roads, bridges and hydro-electric power projects (HEPs), and sweeping away over 250 locals and workers.
While 69 bodies have been recovered so far, authorities have declared 135 people still missing as “dead” and the huge rescue operation is now a recovery effort.
At the time of writing, 21 bodies have been pulled from the slush-filled 2.5 kilometre-long tunnel at the state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) Tapovan-Vishnugad project site, where about 30 workers were feared trapped.
The NTPC has been fined about US$80,000 for causing environmental damage by violating muck disposal site maintenance standards in the Tapovan area.