Probe ordered into Kedar ‘construction violations's
Dehradun: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board to investigate complaints of environmental violations linked to ongoing construction near the Kedarnath temple.
The directive follows a complaint filed by Noida-based Amit Gupta, who raised concerns about unchecked construction activities disrupting the area and endangering pilgrims.
Gupta alleged that construction materials, including sand, have been dumped openly right opposite the main temple, while unattended iron bars at the newly constructed Sangam Ghat are obstructing river flow and contributing to pollution.
"There are also protruding steel rods posing a serious safety hazard. Pilgrims are facing inconvenience due to these issues," he told TOI.
Gupta added, "Small crushers and stone cutting units are working continuously on the river side and even on the 2013 flood route which is not only impacting the sensitive ecology of the area but also polluting the water flowing near it. Pilgrims have also pointed out open garbage dumping around the temple and helipad premises and filthy state of public washrooms."
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
CFD: Invertir $100 con IA podría devolverte un segundo salario
Digital Group
Prueba ahora
Undo
He also pointed out poor drainage near the stairway connecting the helipad bridge to the temple, resulting in water accumulation along a key route. "This poses a significant challenge, especially for elderly visitors, and needs urgent attention," Gupta said, blaming the situation on the negligence brought about by hasty construction work.
Acting on the complaint, the CPCB issued a letter on May 29, directing the state pollution control board to take necessary corrective measures and report back within 30 days.
In response, Public Works Department (PWD) officials acknowledged the issues and attributed them to a "contractor's negligence" during ongoing development. "Instructions have been issued to remove the construction material. Although work at the Sangam Ghat was completed last year, leftover steel bars will be cut and cleared shortly to ensure pilgrim safety," said the executive engineer from PWD's Guptkashi office.
Officials also said that work at the arrival plaza near the Om stairs is still pending. Installation of flooring stones, crucial to managing water flow, has been delayed due to the yatra. "For safety reasons, construction cannot proceed during the pilgrimage season. It will resume as soon as the yatra subsides," they added.
Dehradun: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board to investigate complaints of environmental violations linked to ongoing construction near the Kedarnath temple.
The directive follows a complaint filed by Noida-based Amit Gupta, who raised concerns about unchecked construction activities disrupting the area and endangering pilgrims.
Gupta alleged that construction materials, including sand, have been dumped openly right opposite the main temple, while unattended iron bars at the newly constructed Sangam Ghat are obstructing river flow and contributing to pollution.
"There are also protruding steel rods posing a serious safety hazard. Pilgrims are facing inconvenience due to these issues," he told TOI.
Gupta added, "Small crushers and stone cutting units are working continuously on the river side and even on the 2013 flood route which is not only impacting the sensitive ecology of the area but also polluting the water flowing near it. Pilgrims have also pointed out open garbage dumping around the temple and helipad premises and filthy state of public washrooms."
He also pointed out poor drainage near the stairway connecting the helipad bridge to the temple, resulting in water accumulation along a key route. "This poses a significant challenge, especially for elderly visitors, and needs urgent attention," Gupta said, blaming the situation on the negligence brought about by hasty construction work.
Acting on the complaint, the CPCB issued a letter on May 29, directing the state pollution control board to take necessary corrective measures and report back within 30 days.
In response, Public Works Department (PWD) officials acknowledged the issues and attributed them to a "contractor's negligence" during ongoing development. "Instructions have been issued to remove the construction material. Although work at the Sangam Ghat was completed last year, leftover steel bars will be cut and cleared shortly to ensure pilgrim safety," said the executive engineer from PWD's Guptkashi office.
Officials also said that work at the arrival plaza near the Om stairs is still pending. Installation of flooring stones, crucial to managing water flow, has been delayed due to the yatra. "For safety reasons, construction cannot proceed during the pilgrimage season. It will resume as soon as the yatra subsides," they added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
For Indian students, dreams of America are suddenly in doubt
Live Events In India, the country that sends more students to the United States than any other, young people who had hoped to pursue higher education in America this fall described feeling in a state of limbo after the Trump administration's decision to pause interviews with foreign nationals applying for student are scrubbing their feeds, deleting comments and unfollowing accounts after the State Department said that it would screen social media use. Others are exchanging news and information in newly formed encrypted group chats. And some have sought divine aid in "visa temples" -- so called because Hindu devotees say prayers there provide a greater chance of getting a tourist, study or work counselors have become therapists, and the extended family networks that many Indians have in America -- uncles and aunts who will often help finance the education of a niece or nephew -- have set up war rooms online. Other students are revisiting their backup plans or rethinking their academic paths."I have carefully built my profile to be able to get into the top policy programs in the U.S.," said Kaushik Sharma, 28. He called it his "dream" to study in America but added that the current environment was making him nervous about applying. "I don't want to go there and be in a constant state of fear," he said. He is now considering similar public policy programs at universities in Britain and Singapore, he added.(Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates)Karan Gupta, a career counselor who coaches around 150 students a year and works with around six per day, said he had been inundated by calls in the past few days."There are students with admission letters who don't know if they will get visa appointments, and those in the U.S. worried about their visa status," Gupta said. Then, he added, there are those planning to apply to U.S. universities next year calling to ask if "it's a safe and stable choice."Gupta said he tried to reassure clients that, statistically, it was unlikely that most students' plans would be upended.A third of the foreign students in U.S. schools, or around 330,000, are from India. The number has grown, surpassing China in the 2023-24 school trouble began May 22, when the Trump administration said it would ban Harvard University from enrolling international students. Five days later, the State Department said it would pause interviews with foreign nationals applying for student visas as it expands scrutiny of their social media a judge has blocked the administration's step against Harvard, and the State Department has said that student interviews scheduled before its order would proceed, the recent events have left students, their parents and their career counselors confused and many, the Harvard ban on foreign students showed that the Trump administration could bring even one of America's most prestigious universities to its was the view of one student who had won admission to an Ivy League law school -- if Harvard could be attacked this way, no institution was safe. The student, who did not want to be named for fear of being singled out by U.S. officials, said he had been making small changes to his social media accounts, adding that it was not a fight he wanted, or thought he could Shukla, co-founder of IVYDreams, an admissions consulting service, said he expected the dust to settle soon, but he noted that the tenor of questions asked by visa officers at the American Embassy in New Delhi had questions were typically about why a student wanted to attend a U.S. school. But some clients recently told him that they were asked questions that could appear political, such as, "Are you aware of what's happening in the U.S.?"Those interviews can be nerve-wracking at the best of times. In India, some temples have gained a reputation for providing spiritual succor particularly for those going through the one such "visa temple" in Delhi, a devotee left a note in February expressing gratitude that his prayers had led to a student visa , which had eventually led to a permanent work visa in Britain."People who are not getting visas come here," said Narayan Mishra, the temple priest. "They are fed up and frustrated." Students stop by to offer their prayers regularly, Mishra United States is a magnet for international students because of the high quality of education, innovation and opportunities, but Indians are especially drawn there, career counselors universities have produced leaders including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, both of whom grew up in India and attended U.S. graduate programs. Gita Gopinath, the second in command at the International Monetary Fund; and Abhijit Banerjee, a Nobel-winning economist and a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, were also initially educated in swelling number of Indian students going to the United States also has to do with growing wealth in India and the desire for a degree from a "brand name" school, Gupta said. No other country offers as many options as the United States, so many students and their parents consider it worth spending about $40,000 to $100,000 a year on R., 32, said he wanted to pursue a graduate program at a top U.S. school, justifying the steep cost with the "returns their brand value might bring in later," including networks and job opportunities. But, he said, the clampdowns on free speech and the unpredictability have given him others, such as Sameeksha Desikan, who secured her visa to start law school at New York University this fall, things seem to be working out. Still, Desikan, 25, has a backup has not turned down a similar law school offer from a top-tier British university: "I have kept it on standby, just in case things get crazier."
Mint
a day ago
- Mint
British Airways expects India's ‘big middle class' segment to fuel travel demand amid expansion plans
London-based airline operator British Airways Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sean Doyle expects India's 'big and emerging' middle class to fuel the nation's travel demand in the next 10 years amid the company's expansion plans with help from the India-UK free trade agreement. 'I think that the growth is going to be incredibly exciting, and something that you won't see. It's a once-in-a-generation growth opportunity here, what's happening in India,' the CEO told the news agency PTI. In an interview with the news agency, the CEO, Sean Doyle, said that the company plans to further expand its air routes, flight frequencies, and cargo operations, leveraging the India-UK free trade agreement. According to the agency report, the airline currently operates 56 flights from five Indian cities every week. These flights include three weekly flights from Mumbai, two daily flights from Delhi, and one daily flight from Chennai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Doyle also highlighted that India serves as a 'very important' market for British Airways, as the airline plans to reintroduce first-class seats in the Boeing 787-9 aircraft flying between Mumbai and the London Heathrow route later this year. 'I think we want to be part of the growth of aviation in India. We have been part of it for 100 years... about 2,500 people work for British Airways in India... outside of the United States, our biggest single market is India,' Doyle told the news agency. British Airways CEO Sean Doyle expects more cargo opportunities between India and the United Kingdom (UK) due to the two nations' Free Trade Agreement (FTA). 'I expect more cargo being exported from India under the FTA. And I would expect as well that it would be an increase in certain niche exports coming into India as well. Not necessarily out of the UK but also out of the surrounding kind of markets that we serve,' the airline CEO told the news agency. As the world still remains uncertain about the US President Donald Trump's imposed tariffs, Doyle said that everyone is still watching what is happening and the impact of these import duties. President Trump's decision to impose 'reciprocal tariffs' on all good imported from other world nations fueled a international tariff war which is raging and causing concerns of uncertainty to date. Data collected from India's aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), shows that the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines during the January to April 2025 period witnessed a 9.87 per cent rise at 575.13 lakhs or over 5.75 crore, compared year-on-year (YoY) with 523.46 or more than 5.23 crore in the same period a year ago. The passenger air traffic also witnessed an 8.45 per cent growth on a month-on-month (MoM) comparison from March 2025 to April 2025. 'Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-April 2025 were 575.13 lakhs as against 523.46 lakhs during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 9.87% and monthly growth of 8.45%,' said DGCA in its monthly traffic data release. The data also showed that the overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for April 2025 was at 0.64 per cent, with Akasa Air, Air India Group, and IndiGo at the lowest level.
Mint
a day ago
- Mint
Emirates Will Keep A380 Jumbo Flying Until End of Next Decade
(Bloomberg) -- Emirates plans to keep its giant fleet of Airbus SE A380 double-deckers in operation until the end of next decade, as the world's largest international airline seeks to extend the lifespan of an aircraft that helped lay the foundation for its dominance on global routes. The Dubai-based carrier will introduce one more upgrade to the aircraft's first-class cabins before retiring the planes at the end of next decade, Emirates President Tim Clark told journalists at an aviation gathering in New Delhi on Sunday. Emirates is already pouring billions into a refresh of its fleet of A380s as it seeks to extend the jumbo jets' lifespan. Airbus announced early in 2019 that it would cease making the plane because of slim orders, with only Emirates buying the giant plane in large quantities, with a fleet of more than 100 units. Many other carriers have retired their fleets, and switched to smaller variants like the Airbus A350-1000 or the Boeing Co. 777. Clark is pushing the lifespan of the planes because Emirates lacks an obvious replacement at this stage. The airline hasn't ordered the A350-1000 because Clark has been openly critical of the durability of the aircraft's engines, made by Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. And the Boeing 777X model won't arrive before sometime next year, he said. Boeing is providing 'clearer messages' on its delivery program for the 777X, the next iteration of its popular widebody aircraft, Clark said, with an entry into service in global fleets possibly toward the fall of next year. The refreshed A380s come with a four-class layout consisting of first, business, premium economy and economy class. Emirates equipped its original first class with extras like enclosed cabins and even showers, while business-class passengers can mingle at a communal bar on the upper deck. While the A380 is a hit with the flying public because of its imposing size and often luxurious layout, airlines struggled to make it operationally viable given the high fuel costs and complexity to operate a plane of that size on many routes. More stories like this are available on
