Latest news with #HemvatiNandanBahugunaGarhwalUniversity
Time of India
07-08-2025
- General
- Time of India
Uttarakhand cloudburst: Local festival spares lives as half of residents travel across stream; villagers say, 'loss could have been far greater, guardian deity saved us'
DEHRADUN: Many Dharali residents were not where they were supposed to be when a flash flood tore through one side of the village. They had walked earlier that morning across a narrow bridge to the other side of the stream, to attend Hardoodh, a little-known local festival that draws the community each Sawan to offer prayers to Naag Devta. That saved them. There, under the canopy of a modest hillside temple, they had gathered with flowers, milk, and quiet devotion. It kept them alive. The serpent deity invoked during the ritual is traditionally associated with rivers, rainfall, fertility and protection. "Had people been inside their homes, the loss could have been far greater," said Sanjay Singh Pawar, a resident. Kavita Kumari agreed. "It was truly the grace of the divine that most of us were outside, gathered in one place. " The Hardoodh festival does not exist in textbooks or tourism brochures. It only belongs to the oral landscape of the region - passed down by memory and habit, enacted without pomp, rooted in seasonal cycles and mountain belief. In Dharali and nearby villages like Jhala, it is held with quiet consistency each monsoon, drawing people to make offerings to the stream's guardian deity. This year, the date coincided -unknowingly - with a disaster. A man from Jhala, who joined the ritual and asked not to be named, said, "We had gone to offer prayers on the other side of the Kheer Gad. God is kind. That's why we're still here. But the other side..." he trailed off, gesturing towards the site of collapsed homes and flooded ground. "That's where the pain is." What separated the two banks was more than just the stream. The side where the festival took place lies on higher, less developed ground. Over the years, construction on the other side had crept closer to the water's edge, with homes, guesthouses and shops rising on unstable terrain. When the flash flood struck, likely triggered by a glacial breach upstream, the water obeyed gravity and momentum. It flattened only one side. MPS Bisht, professor of geology at Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University and a native of the region, saw in the aftermath something both scientific and spiritual. "The deluge devastated the side that had been unscientifically developed on the riverbed," he said.
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Panchayat polls: Women's representation still overshadowed by men, say observers
Dehradun: As Uttarakhand heads into the second phase of its three-tier panchayat elections on Monday, observers tracking campaign trends in remote areas have flagged a continued dominance of men in political activities, despite the legal mandate reserving 50% of seats for women. Social activists expressed concern that male interference in political campaigns is widespread and may persist even after the polls. While the law mandates equal participation, several women candidates and voters said their male family members are often the ones leading campaign strategy and execution. "We went to rural parts of Kumaon and Garhwal and observed that in several villages, campaign posters for women-reserved seats prominently feature male relatives instead of the actual candidates. This reflects the ground reality of rural development and the status of women's empowerment in our state," said Kamla Pant, president of Uttarakhand Mahila Manch. Talking about the role of women in rural democracy, Swati Nayal, a candidate who left her metro-city career to return to Nainital for rural development work, said, "Women's empowerment should begin at the grassroots level. However, we often see pradhan-patis taking charge of villages, which limits true gender parity and democratic representation." Kiran Dangwal, head of the sociology department at Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, said, "Traditionally, women in Uttarakhand have led both indoor and outdoor responsibilities. Movements like Chipko and anti-liquor protests were largely led by rural women. Today, with rising participation of hill women in administration, defence, science, medical, and teaching fields, they are steadily transforming outdated perceptions. " Meanwhile, Shakuntla Datal, a Tilu Rauteli awardee from Pithoragarh, said she plans to meet the chief minister with a demand to ensure only elected women representatives hold office. "Only winning women should attend official meetings — not their husbands or 'pradhan-patis'. Otherwise, reserving 50% of seats for women is meaningless if men continue to call the shots," she said. As per the State Election Commission, for panchayat polls Uttarakhand has 47.7 lakh registered voters, including 24.6 lakh men, 23.1 lakh women, and 374 others. According to the preliminary information, of the total 66,418 posts to be filled in the panchayat elections, 22,429 candidates have been elected unopposed, while 32,580 remain in the fray. In the first phase held on July 24, voting decided the fate of 17,829 candidates. The remaining 14,751 will go to polls on Monday, July 28, said state election commission officials.
