Flight operations suspended
After the launch of a flight between Pithoragarh and Ghaziabad, the operations were cancelled on October 16 due to technical reasons. Heritage Aviation, the company running the operation cancelled all commercial flight operations between Naini Saini Airport in Pithoragarh and Jolly Grant airport Dehradun along with Hindon airport in Ghaziabad. The service has garnered a bad reputation among customers and jokes about it have been doing rounds on various social media platforms. To and fro flight on the said route was booked till October 26.
India-Kazakhstan joint military exercise
The 12-day-long ongoing joint military exercise of India and Kazakhstan —KAZIND-2019—the Validation exercise commenced ended on October 14. In the validation exercise, 120 soldiers of both Indian and Kazakhstan Army moved to nearby jungles of Pithoragarh district to take part in the 48-hour-long exercise.
The joint operations will also validate house entry drills and neutralisation of terrorists. The validation exercise was witnessed by Chief of Staff of Armed Forces of Kazakhstan, Major General Daulat Ospanav and Chief of Staff of Headquarters, Uttar Bharat Area, Major General Kabindra Singh. The defence exercise is crucial in terms of the security challenges faced by the two nations amid changing trends in global terrorism.
Cabinet meetings to go paperless
In an attempt to go digital and promote e-governance, the Uttarakhand government has decided to make cabinet meetings paperless. CM Trivendra Singh Rawat announced on October 15. “The decision has been taken to move ahead in the direction of the green cabinet. We should be promoting eco-friendly ways of life. Making cabinet meetings free of paper is a step towards that,” the CM said. He added that an ‘e-cabinet’ portal will also be initiated in which the decisions taken till date will be uploaded. The e-cabinet system will become fully operational in two months.
Conserving state’s wild fruits, flowers
The Uttarakhand forest department has started a project to conserve species of wild fruits and flowers found in the Himalayas. Till date, the department has identified a total of 67 species of wild fruits and 27 species of vegetables and spices in the hill state. Many of these species are said to be on the verge of becoming extinct. The seven-year-long project aims at promoting these species among the villages of Uttarakhand to save and conserve them. Fruits and vegetables such as Kimora, Timla, Hisalu, wild turmeric and wild onions need better protection and conservation.