Human-animal conflict on the rise
Human-animal conflict has claimed 58 lives in the state in 2019, Uttarakhand forest department data shows. A total of 259 were left injured in the conflict. The number of deaths in 2018 stood at 51 while 239 were injured. Interestingly, snake bites caused the highest number of deaths (19) in 2019. This was followed by leopard (18), elephant (12), bear (4), tiger (3), wild pig (1) and crocodile (1) attacks. Out of 32 forest divisions, Pithoragarh reported the maximum number of (eight) deaths due to snake bites last year while the maximum deaths (5) due to leopard attacks were in Pauri division.
State health department issues swine flu alert
The Uttarakhand state health department has issued an alert after a man succumbed to swine flu in Dehradun last week. The Doon Hospital has created a special ward for swine flu patients. Ashutosh Sayana, principal of Doon Medical College said, “Doon Hospital is ready to handle any situation if it comes to that.” Last year, the hill state had witnessed the biggest swine flu outbreak to date claiming 38 lives. Officials from the state health department said that the hospital has already procured all the medicines necessary for H1N1 treatment and even the staffers, who will be dealing with swine flu patients, were given training. According to the state health department data, 548 swine flu cases surfaced in the hill state between December 2018 and March 2019.
Ropeway to keep running despite technical flaws
Despite technical flaws being detected in the Mussoorie ropeway service last month, the Mussoorie Municipal Council has decided to keep it running for another year. The ropeway connects Jhulaghar on the Mall Road with Gunhill. The inspection was conducted by Bridge, Ropeway, Tunnel and Other Infrastructure Development Corporation of Uttarakhand Limited. Anuj Gupta, chairman of Mussoorie Municipal Council said, “The municipal council is addressing the technical flaws in the ropeway machinery and has approached BRIDCUL and IIT-Roorkee for technical assistance.”
Anganwadi workers seek salary hike
Thousands of anganwadi workers staged a massive protest in Dehradun recently. They were demanding an increase in their salary, job regularisation and other facilities in their job. The state has around 15,000 anganwadi workers and 14,000 helpers. The workers demanded that they should be paid `21,000 per month and their helpers’ be given `11,000 per month along with Diwali bonus, perks based on their skills and seniority. The members said that if the state government failed to meet their demands, they would prolong the protests and spread it across the state.
vineet upadhyay
Our correspondent in Dehradun
vineet.upadhyay@newindianexpress.com