Valley of flowers opens sans plastics
Uttarakhand government has opened the the valley of flowers for tourist from Thursday. But the opening comes with a ban on use of plastics in the valley. The forest department of the state has imposed a hefty fine of Rs 10,000 for violators following a high court order directing the government to make the entire valley a ‘plastic free zone.’ Valley of Flowers is a national park adorned with more than 50 unique floral species located in West Himalaya of Uttarakhand. This richly diverse area is at a height of 3600 metres and is home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, musk deer, brown bear, red fox and blue sheep. The valley was completely devastated in the great deluge of 2013. Now, the valley has been restored with its lost glory by the government.
Security fears at Patanjali Yogpeeth
The security officer of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Mangli Lal, in a letter written to the police has warned them of a possible attack on the campus. The Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police has put the cops on high alert in this regard. The Yogpeeth is guarded by private security, while paramilitary forces guard Ramdev’s herbal food park. The letter sent to the cops mentions that through reliable sources the security of the Yogpeeth came to know of a possible attack or 'unpleasant incident' that might take place in the Yogpeeth and urged the administration to tighten security in the campus. The SSP Krishna Kumar said security has been tightened and that a comprehensive strategy is being worked out to protect the campus in future to deal with the apprehensions of such threats.
Pilgrims number swelling
Number of pilgrims for the Char Dham Yatra (Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath) is swelling. Official figures show that so far more than seven lakh tourists have visited the places, while last year the figure was around 4 lakh. It may be recalled that after the Kedarnath floods in 2013, which had claimed thousands of lives, there was a huge dip in the number of pilgrims visiting these temples. The government took massive repair and reconstruction work to restore basic amenities in these areas so that pilgrimage could be made comfortable for devotees. Efforts of the government restored the confidence of devotees who have started coming back in large number.
Injections laced with drugs seized
Rudrapur police have seized drug-injections worth Rs 2 lakh during a raid at a medical store being run illegally. According to Sadanand Date, SSP of Udham Singh Nagar, the raid was conducted after a tip off that the medical shop in Kheda colony of Rudrapur was selling drugs, especially to youth. However, Vaseem, who is being accused of selling these injections eluded the police. Police seized large number of injections and banned drugs. It is a well known secret that the youth of Rudrapur are under the influence of drugs.
