As the current financial year is coming to an end, the Almora district administration has stressed on the need to complete all the pending developmental projects in time with proper utilisation of the allotted funds for them. Reviewing the progress of various developmental projects in the district, DS Garbyal, district magistrate, Almora, informed that out of Rs33.93 crore released by the State Government against Rs 37.38 lakh proposed under the district plan, about Rs31.76 crore has been utilised which is about 76.23 per cent of the total amount released.

An inspection of the overall status and housekeeping of private captive elephants around Corbett National Park revealed blatant violations and contravention of Project Elephant guidelines. The inspection was undertaken on directions of the National Tiger Conservation Authority by co-opted member of Animal Welfare Board and People For Animals Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi.

Heavy snowfall experienced in the higher reaches of Uttarakhand has given cause for celebration to companies engaged in the power generation sector. Since the electricity demand hovers around 30.5468 MU (million units) against the generation of 8.6495 MU, excluding Central Pool share which is around 10.1872 MU, the power generating companies claimed that the generation of electricity will reach a new record in near future, once the snow starts melting during summer.

Deputy Director General (Education) of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education Omkar Singh said, “Climate change is a major challenge for developing countries like India which face large climate variability and are thus exposed to enhanced risks.” He was speaking at the inaugural session of a training programme for women scientists on climate change and carbon mitigation at Forest Research Institute.

Shimla: In an initiative backed by World Bank, the Mid-Himalayan Watershed Development Project has tied up with the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, for the standardisation of the silt-monitoring technology to help quantify the impact of watershed treatment interventions. World Bank is keen on developing a scientific model to evaluate the outcome of the programmes and projects being implemented for the rehabilitation of degraded watersheds.

Industrialists are up in arms over a penalty imposed on them by the Uttarakhand power corporation limited(UPCL) after a gap of two years. The entrepreneurs are of the view that in case they were found violating the laid down norms or consuming power during restricted hours, the UPCL should have informed them then. Neither they were aware about the restricted power cut hours during peak hours, nor did the concerned department issue any guidelines in this regard. So there should not be any such penalty, they demanded.