U’KHAND BEGINS TO PICK UP PIECES While state waits for aid, 500 relief trucks await nod

Dehradun: At least 500 trucks carrying ration and food-related material meant for distribution among survivors in catastrophe-hit Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts are lying parked for the last four days in Rishikesh, Dehradun, Haridwar and Haldwani. The trouble is the administration is not clearing their onward journey for want of clearances.      Of these, 96 ration-loaded trucks were sent by senior Congress leaders on behalf of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi. These have been lying on both sides of the 230km Haridwar-Gangotri bypass obstructing traffic – all because the administration's failure to ensure its distribution among survivors far-fl ung places.      A Congress leader in Dehradun said these ration trucks were stuck because the administration refused to accept the supplies for want of storage space. "Unless the administration allows these trucks to move the perishables would rot," said an offi cial.      Dehradun additional district magistrate Harak Singh Rawat said as the government does not have any place to store the heavy quantity of ration, the question of issuing permits to the truck owners to proceed further does not arise.      Members of different social and political organisations have accused Congress leaders of unnecessarily wasting food supplies like grains, biscuits, drinking water, and oil for the sake of scoring brownie points from fl oods victims.      Singh said Congress workers are not at all inclined to trek for miles to distribute food items to victims. State Congress chief Yashpal Arya said the government will issue permit to stranded truck owners to proceed further soon so as to distribute ration and food material among victims in affected areas.      However, Garhwal commissioner Suvardhan said as the government already has more than enough stock of ration for distribution among those in need, the stranded trucks will have to wait for a two more days. "We will definite issue permits to their owners to move further so that material is distributed among people who are genuinely affected," said Suvardhan.  150 docs rushed to U'khand amid diarrhoea outbreak  Dehradun: With the threat of diseases looming over the floodaffected areas in Uttarakhand, the Centre has sent 150 doctors to the state. A large number of cases of water-borne diseases, such as diarrhoea, are being reported from districts like Guptkashi, Gauchar and Uttarkashi among others. Efforts are on to provide medical aid to those affected. The Union health ministry has also sent a team of epidemiologists, health experts and some high-ranking officials, including the director general of health services, to monitor the situation. "I have held a meeting with the state authorities. Right now, there is no threat of epidemic but we cannot rule out any such eventuality. Preventive measures like making drinking water available in affected villages are being taken," said Jagdish Prasad, DGHS. He said that around 150 doctors from across the country have been sent to the state to tackle any possible crisis. At least 128 cases of high fever and gastro-intestinal infections were reported in Ramnagar — a tiny village near Guptkashi — recently. Some ITBP jawans have also reported sick. TNN