Raj-era mills revived in Dehradun

Mill Lane in Garhi Cantonment can once again live up to its name.

Mill Lane in Garhi Cantonment can once again live up to its name. Uttarakhand Governor B L Joshi on Tuesday inaugurated three renovated Raj-era water mills along it which had been shut for the past six decades.

It was around 1845 that the British constructed a canal on the Tons river for irrigation and built three mills on it. By the time of Independence these mills had gradually become defunct and become prey to encroachment. Last year the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO), an organisation working on revival of traditional water resources, took the mills on lease from the state Government and decided to revive them at a cost of Rs 10 lakh.

HESCO chief Anil Joshi said, “We just made use of modern technology to upgrade the defunct mills and make them functional again. The turbines of the defunct mills were changed and the pulleys were re-aligned.” While the mills will once again make flour, a new bakery and restaurant attached to it will sell cake and pastries. The restaurant will use the 5 KW of power generated by the mills.

“We just want this to symbolise our commitment to revive traditional techniques for generating power. Water mills have been in use since the third century and even today a large number of villages use them for energy and to make flour. We need to revive such mills across the nation,” said Joshi. He said just Uttarakhand alone has 35,000 water mills out of which a large number are lying defunct and HESCO has revived at least 700 of them.

Modi will address a rally in the district and open the Purnea airport that will provide air connectivity to several metro cities, fulfilling a longstanding demand in the Seemanchal region.

PM Modi to open Purnea airport, launch Makhana Board in Monday’s visit to poll-bound Bihar

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PM Modi will visit Purnea, Bihar, on Monday to inaugurate projects worth Rs 36,000 crore, including an airport and launch the National Makhana Board. The visit is aimed at boosting development and addressing the neglected Seemanchal region. PM will also announce projects worth Rs 35,461 crore and distribute benefits to beneficiaries under different schemes.

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