)
All possible resources should be mobilised for rebuilding the lives and hopes of the people of Uttarakhand which saw large-scale devastation by heavy rains and floods, President Pranab Mukherjee said today.
While expressing solidarity with the victims and survivors of the tragedy, he said it was important to always fight and stand up against the odds.
"In times of adversity, one should never let go the indomitable human spirit for survival and rejuvenation," Mukherjee, who is on a day-long visit to the state, said while addressing the 11th convocation of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES).
Uttarakhand, Mukherjee noted, recently suffered from massive floods and landslide that resulted in loss of precious human lives.
"Many people suffered heavily in respect of damage to property.I urge the adequate mobilisation of all possible resources in rebuilding the lives and hopes of the people," he said
Speaking at the event, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said the calamity had claimed lives of 5,000 people, both from his state and outside, and that normalcy will be back soon.
He thanked the President for intervening and getting the Indian Air Force (IAF) deploy its large fleet of Mi-17 helicopters for the "biggest-ever rescue operations done in recent history" in the state.
Talking about the country's economy, the President, himself an ex-Finance Minister, said he is "not disappointed" by the current economic situation in the country.
He said India has achieved a 7.9 growth rate despite major international financial crisis and the Eurozone crisis.
India should "feel confident", he said, adding, "Yes there are predicaments and hurdles but I am sure we will tide over them. Our long term growth prospects are quite right".
Focusing his attention towards the subject of energy security, the President said India must find out ways to decrease its dependency on conventional sources of energy as our resources in this area are "inadequate".
"India is the fourth biggest consumer of energy in the world, after US, China and Russia.To sustain high levels of consumption, our energy resources are inadequate.
Energy intensity, which is a measure of energy efficiency of an economy, indicates that India uses much more energy to produce one unit of GDP, as compared to nations like UK, Germany, Japan and US.
"To achieve a high growth rate while meeting the energy needs of the population poses a challenge to us.It calls for higher energy production and for devising measures that promote energy efficiency. We must explore alternative energy models to reduce our dependence on conventional sources of energy," he said.
The UPES, established a decade ago, is the country's first university dealing in core energy subjects and it runs 52 specialised programmes in the fields of oil and gas, power, infrastructure, electronics, logistics, information technology and international business.
