Uttarakhand: Rescue operations to end today, 3,000 missing
Rescue operations in Uttarakhand are expected to end on Monday. Uttarakhand chief minister Vijay Bahuguna said that more than 1300 villages were cut off by road and 3000 people were missing.
July 01, 2013 / 13:39 IST
The rescue operations in Uttarakhand are expected to end on Monday as the security forces attempt to evacuate stranded pilgrims at Badrinath. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has said that more than 1,300 villages remain cut-off by road and that 3,000 people are still missing.
Also read: Uttarakhand speaker pegs death toll at 10,000Bahuguna also said that a team of 200 people, consisting of officials of various departments, including police, health, animal husbandry experts and sanitation, will be sent to Kedarnath to collect DNA samples of bodies before the last rites are conducted. Rains on Sunday affected the National Disaster Response Force's (NDRF) plans to reach Kedarnath town and extricate the dead buried in the rubble and mud after the flash floods and landslides that ravaged the town."NDRF team had planned to go to Kedarnath town with heavy equipments to extricate the bodies, but the heavy lift helicopters could not take off with the equipments due to bad weather," M Sashidhar Reddy, Vice Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) told reporters in Delhi. "Clearing tonnes of debris lying in the affected areas and extricating decaying bodies which may be lying under them is our top most priority at the moment," said DGP Satyavrat Bansal after a review meeting of top officials.A team of 200 people will be sent to Kedarnath to collect DNA samples of bodies before the last rites are conducted."34 bodies have already been cremated in Kedarnath shrine area and 55 to 60 more which are visible on the ground are yet to be cremated and the process will be taken up on a war footing by a rescue team considering the threat of an epidemic outbreak 15 days after the calamity," he said. The process of disposal of bodies in Kedarnath Valley is is slow due to frequently changing weather, DIG Sanjay Gunjyal said.Nearly 1,489 pilgrims were on Sunday taken to safety from Badrinath - 874 by air and 615 by road - an Uttarakhand government official said, adding only 300 pilgrims and 600 locals remained in the holy town with adequate food and medical care.The National Disaster Management authority has put the figures at 1,500 stranded and 1,800 missing, though its vice chairman admits the toll could be much higher. As the rescue mission neared its end, there was still no clarity over the number of people killed with casualty figures ranging from hundreds to thousands. Close to 1.1 lakh people have been rescued so far, Reddy said.While the Chief Minister has stated the death toll may cross the 1,000 mark, the state Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal created a flutter on Sunday when he said the figure may be more than 10,000.Meanwhile, the head of the Badrinth-Kedarnath Mandir Samiti, BD Singh, has questioned the Uttarakhand government's decision to cancel the Char Dham yatra for the next three years. BD Singh says its difficult to keep pilgrims away and that the state must make alternate arrangements as 37 per cent of the state's GDP comes from the yatra.Helplines:Save the Children contact details:Website : www.savethechildren.inPhone : 011-42294900 / 66141335Helpline numbers:Uttarkashi: 01374-226126, 226161Chamoli: 01372-251437Tehri: 01376-233433Rudraprayag: 01732-1077The ITBP helpline and control room numbers: 011-24362892, 9968383478Army medical emergency helpline numbers: 18001805558, 18004190282, 8009833388Uttarakhand Helpline numbers: 0135-2710334, 2710335, 2710233Railway helpline numbers at Haridwar: 09760534054/09760534055;Dehradun: 01352622131;Rishikesh: 01352434167Special helpline numbers:State Disaster Management Centre: 0135-2710334, 2710335, 2718401-04. Fax: 2718400,
6555523, 6555524Others: 09755444486, 09808151240, 09837134399, 999779124, 9451901023, 9456755206, 9634535758For more information, please see the website where details are available: http://uk.gov.inEmail ID: relief-uk@nic.inHaridwar Control Room Numbers: 01334-233727, 01334-265876, 01334-223999, 01334-226849Contact Person Dr Naresh Chaudhary: 9837352202 Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
