U'khand: Army racing against time; rains to hit rescue ops
The death toll in Uttarakhand floods has reached 1000 and continues to rise. It is a race against time now to save thousands who are still stranded in the valley before the heavy rains that are expected in less than 24 hours.
June 23, 2013 / 12:06 IST
The death toll in Uttarakhand floods has reached 1000 and continues to rise. It is a race against time now to save thousands who are still stranded in the valley before the heavy rains that are expected in less than 24 hours.
The patience is also running short for thousands of pilgrims who are stranded in Badrinath. They are demanding more helicopters to airlift them to safer areas. The rescue teams are working against the clock to evacuate stranded pilgrims from the higher reaches. Also Read: Flood victims: DMRC officers to contribute one-day salaryThe massive rescue operations are still on in Uttarakhand a week after the floods where 73,000 people have been evacuated so far from various parts of the flood-hit state. The weather situation looks grim with the MeT department predicting rainfall within the next 24 hours. The Army is focusing on rescuing an estimated 22,000 people who are stuck in the flood-hit state before the rains set in. One of the most difficult operations of the Indian Army is on in an isolated area called Junglechetti between Ram Bara and Gaurikund. Almost half of the 1000 people stranded there have been airlifted so far. The area is surrounded by hills with steep 90 degree inclines. More than 400 people have been so far airlifted from there and brought to safety to Gaurikhund. _PAGEBREAK_The rescue work is also underway in Sonprayag - the highest area accessible to civilians where the Army has built a temporary bridge to move hundreds out. Meanwhile, 3,000 people who were stranded at Ghagariya have been evacuated. A bridge at Lambarga on the Badrinath-Joshimath axis has been opened for people's movement. Evacuation by foot is likely to start soon. Uttarakhand Chief Secretary said that around 1,200 people have left Joshimath by road. In a major relief to the stranded thousands, mobile networks and ATMs have started functioning again. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has told CNN-IBN that bodies are being recovered from debris. "Casualties are definitely more than 500 and it could also be in thousands, but the correct figure will only be known once the slush is cleared," said Bahuguna. Ajay Chadha, DG ITBP, also said the toll could be higher but the actual estimate can only be made once the rescue operations wrap up. Authorities at the moment are focusing on air lifting and evacuating locals and tourists who are stranded in the state. An estimate suggests that when the tragedy struck, 9000 people were present in Kedarnath and now over 700 tourists and 2800 palanquin bearers are missing. Tourists staying in over 250 hotels between Gaurikund and Kedarnath are also missing while 700 government officials and 500 local traders are also reported to be missing. By calculation, just in Kedarnath alone, the death toll could be close to 15,000. "They say the number of dead are only hundred. I was there. The number of deaths could be over 15,000," Bihar BJP leader Ashwani Choubey said. As Uttarakhand struggles to deal with its worst ever calamity, it looks like it will take months for the real magnitude of the situation to emerge. Meanwhile, it has not taken too long for politics to be played over the human tragedy in Uttarakhand. On a day when Narendra Modi flew over the state, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said only the state chief minister should be doing aerial surveys. Ironically both the Congress and the BJP are accusing each other of politicking over the tragedy. "Nobody, except the chief minister of the state should go there at the moment," Shinde said, but he was flanked by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Dehradun. Even as the security forces are struggling to meet up to the demands of those trapped in the disaster, the politicians are already catering to the demands of their constituencies. "All the choppers should be made to fly to Uttarakhand and secure every living individual," said BJP spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi. Congress is quick to defend yet another absence of Rahul Gandhi in times of crisis, but in his defence, the Congress pointed, out VVIPs should avoid rushing to the state. But, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were the first to conduct an aerial survey of the state on June 19. And even as Uttarakhand suffered, its Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna was in New Delhi, waiting to meet the Prime Minister.BJP President Rajnath Singh visited Uttarakhand on June 20 while both Shinde and Modi are in the state on Saturday. Helpline numbers: Uttarkashi: 01374-226126, 226161
Chamoli: 01372-251437
Tehri: 01376-233433
Rudraprayag: 01732-1077 The ITBP helpline and control room numbers: 011-24362892, 9968383478 Army medical emergency helpline numbers: 18001805558, 18004190282, 8009833388 Uttarakhand Helpline numbers: 0135-2710334, 2710335, 2710233 Railway helpline numbers at Haridwar: 09760534054/09760534055; Dehradun: 01352622131; Rishikesh: 01352434167 Special helpline numbers: State Disaster Management Centre: 0135-2710334, 2710335, 2718401-04. Fax: 2718400, 6555523, 6555524 Others: 09755444486, 09808151240, 09837134399, 999779124, 9451901023, 9456755206, 9634535758 For more information, please see the website where details are available: http://uk.gov.in Email ID: relief-uk@nic.in Haridwar Control Room Numbers: 01334-233727, 01334-265876, 01334-223999, 01334-226849 Contact 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!
