Uttarkashi Flash Floods: Evacuation Of People Underway, Over 1,000 Airlifted

Helicopters made multiple sorties on Saturday to evacuate people from areas surrounding the disaster-hit Dharali in Uttarkashi as rescue operations entered the fifth day with the thrust on improving road connectivity and supplying food packets to the affected people.

SDRF's dog squad walked through dilapidated buildings swamped with rubble in search of those who went missing after the devastating mudslide in Kheer Ganga on Tuesday tore through Dharali bazar razing hotels and homestays to the ground and swept away all that came in its way killing people and leaving behind a trail of destruction.

The SDRF is searching for people trapped under the debris in Dharali by conducting a thorough search in the damaged buildings with the help of state-of-the-art equipment like victim locating and thermal imaging cameras and a dog squad. "Apart from the fast evacuation of stranded people, we have to focus on the search and rescue of the missing people." Uttarakhand DGP Deepam Seth told reporters after an on-the-spot inspection of the affected areas. The district administration has confirmed four deaths in the tragedy, recovery of two bodies and 49 people going missing since the disaster.

The IAF's Chinook and Ai-17 helicopters besides those of Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Authority began making sorties from early morning to rescue people taking shelter in various locations of the district.

By Saturday evening since the start of evacuation on Wednesday, more than 1,000 people were airlifted from around Dharali and Harsil where an army camp had also suffered damages in the flashflood leaving nine of its personnel missing.

A resident of Harshil said that on the evening of August 5, due to accumulation of a huge amount of debris at the Mandakini Ghat, the flow of the river was affected.

"There is an army base camp here. We are from Bhagori, and the situation there is normal, but ahead in Harshil, a few homestays have been washed away in the flood." Govind Ram Bhandari said.

"There was also no mobile network here. Only yesterday, the connectivity resumed. There is still no electricity, and there are some difficulties regarding drinking water - dirty water is coming due to the floods." he said.

Work on the construction of a Bailey bridge at Linchigad near Gangnani went on a war footing to improve road connectivity to the affected areas. It is likely to be ready by Sunday evening, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said. A Bailey bridge is a kind of modular bridge that can be quickly assembled with pre-built parts.

The Gangotri highway is blocked or breached at several points hampering efforts to transport advanced equipment required to search for the missing through tonnes of debris lying on the flash flood-ravaged site.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who has returned to Dehradun after camping in Uttarkashi for three days to closely monitor the rescue operations, on Saturday announced immediate assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed and those who lost their homes in the Dharali disaster.

He also announced a three-member committee to look into rehabilitation, overall revival, and strengthening of sustainable livelihood of villagers affected by the disaster.

Headed by Secretary (Revenue), the committee will submit its preliminary report to the government within a week.

It will prepare a blueprint of a long-term and effective policy for the future of Dharali village, so that the safety and livelihood of the local community can be ensured.

"A large number of local residents as well as devotees from other states stranded in the disaster-affected area of Dharali (Uttarkashi) have been evacuated safely by the relief and rescue teams." Dhami said in a post on social media.

He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for getting the Centre's full cooperation and support in the rescue operations. Dhami said assessment of compensation for house, land, farming and other damages has started and distribution of compensation will also start in the next two to three days.

The priority of the government is to evacuate all the people trapped in the valley, which has almost been completed. Alongside this, a detailed survey of damage to houses, farms, agriculture and other things is also going on so that remaining compensation can be paid soon.

Food, ration, emergency lights, clothes and other essential items are being continuously delivered to the affected families through community kitchens. Electricity and network arrangements have been restored in the village and the road will also be made smooth for traffic soon, he said.

The state government stands with every affected family in these difficult times and all possible assistance will be provided to them.