A massive rescue and relief effort is underway and these teams are working together to locate and rescue individuals who are still missing
The state continues to experience severe monsoon-related disruptions, particularly in the higher-altitude areas File pic.
Two days after a destructive cloudburst and intense rainfall struck Uttarakhand, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) reported on Thursday that 21 more civilians stranded in Gangotri were airlifted from Nelong to Harsil in Uttarkashi district, reported ANI.
Border Roads Organisation (BRO) official Amit Kumar stated, "Our four machines are working in this operation. The Director General of Border Roads and our chief also visited here. At least 20-40 houses are still buried and fully damaged...So far, 150-175 people have been rescued by BRO, ITBP, NDRF, and SDRF. A total of five bodies have been recovered so far..."
Earlier on Thursday, the Uttarakhand government informed ANI that 274 people who were stranded in Gangotri and nearby regions had been successfully evacuated to Harsil. The group includes 131 individuals from Gujarat, 123 from Maharashtra, 21 from Madhya Pradesh, 12 from Uttar Pradesh, six from Rajasthan, seven from Delhi, five from Assam, five from Karnataka, three from Telangana, and one from Punjab. All of them are safe and are currently being transported to either Uttarkashi or Dehradun, reported ANI.
The state continues to experience severe monsoon-related disruptions, particularly in the higher-altitude areas. These challenges have triggered extensive evacuation and relief efforts by multiple rescue teams and agencies. On Tuesday, two separate cloudbursts, one in Dharali and another in the Sukhi Top area near Dharali, caused heavy destruction, with Dharali suffering the most damage.
A massive rescue and relief effort is underway involving the Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), SDRF, BRO, and local volunteers. These teams are working together to locate and rescue individuals who are still missing.
According to the administration, over 50 people are still unaccounted for in the aftermath of the disaster.
On Thursday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami convened a review meeting with officials from the NDRF and ITBP at the camp office in Uttarkashi. The meeting focused on assessing the progress of rescue operations in the severely affected Dharali region, reported ANI.
DIG of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Gambhir Singh Chauhan, stated that helicopters have been deployed to airlift those who remain trapped. Multiple agencies, including the Indian Army, NDRF, ITBP, and the local administration, are working in coordination to manage rescue efforts both on the ground and in the skies.
Chauhan further explained, "We have four teams, but since all the roads have been blocked and damaged, they couldn't reach Dharali. Yesterday, 35 personnel were able to reach via helicopters. With the helicopter services beginning, the to-and-fro movement of personnel and evacuees has begun. There was a communication issue as well, but since this morning, our satellite phones have been working. The state administration, army, ITBP, NDRF, SDRF and even local people are helping each other in the search and rescue operations."
As reported by ANI, on Wednesday, approximately 190 individuals were successfully rescued from Dharali following the devastating cloudburst that led to severe flash floods and landslides. The ongoing rescue and relief mission is being carried out jointly by the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, BRO, and local volunteers. Efforts in the affected areas remain active and are progressing continuously.
(Inputs from ANI)
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