Many more bodies were recovered from the debris of the flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains, taking the toll to nearing 200 on Wednesday, 150 in Uttarakhand itself, but rescue operators fear that with over 60,000 still to be rescued, loss of lives could mount considerably in the calamity-hit regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. The Army-led rescuers could so far save only 9,000 people so far.
The Centre has extended Rs 1,000 crore relief to Uttarakhand. The weather cleared in most places in the north making it easier for rescue personnel to launch operations for those stranded, especially in Badrinath shrine where 12,000 pilgrims are still stuck. In Delhi, the Yamuna is flowing well over the danger mark with water level remaining over 208 feet.
Disaster management authorities said in Chamoli that eight bodies were recovered by villagers late last evening from Bansinarayan area of Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary. They seem to have perished on Sunday itself in the downpour that lashed the area while they were in search of Kira Jari, a rare aphrodisiac found in the alpine grassland of the sanctuary. According to officials, 1,500 pilgrims and locals have been evacuated so far from Ghanghariya, Duendhar and Pulna from near Hemkund Sahib in the district to Joshimath relief camps.
With the improvement in weather many more stranded pilgrims are likely to be evacuated to safety by the evening. Evacuation of pilgrims from Badrinath is next on the agenda where 12,000 persons are still stranded. Only 1,200 persons have also been evacuated from Kedarnath, an official in Rudraprayag said.
The officials said evacuating people to safer places is their priority as recovery of bodies can be taken up later. Rescue operations are also on in rain-ravaged tribal Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh for the second day and two IAF and one state chopper is evacuating stranded people at various points in Kinnaur district and adjoining Kaza area of Spiti.
A large number of people including a Doordarshan team and some other reporters were stranded at Pooh, which received snow and rains on Sunday and Monday and a chopper is being sent to bring them. "The exact number of people stranded at various locations is not known but priority is to evacuate tourists and the aged and ailing persons first," HP principal home secretary Tarun Sridhar said.
Most of the stranded people from Sangla would be rescued in a day or two and helicopter sorties would continue till the Hindustan-Tibet National Highway, which is blocked at numerous places beyond the Tapri due to massive landslides and road breaches. Though the weather has cleared in the region, the local Met office has predicted more rains from June 22 onwards.
Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh also remained dry during the past 24 hrs with no report of fresh rainfall. The flow of water through Hathni Kund barrage over the Yamuna near Yamuna Nagar had also declined further and was 87,137 cusec at noon today as compared to 1.73 lakh cusec and a maximum of 8.06 lakh cusec over the weekend. The discharge is decreasing gradually as there has been no fresh rainfall in the catchment areas.
With rainfall having stopped, revenue department officials were conducting a survey to ascertain the damage caused to crops due to heavy rains in districts of Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat of Haryana. The water discharge had caused flooding in the Yamuna river in the district, prompting authorities to sound a high alert in the districts of Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat and Faridabad through which the river flows, but the situation improved greatly since then.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Sharda is flowing above the red mark at Palia Kalan and directives have been issued to shift people in 44 village of Mahsi area in Bahraich.According to Central Water Commission, water levels of the Sharda, Rapti, Ghaghra, Burhi Rapti, Rohin and Kuano are constantly on the rise even as the Sharda, which have crossed the red mark yesterday, registered one meter rise.
