By Our Staff Reporter
Rudraprayag, 4 Aug: Three shops were badly damaged due to a landslide after torrential rains near the Gaurikund Dat Bridge last night. At least 19 persons were swept away in River Mandakini below. Teams of the district administration, disaster management, police, SDRF, NDRF and other agencies rushed to the site after receiving the information.
SP, Rudraprayag, Dr Visakha stated that the operation is underway to find the missing people. By the time this report was filed, 4 dead bodies had been recovered and the search was ongoing for the remaining at least 15 persons still missing.
Sources claimed that many workers from Nepal are among those missing.
Every year, a large number of Nepalese reach the Char Dham sites to earn their livelihood. According to official sources, at least 7 missing persons are from Nepal, some are local residents, while others are pilgrims from other states.
As per the information reaching here, heavy rains have continued in the district since late night, leading to this disaster. As per the local disaster management centre, the flash flood occurred a little past midnight. The information about the rock rolling down due to rain was received late at night, after which the district administration team including SDRF reached the spot for rescue operations, but it had to be stopped due to practical difficulties like darkness and continued rain.
The rescue operation was resumed in the morning, but the continuous rain turned out to be the biggest challenge. As per initial reports, 8 to 10 persons were reported to be missing, a figure that was first updated to 13 and then to 19 late this afternoon.
The District Disaster Management Officer, Nandan Singh Rajwar, said in the morning that, according to the information received through the police, 13 people (three locals, seven of Nepal origin and three of other states) had gone missing due to heavy landslide near Gaurikund Dat Pulia on the Kedarnath Yatra route. The names of the 13 missing have been released by the district administration, while others are yet to be identified.
As per the reports, boulders and the debris are continuously falling from the hill at the site, due to which the SDRF, the local administration, the Police and the DDRF are facing difficulties in carrying out the rescue operation.
The Kedarnath Yatra has been stopped following the incident and in view of the yellow alert that was issued by the Meteorological Centre for heavy rains in the hill districts of Garhwal including Chamoli and Rudraprayag as well Dehradun and some districts of Kumaon. As per the forecast, heavy rains in the state are likely to continue till 7 August.
CM visits Disaster Control Room to obtain feedback
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 4 Aug: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the Disaster Control located at the Secretariat here, today, and sought detailed information from the officials regarding the ongoing rains across the state.
Dhami also sought information from the officials regarding the calamity in Gaurikund in Rudraprayag district. He instructed the officials concerned to speed up the ongoing relief and rescue work there.
Along with this, instructions were given from the government level to provide all possible help in Gaurikund area to the people in need.
CM Dhami also inquired about the current water level of the major rivers in the state. He said that in all the areas where there is a problem of flood due to increase in the water level, an alert should be issued and the people evacuated to safer places. The Chief Minister added that people living in buildings and kuccha houses built around sensitive areas from the point of view of landslides should also be taken to safe places.
The Chief Minister said that, after the accident in Gaurikund, relief and rescue work is going on continuously. The search operation is being conducted to find the missing people. The relatives of the dead and missing people are also being contacted. Teams of all rescue agencies are present on the spot. He stated that the government administration is fully prepared to deal with any situation.
During the CM’s visit to the Control Room, Additional Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, Special Principal Secretary Abhinav Kumar, and Secretary, Disaster, Ranjit Sinha were among those present.
