CM monitors rescue operation
By Our Staff Reporter
Chamoli, 28 Feb: A major disaster occurred near Mana village, close to Badrinath Dham in Chamoli district, today, when an avalanche struck, burying 57 labourers working for a contractor of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). By 5 p.m., 32 workers had been rescued safely, while efforts continued to locate and rescue the remaining twenty-five. The incident is believed to have been triggered by heavy snowfall in the region. Local sources report that the rescue operations are being hindered by the continued bad weather and snowfall.
Expressing deep concern, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has prayed for the safety of the trapped labourers. Taking serious note of the development, the CM reached the disaster control room at the Dehradun Secretariat to monitor the rescue operations.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to Dhami, assuring all possible assistance. Later, in a tweet post, Rajnath Singh confirmed that an avalanche had affected the GREF camp of BRO in the Mana area of Joshimath and stated that local army units were actively engaged in rescue efforts.
The accident occurred this afternoon as the BRO was carrying out road construction work near Mana. Heavy snowfall and harsh weather conditions are posing significant challenges to rescue operations. Despite these difficulties, the Indian Army has deployed its Ibex Brigade, which rescued 32 personnel by 5 a.m. and provided them medical aid. Additional soldiers and equipment are being rushed to the site to expedite the rescue process.
The Indian Army has shared information about the avalanche on its Surya Command IA account, confirming that many workers were trapped under the debris. Meanwhile, IG, Police Headquarters, Nilesh Anand Bharne reported that three to four ambulances had been dispatched, but ongoing snowfall over the past few days has hindered relief teams from reaching the site. IG, Garhwal, Rajiv Swaroop, also corroborated that the avalanche buried several BRO workers and emphasised that efforts are underway to clear the route and safely evacuate everyone.
Chamoli District Magistrate Sandeep Tiwari mentioned difficulties in reaching the site due to continued snowfall, making it impossible for helicopters and other heavy equipment to be deployed. Nevertheless, relief and rescue teams, including personnel from the local administration, police, ITBP, and NDRF, are working tirelessly under extreme conditions to reach the trapped labourers, he claimed.
IG, SDRF, Ridhim Agarwal, confirmed that 57 BRO workers were affected by the avalanche. She shared that a team of SDRF has been dispatched from Joshimath, but road blockages at Lambagad are delaying their arrival. The army is assisting in clearing the route while another SDRF team remains on alert at Sahasradhara helipad, ready for deployment once weather conditions improve. SDRF and the district administration are coordinating closely with BRO and the Army. A drone team has also been prepared for aerial surveillance, though snowfall has temporarily halted its operations.
This incident has brought back memories of the devastating avalanche in Chamoli district in 2021, which had led to flooding and significant loss of life. Authorities claim that they are making efforts to ensure that history does not repeat itself as they race against time to save those still trapped under the debris.
Chamoli Avalanche: Did Govt ignore alert issued by DRDO?
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 28 Feb: Reports of 57 BRO workers having been trapped in an Avalanche hit in Mana have raised concern across the state and in the country. While the rescue operations are underway and at least 16 workers have been rescued till this report was filed this evening, bad weather is hampering the rescue mission. However, it is worth reminding that the Meteorological Department as well as the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) had yesterday issued yellow and orange alerts of heavy snowfall and possible avalanche strikes in district Chamoli. The question that arises is why, despite these alerts, workers were deployed today on road construction in the area and whether it is a case of ignoring the alerts.
In Uttarakhand, there is a history of often ignoring the bad weather alerts by the respective district administrations and consequent loss of life and property.
In today’s incident, rescue operations have been initiated to save those trapped under the avalanche. So far, 16 workers have been rescued, while 41 remain buried.
It has come to light that the Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE) Chandigarh and the Meteorological Department had previously issued alerts indicating the possibility of an avalanche.
The avalanche alert issued by DGRE included a yellow alert for the districts of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh, and Bageshwar in Uttarakhand. DGRE had also issued similar alerts for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, and Ladakh. The avalanche alert spanned from 5 p.m. on February 27 to 5 p.m. on February 28.
In addition to the DGRE alert, the Meteorological Department had issued alerts for heavy rain and snowfall in the state. The department had forecast heavy snowfall in areas above 3200 metres altitude, along with rain in certain locations in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, Dehradun, and Pithoragarh.
The Meteorological Department also warned of the possibility of avalanches due to heavy snowfall. According to the department’s warning, alerts were issued for heavy rains in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal, Dehradun, Pithoragarh, and Bageshwar, with very heavy snowfall expected in some high-altitude areas (3200-3500 metres and above).
Now that it is clear that alerts were issued, the question also arises whether the district administration of Chamoli and the Border Road Organisation itself had not paid due heed to the warnings, thus endangering the lives of the workers who had been hired for road construction by the contractors working for the BRO. It also remains to be seen, if the state government takes serious note of this “lapse” and orders an inquiry and action over the negligence.
