Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 8 Sep: A major mishap occurred in Sawali Kyari of Uttarkashi, adjoining the remote Tyuni police station area of Dehradun district, where a 16-year-old girl fell into the Tons River while attempting to cross it in a ropeway trolley. The girl, who was on her way to her village, lost her balance and plunged into the river. Police and SDRF teams have launched a search operation, but she has not been traced as yet.
According to the reports, around 8 a.m. this morning, Tyuni police received information from local resident Virendra Rawat that a girl had fallen into the Tons River. Acting swiftly, the police and SDRF reached the spot and began the search, though despite extensive efforts, the girl remains untraced. The search is meanwhile continuing.
Station in-charge, Tyuni, Vinay Mittal has informed that the girl has been identified as Shabeena, daughter of Yasin, resident of Bankhwad. She was crossing the Tons River on the ropeway trolley between Mendrath and Hanol in Sawali Kyari, Uttarkashi, when she lost her balance and fell into the river below. Her sister was accompanying her at the time of the incident.
The ropeway trolley, or ‘jhoola garari’, strung across the Tons River in this region, has for years been the only means of crossing between villages of Dehradun and Uttarkashi districts. Despite its high risk, villagers are compelled to use it due to the lack of a bridge, and several accidents have occurred in the past. The people from both districts continue to commute daily across this precarious crossing, risking their lives.
Meanwhile, rescue operations also continue in Rudraprayag district following the recent disaster in Chenagad. Teams from NDRF, SDRF, DDRF, police and disaster management units are engaged in relentless search and rescue work under extremely challenging conditions. Excavation has been intensified with the deployment of JCB machines to clear debris, remove large boulders and dig through rubble in order to trace those still missing.
During the operation, articles were recovered from some buried shops, but no bodies have been found so far. The relief and rescue teams remain stationed at ground zero, working tirelessly day and night to locate the missing persons.
District Disaster Management Officer of Rudraprayag, Nandan Singh Rajwar, shared that search, rescue and relief operations are continuing on a war footing in Chenagad. The top priority of the administration is to accelerate the rescue work. JCBs have been pressed into service and efforts are being made to quickly restore road connectivity so that essential machinery, relief material and rescue teams can reach the affected villages without delay
