UTTARKASHI: Rescue operations continued in the flood-ravaged Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on Thursday, with over 372 people rescued from the Harsil-Dharali region, officials said. Efforts are underway to assist 140 people stranded in the Gangotri Dham area.
While rescue teams are conducting search operations to locate 58 people, including eight army personnel, who went missing or were swept away in the August 5 flash floods in the upper reaches of the hill state, two new bodies were recovered on Thursday, officials said. The toll from the disaster remained unclear.
“Four teams of NDRF are at the spot, working actively... Eight army personnel and over 50 locals are still missing after Uttarkashi flash floods,” National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) deputy inspector general (DIG) Mohsen Shahidi said, according to news agency PTI.
According to the Uttarakhand police, 372 people have been rescued from Dharali-Harsil, including 260 who were evacuated by helicopter to Malti. The others were airlifted to Dehradun on Chinook and MI-17 helicopters operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF). Officials said the helicopters had conducted about 93 sorties through the day.
Of the rescued locals, 13 individuals were brought to the Matli area of Uttarkashi. Among them, three critically injured civilians were shifted to AIIMS Rishikesh, two to the Military Hospital in Dehradun, and eight are receiving treatment at the District Hospital in Uttarkashi, the army said in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}Of the rescued locals, 13 individuals were brought to the Matli area of Uttarkashi. Among them, three critically injured civilians were shifted to AIIMS Rishikesh, two to the Military Hospital in Dehradun, and eight are receiving treatment at the District Hospital in Uttarkashi, the army said in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials said that over 400 people, including nearly 300 pilgrims and 100 local traders, were stranded in the Gangotri Dham area. On Thursday, 260 of them were rescued, officials said.
Currently, over 450 personnel from the army, ITBP, NDRF, SDRF, and state police are engaged in rescue and search operations. An additional 814 rescuers are awaiting road clearance to reach the affected areas in Dharali, according to state government officials.
NDRF officials also said that cadaver dogs have joined the rescue operations to locate bodies. “Apart from the cadaver dogs who will help us find the dead, we have four sniffer dogs who can sniff out survivors,” NDRF DIG Gambhir Singh Chauhan was quoted as saying by PTI.
Connectivity to Dharali from Uttarkashi, nearly 80 km away, remains severely disrupted at multiple locations, including Batwadi, Linchigad, and Gangnani, among others. Restoration work is being carried out on a war footing, said disaster management secretary Vinod Kumar Suman.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inspected the disaster-affected areas of Pauri Garhwal on Thursday. “In this difficult hour of disaster, I stand with every affected family as a son and brother. On behalf of the state government, every possible assistance is being ensured for those impacted,” he said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, in Haridwar, heavy rainfall over the past 48 hours has caused significant damage to the region’s infrastructure. Officials said at least three houses in Ghosipura village of Manglaur block collapsed due to incessant rains.
In Khanpur, a portion of the outer wall at the ancient Jata Shankar Mahadev temple collapsed after a heavy downpour. Temple committee members said that around 100 metres of the wall collapsed, but no injuries were reported.
At the shrine Mata Sureshwari Devi in the Ranipur area of Haridwar, movement of pilgrims has been prohibited due to the rising water level of the Rau rivulet.
The Central Water Commission’s hydro observatory reported the Ganga river level at Bhimgoda Barrage at 292.65 metres at 3pm on Wednesday –– just below the warning level of 293 metres.
“Hourly updates on Ganga’s water level are being shared with the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department and Haridwar district administration to ensure timely alerts and launch of rescue or relief operations, if needed,” said Harish Kumar, junior engineer with the UP irrigation department.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident in Pauri Garhwal district, five labourers from Nepal are missing after they were swept away by a surging stream in Bankura village of Pauri Garhwal district on Wednesday. The labourers were identified as Narendra Khadka (40), Amita Parihar (40), Vimal Vila (21), Sadhya Sadka (35), and Roman Khadka (18).
District disaster management officer (DDMO), Pauri Garhwal, Dipesh Chandra Kala said, “The search for the missing labourers is still underway. But there has been no trace of them so far.”