Uttarkashi: Sniffer dogs nosed their way through high piles of rubble, drones circled overhead and rescue personnel searched for the missing through the sludge in disaster-hit Dharali on Friday, four days after raging waters buried half the village and left scores missing.
Since Tuesday, 650 people have been rescued, 400 Thursday and 250 on Friday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, adding the rest will also be evacuated soon.
Communication lines were restored on Friday in the disaster-hit areas of Uttarkashi after remaining disrupted for three days with authorities hoping it will help in pacing up rescue operations.
“Internet connectivity has been restored. Airtel has begun to function in the affected area. It will speed up rescue operations,” Dhami told reporters after returning from Dharali.
However, roads are still blocked or broken between Dharali, Harsil and Uttarkashi and power supply has been badly hit, he said.
He said a generator set has been brought to Uttarkashi to be flown to the affected area.
“The situation is of course difficult but we are trying to bring things back on track at the earliest,” the chief minister, who camped here for the last three days to keep a close eye on the rescue operations, said.
Construction of a bailley bridge over Lincha Gad near Gangnani has also been started after the collapse of a bridge there, he said.
The bailley bridge will be ready within two days, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said.
Officials have said four people were killed in the flash floods. Two bodies were recovered on Wednesday.
The Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) said 16 people, including nine Army personnel and seven civilians, are missing.
According to residents of nearby villages, like Mukhba, who witnessed the disaster, the number of missing is likely to be higher as locals and labourers from Bihar and Nepal were working at under-construction hotels and there were guests in about two dozen big hotels in Dharali when the disaster struck.
Dharali is the main stopover on the way to Gangotri, from where the Ganga originates, abounding in hotels, homestays, restaurants and guest houses.
The USDMA said more than 800 rescue personnel drawn from the Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police are engaged in the rescue operations on the ground.
Sniffer dogs and radars are being used to search for survivors and detect bodies buried under the huge mounds of debris.
The ITBP airlifted people stranded in Harsil, with some of the injured being carried into helicopters on stretchers.
To speed up rescue operations, the Army built a bridge over the Bhagirathi river in the district.
“Today we have established a bridge over the Bhagirathi river, using which the injured and stranded tourists are being evacuated safely,” an Army official said.
To help people contact their family members, the Army activated its communication networks, including satellite and radio relay systems.
Many of those rescued made brief calls to their family members, letting them know they were safe.
Lt Gen D G Mishra said efforts are on to get the stranded tourists out of Gangotri.
“With the aid of the civil administration, civil helicopters and the Indian Air Force, we have been able to pull out approximately 355 people from Harsil to Matli, south of Uttarkashi, from where the Uttarkhand government is sending them down to Dehradun,” he said.
“Our present focus remains on ensuring that we have road connectivity between Uttarkashi, Harsil and Dharali. Secondly, we are also trying to get mobile connectivity and electricity to the villagers north of Harsil, which is an immediate necessity,” he said.
Lt Gen Mishra said the Army has moved in medical supplies and deployed its resources.
“All people who have been affected by this incident are being provided medical assistance,” he said.
Advanced equipment required to dredge through the debris in Dharali to search for the missing is being flown to the spot in helicopters.
Two Chinook helicopters, two Mi-17s of the Indian Air Force and eight choppers of the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority have been deployed.
Rummaging through the debris is an uphill task as the rubble heaps are 50-60 feet high at several places.
With roads breached at various points, the thrust is on air support both for the evacuation of the stranded people and transporting food supplies and other essentials to the affected areas, an NDRF official said.
Dhami reached Dharali and interacted with locals and NDRF personnel in the village.
Earlier in the day, he met ITBP DG, NDRF DG, Uttarakhand Police DGP and other officials to take stock of relief and rescue operations.
Necessary guidelines have been given to the officials on the restoration of roads, communication, electricity and food supply, Dhami said in a Facebook post.
He also announced that he will contribute a month’s salary towards disaster relief operations in Uttarkashi and appealed to public representatives, officials, voluntary organisations and common citizens to make their contributions to the ongoing relief work in the disaster-hit areas of the district. The Defence Ministry in a post on X on Friday shared details about IAF assets deployed for rescue operations along with some photos.
“In the wake of flash floods in Uttarakhand’s Harsil-Dharali valley, #IndianAirForce mounted a rapid response — deploying Chinook & Mi-17V5 helicopters, along with C-295 and AN-32 aircraft. 226 civilians were rescued, 130 NDRF/SDRF/IA personnel deployed, and 20 tons of relief material delivered — showcasing #IAF’s readiness for sustained humanitarian operations,” the ministry said in the post.
