Gangotri: Following some suspected cloudbursts that led to flash floods in the Kheer Ganga river in Uttarakhand, a wide range of rescue and evacuation efforts are underway today in the Gangotri Dham vicinity. Thursday saw the airlift of at least 87 people who were stranded in Harsil, at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) helipad at Matli near Uttarkashi, most of them pilgrims, with an unaccounted number of pilgrims yet to be traced.
A rescue operation in the Harsil-Dharali region has been the centre-stage of all activities in the aftermath, with more than 450 Indian Army, ITBP, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local police personnel working round-the-clock to trace and rescue those stranded. Another 814 rescuers are standing by and ready to get into the flood-affected areas pending the unblocking of the roads.
Officials of disaster management have reported that over 400 people, including nearly 300 pilgrims as well as 100 local traders, are stranded at the Gangotri Dham area. They are now evacuating people through rescue teams to Harsil and then airlifting them by the fleet of helicopters. The State Disaster Response Machinery (constituting the SDRF, the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), and the Incident Response System (IRS)) is coordinating the rescue activities.
Vinod Kumar Suman, the Secretary of Disaster Management, said that 274 people have already been evacuated to Harsil. There are pilgrims who belong to different states: 131 belong to Gujarat, 123 to Maharashtra, 21 to Madhya Pradesh, 12 to Uttar Pradesh, and others to the states of Delhi, Assam, Karnataka, Telangana, Rajasthan, and Punjab.
The Indian Air Force has been using the Chinook helicopters, which have not only deployed rescue teams and presented essential supplies but also have started to transport rescued people to Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun. The situation remains to be observed by authorities that encourage people to be careful and patient since operations are in progress.
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