2 labourers dead, 7 missing after landslide, Char Dham Yatra suspended for a day

According to officials involved in the rescue operations, the incident took place 4-5 km ahead of Paligad, on the Yamunotri National Highway, near Silai Band at 2.12 am. There were 19 workers at the labour camp that was hit by the landslide, and nine were initially missing, with the forces later recovering two bodies of labourers hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Nepal. Of the seven missing, four are from Nepal, police said.

The State Disaster Management Authority said it received information about heavy rainfall at around 2.12 am on Sunday. The District Emergency Operations Centre then dispatched a joint team to the site.

Relief and search-rescue operations are being undertaken by teams from the police, State Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force, Revenue Department, and Health Department, among others.

Though a team from SDRF was immediately dispatched for relief and rescue operations, the road closure forced the team to reach the site on foot. “Nineteen were residing in the camp, and several ran away when the landslide hit. We assume others were asleep. Efforts to locate them are ongoing,” said an officer.

The deceased have been identified as Kewal Bisht (43), a resident of Nepal and Duje Lal (55) from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. The missing are Anveer Dhami (40), his wife Sarkatel (32), from Nepal’s Bajura; Roshan Chaudhary (37) and Kullu Tharu (60) from Bardiya in Nepal; Jaichand alias Bobby (38), Prince (20), Chhotu (22) from Kalidas Road in Dehradun.

This comes days after an accident in the neighbouring Rudraprayag where a bus carrying pilgrims of Char Dham yatra met with an accident, leaving five dead and seven missing on Thursday. The operations for that are still underway, as several from a family hailing from Gujarat’s Surat remain missing.

Meanwhile, in view of continuous heavy rainfall and the possibility of landslides across the state, the Char Dham Yatra was suspended for a day, Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey said, adding it was a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of lives and property.

The district administrations concerned have been placed on alert, and relief and rescue teams have been activated. Commissioner Pandey further said a decision regarding the resumption of the Yatra would be taken Monday after reviewing the weather conditions and road status. Pilgrims have been urged to follow the guidelines issued by the administration and to not proceed until the weather improves.

According to IMD, a red alert has been issued for Monday as the state expects heavy to very heavy rain/very intense to extremely intense rain in Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Pauri, Haridwar, Nainital, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttarakhand.