Army-administration slanging match continues

DHARCHULA, Aug 24: Rescue operations at Malpa ran aground today as the Army personnel found it difficult to handle maggot-infested bodies...

DHARCHULA, Aug 24: Rescue operations at Malpa ran aground today as the Army personnel found it difficult to handle maggot-infested bodies. Bad weather also compounded the problem as eight bodies retrieved at Malpa could not be lifted to Dharchula.

To make matters worse, even one week after the tragedy the Army and the civil administration have failed to set up a joint control room. Even as angry, impatient relatives wait anxiously for news of 170 other people still lying buried under the debris, only five yatris and nine locals have been identified so far. In view of the present situation, the commissioner, Kumaon Mandal, has ordered that all bodies not identified till date be treated as lavaris and cremated at the site after the completion of legal formalities.

Not a single civil administrator is present at the site of the tragedy much to the consternation of the Army. The mass cremation order has brought with it ugly technicalities like death certificate not being granted in the event ofthe dead body not being found and the person declared as missing for the next seven years.

8220;How can they say they want mass cremation. We want all the bodies back instead of lame excuses,8221; says Manesh Shah from Pune. Vital to the issue of inheritance especially because of the large number of elders in the group, the administration has definitely not heard the last on the death certificate issue.

Jaideep Chandra, Commissioner, Kumaon Mandal, today said that she has ordered a magisterial inquiry to expedite the death certificates of those who will probably never be retrieved from the debris. The relatives and locals were seen in angry mobs, bad-mouthing the administration. Sensing the gravity of the situation PAC was summoned in case the protests became uncontrollable. To add to the confusion, the police personnel stationed at Dharchula decided to decamp arbitrarily and the DIG set off to Nainital without informing the authorities leaving full scope for complete mayhem.

The joint control room that hadbeen planned at the onset of the operation under the leadership of the GOC to be set up at Dharchula was nowhere in sight displaying the lack of cooperation between the civil administration and the Army.

The two sides continued a slanging match as the Army complained that even things like rope, folding ladders, hose pipe and float pumps to clear the debris faster were not provided even after 48 hours. Major B V Vats of 69 mountain brigade incharge of the Pithoragarh control room said things would have been better organised if somebody of the rank of DM was stationed at the site. 8220;Orders for things would have been taken more seriously as the authorities would be able to appreciate the gravity of the situation better,8221; he added.

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Essentials like formalin to preserve bodies at the site had still not been provided. Apparent needs like polythene bags to carry bodies though requisitioned on August 19 were only made available on August 22. The pilots, as a result, had to fly bodies without bags underoverpowering stench. Adding to the confusion was an order from the Chief Secy, UP, Yogendra Yadav, saying that all unidentified bodies including those of the locals be airlifted to AIIMS Delhi for further identification.

Fearing local ire as the feared dead include 150 locals, the Commissioner overruled the decision saying that all bodies be cremated at the site. Also the Army insists that its role ends with the rescue and transportation of bodies. The rescue operation, which has shaken the administration and has stirred the Army, seems to be heading nowhere. Now a crucial decision has to be taken as to whether to give up the search for bodies which are near complete decomposition.