Tsunami-like crisis: Rescue slow,nearly 63,000 people still stranded

The PMO put the number of dead at 102. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said 71 had died. Eyewitness accounts and unofficial estimates said the toll was

likely to be much higher. Officials said the focus was currently on rescue and evacuation of survivors. Related: ‘I watched my wife being swept away by torrent’

Only about 1,100 people could be lifted out of the disaster zone in Uttarakhand on Wednesday,with tens of thousands still stranded in the hills that continued to be cut off. Twenty-two helicopters belonging to the IAF and private operators were pressed into service,17 of which concentrated exclusively on evacuating survivors.

Most evacuations were carried out in the Kedarnath valley. But over 20,000 people,including pilgrims,were still to be airlifted in Rudraprayag district where Kedarnath is located,the disaster monitoring and control room in Dehradun said.

Among those evacuated from Rudraprayag on Wednesday was district magistrate Vijay Dhondiyal,apparently after he developed a medical condition. No official word on the officer’s health was forthcoming,but a source in the state government suggested he had been affected by the stress.

“He had perhaps suffered angina pain. He has been admitted to a local hospital in Dehradun. He was disturbed by the scale of the disaster in his district,” the source said.

Meanwhile,NDMA vice-chairman M Shashidhar Reddy told The Indian Express that the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had,on June 12,forecast heavy rain in the region,but the “time from rainfall to flood was very less”.

The result,Reddy said,was a crisis of the kind unseen in decades in the area.

“The forecast made by IMD on June 12th said that there was going to be heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand and Orissa. There was no clarity on the magnitude of the rain. What we are seeing right now is a tsunami-like situation. Such kind of heavy rainfall has taken place after 60 years in the region,” Reddy said.

The prime minister,who heads the NDMA,described the situation as “most distressing”. Related: ‘My father is dead,my mother is sitting with body’

“What chairperson UPA and I saw today was most distressing. While the most recent estimates put the death toll at 102,it is feared that loss of lives could eventually be much higher,” he told reporters in New Delhi. “Many persons still remain stranded. The maximum damage has been in Kedarnath and its vicinity.”

Some 5,500 jawans and officers of the Army,3,000 men of the Border Roads Organisation,and 6,000 personnel of the ITBP are engaged in the relief and rescue effort. Thirteen teams of the National Disaster Response Force,which works under the NDMA,have been deployed. Eighteen IAF helicopters and a C-130 transport aircraft have been called in. The Uttarakhand government has requisitioned several private choppers as well.

Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna,who met the PM in New Delhi,said the Kedarnath shrine was safe,but would have to remain out of bounds for at least a year until the shrine and the area are cleaned and the debris removed.

The ITBP rescued around 4,000 people on Wednesday. “Most of the roads and bridges have been washed away,so we are building rope bridges to reach people. Helicopters are flying as many sorties as possible. The weather is a serious problem,” Ajay Chaddha,DG,ITBP,who flew over the area with union home secretary R K Singh,said.

Another ITBP official said,“Our priority is to evacuate stranded people. We are not even fishing out bodies at this time. Evacuating the elderly in Kedarnath is proving to be the most difficult. Many can’t walk,and we are arranging stretchers,which is taking time.”

The PM announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the dead and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. Those who have lost a part or all of their homes will get assistance of between Rs 50,000 and 1 lakh.

Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth chaired a high level meeting to assess the situation Wednesday. Minister of State for Home R P N Singh said: “Bad weather is slowing the rescue operation. At least 450 per cent more rainfall has been witnessed in these regions,which has led to flooding. A helicopter was washed away even though it had been chained.”