Stop chopper service by other states,says MHA

The Centre has directed Uttarakhand administration not to allow states to operate helicopter services

The Centre has directed Uttarakhand administration not to allow states to operate helicopter services independently for relief and rescue operation. The move came after Gujarat administration led by CM Narendra Modi and Madhya Pradesh government stationed choppers to rescue pilgrims from their respective states. Modi had earlier claimed that he had rescued over 15000 pilgrims in past one week.

The Ministry of Home Affairs MHA has advised the chief secretary that the choppers be handed over to the Uttarakhand government which will coordinate the rescue operations. Separate operations by state governments has led to confusion and impacted the rescue efforts. The decision has been taken to remove confusion and make Uttarakhand government responsible for coordinating all the rescue operations using choppers. There shall be a single point contact for all such efforts, said a senior home ministry official.

Modi,who visited Uttarakhand along with his team of officials had claimed that two chartered planes,Innova cars and private buses were pressed to help the stranded pilgrims. This has also triggered a political debate between BJP and Congress as Iamp;B minister Manish Tewari who rubbished Modis claim of evacuation of 15,000 stranded people and said the Gujarat CM wanted to become a Rambo.

After Centres direction,Uttarakhand government had also issued directions that if any state government wants to send helicopters or other mode of transport,they should be requisitioned to them. The MHA also asked the flood-affected state to take control of private taxis amidst reports that the tour operators were fleecing the victims and overcharging them. We have asked the state government to take charge of the taxi operators and use them to ferry victims. the payments can be made later by the state administration, the home ministry official added.

With reports of lack of coordination between various agencies engaged in the relief operations,the MHA has suspended an officer of National Disaster Response Force. According to MHA,the commandant was reluctant to move from Guptkashi near Kedarnath fearing for his life which initially hampered the rescue operation,they said.