U’khand plans to tag some missing ‘dead’

If the person was in any part of the Kedar valley between Gaurikund and Kedarnath temple on the evening of June 16,there is no chance of him being alive. If a persons location is found anywhere near Guptakashi or Soneprayag,there is a possibility of his survival, a source in the police said. The government has requested all states for details of their missing persons who were present in the valley when the floods and landslides struck.

We have a list of about 3,000 persons. Several states have sent their representatives to coordinate with use in the preparation of the missing persons list, Ajay Pradyot,a senior official involved in preparing the list,told The Indian Express.

The plan may yet be a non-starter if families of the missing persons refuse permission. How can you declare a person dead without the consent of his family?, the source explained. And it wouldnt be easy,the source said,to persuade such families. Indeed,several families are camping in Dehradun and planning to go to the Kedar valley to search for their missing relatives.

Sources,meanwhile,also said that guidelines to distribute relief to families of missing persons who are declared dead are on the anvil.