M A I N   N E W S

16 cloudburst victims still untraced
Pratibha Chauhan & M.C. Thakur
Tribune News Service

Kangni Nallah (Manali), August 9
Even though the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and the district administration continued with relief and rescue operations, only one body of a 10-year-old girl could be recovered today, as 16 missing persons still remained untraced.

The BRO authorities put the casualty figure at 39. But with bodies of 13 persons still not recovered, it is apprehended that the number of missing persons could be much higher.

The authorities said the total number of persons staying in the tents which were washed away by the gushing waters and boulders was around 175. About 250 labourers living in the adjoining camps at Dhundi and Fingri Nallah, escaped the fury of the cloudburst. All the labourers and their families have now been temporarily shifted to the Senior Secondary School in Manali, where they are being provided with food, clothing and shelter.

Bodies of 26 persons, which includes 22 labourers, one woman and four children, have been recovered from the heaps of debris, uprooted trees and boulders. Bodies of six persons have been kept at the mortuary in Kulu as their cremation will be possible only after they are identified. The remaining bodies were cremated yesterday. “Today we were able to recover the body of 10-year-old girl Sukhmani, whose parents too have been injured,” informed Commander P.K. Mahajan, of the 38 Task force (GREF).

While the two critically persons Sukhdev and Siraj, have been shifted to Kulu, 13 persons are under treatment at the Manali Civil Hospital and two at the Mission Hospital.

The BRO, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the local police continued the rescue operations, with the main focus being on locating the bodies of the missing persons. “The fact that the labourers had received their wages on the same day, came as a blessing in disguise, as most of them were away to Solang and Manali, for their usual gambling and boozing sessions,” said an official engaged in rescue operation.

The BRO has already ordered a court of inquiry into the incident, with the report being expected within a week’s time. “It is only after the inquiry is completed that we will give the compensation to the next of kin of the victims while the family of those who were here alone, would get the relief through the Deputy Commissioner’s office in their home state,” said Commander Mahajan.

The BRO trucks could be seen ferrying the labourers along with their belongings from Dhundi, Fingri Nullah and Kangni camps to the school at Manali. Some of them have already pitched their tents at Solang ground. The Tibetan Welfare Office distributed clothes, shoes, untensils and money to the labourers housed in the school. Other local NGOs too have made their contribution in one form or the other.

The Agriculture Minister, Mr Rajkrishan Gaur, visited school and hospital and distributed blankets and other items to the victims and the injured. The Divisional Commissioner and DIG, Mandi, accompanied by the Deputy Commissioner, SDM and DSP visited the site.