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IAF, private copters rescue 450 pilgrims
All hydropower stations closed due to silt, debris
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Kailash Mansarovar Yatra adversely hit by torrential rains
A road that was washed away in Ghattabagar village in Pithoragarh.
Slum dwellers living near river banks worst hit
Policemen rescue jhhugi dwellers of the Bairagi camp as the swirling waters of the Ganga, which is flowing two metres above the danger level, entered their houses in Haridwar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Rameshwar Gaur
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna inspects a flood-hit area in Dehradun on Tuesday.
IAF launches ‘Operation Rahat’
Army jawans provide food to stranded pilgrims and tourists at Joshimath in Chamoli district on Tuesday.
Damage evaluation begins
C T Young win ONGC BS Negi Tournament
The CT Young Football Club team that won the 4th ONGC BS Negi Memorial Football Tournament in Dehradun on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir
ONGC, CT Young enter football finals
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IAF, private copters rescue 450 pilgrims
Dehradun, June 18 “We have seven IAF helicopters and four private helicopters at our disposal and they have been involved in the rescue and relief operations. Today, six IAF and private helicopters were able to airlift several pilgrims, who were stranded in different places, and drop 10,000 food packets,” said Chief Secretary Subash Kumar while briefing mediapersons here today. The Chief Secretary said the helicopters, including MI-17 and Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), undertook several sorties and airlifted stranded pilgrims form Guptkashi (Kedarnath) to Fata and from Ghangariya to Joshimath. He added 52 persons had lost their lives due to the havoc caused by incessant rains. “The maximum number of casualties has taken place in Rudraparayg, followed by Almora and Dehradun where nine deaths have been reported,” he said. The Chief Secretary said around 3,000 to 4,000 pilgrims were still stranded at Ghangariya and Govind Ghat and around 800 to 700 pilgrims in Kedarnath. According to the Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (Uttarakhand), there are still 61,890 pilgrims stranded at various places in the state: Rudraprayag (25,000), Chamoli (27,040) and Uttarkashi (9,850). Subash said 20 jawans from the ITBP and 40 from the Indian Army belonging to the units based in Joshimath had begun building bridges so that stranded pilgrims in Chamoli could be shifted. Further, Secretary, Disaster Management, Bhaskaranand Joshi said the government was in constant touch with officials of Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan about the whereabouts of the pilgrims belonging to these states who were now stranded in Uttarakhand. “Today, we spoke to the Resident Commissioner of Chhattisgarh and offered him logistic support in case they could press the state helicopters for ferrying pilgrims back home. Some of the pilgrims from Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan stranded in Kedarnath and other places,” said Joshi. Pilgrims from Gujarat, Assam and Maharashtra are stranded at Nalupani in Uttarkashi district and are being looked after by the ITBP personnel. He said 200 members of the National Disaster Relief Force had reached Uttarkashi and Kedarnath and were engaged in clearing roads. Alternative routes from Tehri and Guptkashi to Srinagar had also been operationalised for moving the stranded pilgrims.
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All hydropower stations closed due to silt, debris
Dehradun June 18 All big power projects at Khatima, Khodri, Dhalipur, Kulhal, Chila and Maneri Bhalli I and II etc., remained non-functional today. Sources in Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited said the situation might improve in some power houses late this evening if the continuous rain during the past 72 hours stops. Generation from the power houses further nosedived today with around 0.42 million units (MU) only being reported. According to reports from Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), the department somehow arranged 18.92 MU from the central pool, private hydropower projects and the energy exchange against the demand of 21.48 MU. The power supply remained disrupted in many areas of Dehradun city for two to four hours due to snapping of power lines and other problems arising out of faults caused in transmission lines or transformers at the sub-station level. The UPCL bought 200 MW today to minimise power cuts in the wake of the disaster caused by heavy rains in the state. However, the power purchased became available after 6 pm. To meet the requirement for tomorrow, 250 MW was also bought for Rs 1 crore. The rural areas of Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar would face power cuts for eight hours and small towns for three hours. Industries and furnace factories would suffer more as they would face 12- hour power cuts. UPCL officials said the department was trying to repair the power infrastructure like transmission lines, transformers and sub-stations throughout the state, which faced colossal damage due to the rain-related disaster.
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Kailash Mansarovar Yatra adversely hit by torrential rains
Pithoragarh, June 18 The first two batches of the pilgrimage have been stopped midway as the track route is witnessing landslides at various places. "Following the orders of the External Affairs Ministry, we have stopped the first batch at Bundi and the second at Almora till the route becomes clear," said DK Sharma, manager (tourism), Kumaon Mandal Viikas Nigam, the nodal agency for the yatra. Sources in the ITBP said the first batch had been stopped at the Bundi camp as the route beyond this was witnessing massive landslides. Kedar Singh Rawat, an ITBP commandant, said their teams, along with PWD officials, were inspecting the trek routes from the Gunji to Bundi camp. The pilgrims would be allowed to move further when the way became clear of any natural obstacle. DK Sharma said the ministry had clearly instructed that the batches be allowed to move further only when the way became clear. Roads beyond Almora were blocked at several places.
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Slum dwellers living near river banks worst hit
Dehradun, June 18 Anil Kumar, resident of Sanjay Colony Basti, said nearly one dozen embankments which were built quite recently got washed away in one spell of rain. He complained of shoddy quality of building material used. Nirmala Rani, who lived near Bindalpul said, despite many complaints, none from district administration or DMC came to clear the water from their houses. Kusum Devi of the same locality said the state government was giving merely Rs 2000 over damage to a hut . She demanded the amount to be raised up to Rs 10,000 so that they could make better huts covered with tin roofs. Councillor Tripta Jatav of ward 22 complained that slum dwellers who had lost their dwellings and belongings were not being provided any immediate relief by the district administration. District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam who himself is supervising the rescue operations and sits in the disaster control room assured that immediate monetary assistance would be provided to all the victims. He said that the district administration would provide embankments or the iron-mesh boundary around those patches where these slum dwellers were living near the banks of the rivers. Additional District Magistrate Jharna Kamthan who had been engaged in the rescue operations around Rispana river said that she had given a report to the DM with regard to providing iron fencing in slum colonies settled across Rispana river. The expenditure estimate of fencing at Sanjay Colony and Nai Basti near Balbir Road is Rs 11.7 lakh. The stretch from Mohini Road to Sanjay Colony will cost Rs 6 lakh. The area to be fenced from Rispana Purani Basti to Inder Road will cost Rs 6.30 lakh. Similarly, the portion from Rispana Road to Chander Road will cost around Rs 2.70 lakh.Deputy Collector, Himalaya Singh Martoliya, who was in charge of rescue operations around Bindal river area said that people put their lives at risk by living close to the river. A big wave was enough to swallow hundreds of them in one stroke, he stated. Martoliya could convince only 250 people to shift to makeshift safe premises till the water level came down. The rest remained steadfast and did not leave, fearing encroachment over their dwellings. Mayor Vinod Chamoli said the state government must devise an effective policy for the development of the area around Rispana and Bindal river by rehabilitating those living close to the banks of the rivers.
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12 policemen feared dead
Dehradun, June 18 There is no communication regarding this PAC platoon which comprised both male and female personnel and were on their way to Rambara (Kedarnath) to take up positions at the seasonal post. The DGP said that at this point of time it would be difficult to ascertain the number of casualties suffered by the police. He also said that the systems installed by the police as part of the Disaster Response System were in order and functioning properly. Further, the DGP said that the vehicular traffic comprising 8,000 vehicles stuck in Srinagar has been diverted via Pauri to Najibabad and onwards. ''We also expect to open the Tehri route so that the traffic from Agustmuni (Kedarnath) could take this route,'' said Bansal.
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IAF launches ‘Operation Rahat’
Dehradun, June 18 The Air Force station at Sarsawa was made the hub centre with helicopters converging from Bathinda and Hindon. A number of medium lift helicopters, including the newly inducted MI -17 V5 were positioned on June 17 at Jolly Grant helipad at Dehradun despite inclement weather. On June 17, a total of 36 persons were evacuated from the general areas by MI -17 V5. In addition 21 passengers, including 15 children, were rescued from Nakud area of Saharanpur. Two additional MI -17 V5 helicopters were put into service along with the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams in the general area of Rampur-Rekongpeo in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The relief operations are in full swing, providing relief to thousands of stranded pilgrims and tourists.
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Damage evaluation begins
Dehradun, June 18 Many houses were damaged after embankments near the river got washed away, leading to land erosion. District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam said the drive against encroachments over drains would soon be initiated in the city. As per information, 20 roads were blocked due to the calamity in the district. These include Shimla
Bypass-Sabhawala Pul national highway road.— TNS
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C T Young win ONGC BS Negi Tournament
Dehradun, June 18 In the finals, C T Young held the ONGC in check and did not allow them to score in the stipulated time . It was the brilliant display by the C T Young goalkeeper Ayush Rai who saved a penalty kick to give victory to his team. The C T Young converted all five penalties into goals but the ONGC team could score only four goal thus losing the finals by 5-4. Ayush Rai was declared as the Man of the Tournament and received a cash prize of Rs.11,000 and a trophy. Uttarakhand Sports Minister Dinesh Aggarwal gave away the prizes. Senior ONGC officials were also present on the occasion.
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ONGC, CT Young enter football finals
Dehradun, June 17 In the first semi-final match, the ONGC team defeated Uttarakhand Police by a solitary goal. Bimal scored the lone goal for the ONGC team in the 39th minute of the game. In the second semi-final match, C.T. Young Team defeated Doon Star Club by 4-0. Monu Chaudhary scored the first goal in the 25th minute while Manish Khatri scored the second goal in the 45th minute.
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The Indian Air Force (IAF) and private helicopters today jointly mounted rescue operations in the flood-affected areas of the state undertaking around 365 sorties and rescuing around 300 to 450 pilgrims stranded in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and other parts of the state. Meanwhile, the death toll in the rain-related disaster has reached 52, according to official figures.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been adversely affected by torrential rains in the Kumaon region.
The first two batches of the pilgrimage have been stopped midway as the track route is witnessing landslides at various places.
Hundreds of slum dwellers living on and near the banks of Bindal and Rispana rivers are the worst affected in the calamity triggered by the heavy downpour. Several houses got washed away and many others suffered damage in the last three days. Not a single house remained unharmed completely.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has launched 'Operation Rahat' for rescue and relief operations in
Uttarakhand, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh following the disaster caused by heavy rains. On June 16 heavy rains wreaked havoc in the hill states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, leaving thousands stranded, including pilgrims in transit, in various valleys.The IAF assistance was sought for rescue operations.
CT Young Football Club defeated star-studded ONGC by 5-4 in the finals of the 4th ONGC B S Negi Memorial Football Tournament played at Ambedkar Stadium, here today.