165 untraced, hope for survivors dims

Mukesh Ranjan
Tribune News Service
Joshimath, February 9

With the recovery of six more bodies, the toll in the Uttarakhand flashflood disaster rose to 32 today even as 165 persons were still missing.

A rescue operation was in full swing to reach 30 to 35 workers feared trapped inside a tunnel at a power project on the Rishiganga river in Chamoli district. Two bodies were extricated from the debris at Raini village in Joshimath today and the rescue efforts currently remained concentrated to the tunnel, which was ravaged by the deluge, said officials.

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Nepal alerts UP on sharda river surge

Lakhimpur Kheri (UP): Officials in Kanchanpur district of Nepal have sent an alert to the Lakhimpur Kheri district administration, informing that one of its ‘under repair’ lake banks has developed cracks and may cause an increase in the water level in the Sharda river, known as Mahakali in Nepal. IANS

The missing persons include the labourers who were working at the National Thermal Power Corporation’s 480 MW Tapovan-Vishnugarh project site and the 13.2 MW Rishiganga plant. Some villages too were affected with houses being swept away by the floods.

Operations on warfooting: Home Minister

“Satellite data shows a landslide at 5,600 m triggered an avalanche covering 14 sq km area. This caused a flashflood in the Rishiganga. Rescue operations are on at a warfooting,” Amit Shah told Parliament.

Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel are part of the rescue operation, which is being led by the ITBP, a force equipped with trained mountaineers. “The work of clearing the second tunnel of slush and debris was underway through the night,” said ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey. He said the slush mounds were so high that they required heavy lifting through machines.

Relief is being distributed by helicopters among the residents of the 13 villages cut off from mainland. Meanwhile, former Environment Minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh today questioned the rationale behind hydel projects in ecologically sensitive zones. “As Environment Minister, I came under sharp attack for stopping hydel projects on Alaknanda, Bhagirathi and other rivers in Uttarakhand on ecological grounds. We were not considering the cumulative impacts of these projects. I cannot help but recall that now in the wake of Uttarakhand disaster,” he said.