DEHRADUN: After Wednesday's devastating monsoon rains in Uttarakhand which claimed 13 lives, the toll continues to rise. In a fresh incident, 16 people went missing after a cloudburst triggered landslides on the Kedarnath pedestrian route late Wednesday night. According to data from the State Meteorological Center, the state has broken its 58-year rainfall record.
The disaster has left over 1,000 pilgrims stranded at the Kedarnath Dham. Police Superintendent Rudraprayag, Dr Vishakha Bhadane, ensured that search and rescue operations are underway to locate those missing in the tragedy.
In an exclusive interview with The New Indian Express, Commandant of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Manikant Mishra, said, "SDRF personnel from Uttarakhand conducted rescue operations late into the night to evacuate 450 stranded pilgrims from the Munakatiya area to Sonprayag in the Kedarnath yatra route. The rescue operations will continue unabated on Thursday until all pilgrims are safely evacuated."
SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra deployed drones to assess the situation and plan next steps after a landslide and boulder fall damaged a 2-kilometer-long alternate rescue path on the Sonprayag-Gaurikund hill route.
"The last day of July saw a record-breaking rainfall in Dehradun, with the 24-hour downpour shattering a 58-year record. Additionally, Haridwar also witnessed the highest rainfall in the past 40 years, breaking the previous record," said Director of the State Meteorological Center, Dr Bikram Singh, citing Meteorological Department data.
Director Dr Bikram Singh told The New Indian Express, "There is a possibility of one or two spells of heavy rainfall on Friday as well. An orange alert has been issued for Uttarkashi, indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall. Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Bageshwar, and Nainital may witness thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rainfall."
According to the sources at MET department, Dehradun witnessed a record-breaking 175 mm rainfall between Wednesday and Thursday mornings, the highest since 1966 when 487 mm rainfall was recorded. Haridwar also saw the highest single-day rainfall in 40 years, with 242 mm downpour, surpassing the previous record set in 1984. Dr Bikram Singh further added that Dehradun received 35 per cent more rainfall than usual in July.
Vinod Kumar Suman, Secretary of Disaster Management in Uttarakhand, told this newspaper, "Only the route between Gaurikund and Kedarnath is blocked. Yesterday, we evacuated 2300 people from Gaurikund to Sonprayag and 700 people from Bhimboli and Lincholi to Guptkashi. 1000 people are safe in Kedarnath. Relief and rescue operations are underway using four helicopters from Lincholi and Bhimboli."
The State has received an MI-17 aircraft and a Chinook helicopter from the Centre for rescue operations, which will resume once the weather clears. While Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Badrinath pilgrimages continue, the Kedarnath pilgrimage has been temporarily suspended.
Central Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami over the phone to inquire about the disaster situation in various parts of the state. Dhami briefed Shah on the large-scale relief and rescue operations underway in the affected areas. Shah assured all possible assistance for the safety of the state's residents and pilgrims.