DEHRADUN: In a significant shift in the search operation for individuals missing after the devastating disaster in Dharali, Uttarkashi, authorities will now leverage mobile phone location data to pinpoint their whereabouts.
This innovative approach aims to track the last known movements of missing persons based on their phone numbers. The strategy will help determine if a missing person's final location was within the Dharali area, which would strongly suggest they are buried under debris. If the location is found outside the disaster zone, further investigation will be initiated.
Since the disaster struck Dharali on August 5, people from various states, including Nepal, Bihar, and Rajasthan, have been arriving in the area, each claiming their loved ones are missing, leading to conflicting accounts.
So far, 1,308 travellers and local residents have been rescued. However, the administration has officially confirmed 68 individuals as missing. "Information will be collected from mobile operators' towers regarding the location of missing individuals on August 5, the day of the disaster," Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman told this newspaper.
"This data will then be used to verify the whereabouts of the missing."
Secretary Suman further explained that complaints from those claiming their relatives are missing are being formally registered. "The movement of the mobile numbers provided for their family members will be tracked, and the address registered with the mobile number will also be scrutinized," he said. "This will be followed by verification through the respective districts."
Records from contractors will also be reviewed, and suggestions from experts will be sought before a comprehensive proposal is sent to the central government. Home Secretary Shailesh Bagouli affirmed, "Along with mobile location tracking, district administrations will also conduct independent inquiries into the missing persons."
Arpan Yaduvanshi, Commandant of the State Disaster Response Force, highlighted the scale of the ongoing relief efforts. "Several central and state agencies, including the Army, Special Forces, NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, and BRO, are engaged in relief and rescue operations," he informed this newspaper. "Locating the missing remains a significant challenge for the administration."
Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman also noted the human element in such crises. "Typically, no one immediately states that their family members are missing or have died in a disaster. This is why we initially accept claims as true, and then proceed with thorough verification," he concluded.
