Bad weather hits rescue operations, only 1,000 evacuated

Rescue operations by air and road in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand were hampered by fresh rains today with around 1,000 of the remaining 10,000 stranded people being evacuated and are likely to be stalled for three days with heavy rains being forecast.
As fresh rains, landslides and cloudburst posed a challenge to multi-agency operations, only 164 out of a total of 5,000 pilgrims stuck in the high-altitude temple town of Badrinath could be evacuated to Joshimath in the few small six-seat aircraft that could make limited sorties.
However, the rain-marred rescue efforts saw a total of a little around 1,000 pilgrims being evacuated from different areas including the Himalayan shrine in Chamoli district and the Gangotri valley, Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar told reporters in Dehradun.

Apart from 164 evacuated from Badrinath, 830 were evacuated from Harshil, Maneri and Bhatwari in Uttarkashi district to Dharasu, he said.
The bad weather grounded most of the big military choppers from bringing people to safety while small helicopters managed to evacuate only 164 from Badrinath, 11 from Pandukeshwar and 18 from Lambagar in Chamoli district.
Reports from Chamoli and Pauri districts said it was raining in the higher reaches hampering chopper operations. The state capital Dehradun was also drenched with rain.

Fresh landslips in Rudraprayag and on Badrinath highway also choked the route.
Besides rains and landslides, a cloudburst was reported in Mulan village in Paithani kasba in Pauri following incessant rains. Many houses collapsed but casualties, if any, were not immediately known.

"Not even a single chopper could be flown in the morning from Sahasradhara helipad in Dehradun. However, when the weather improved in the afternoon a couple of sorties were made by private choppers which ferried about 17 pilgrims from Gauchar," Wing Commander(Retd) Capt R S Brar, who has been entrusted with the task of overseeing air rescue operations, told PTI.
The ITBP said it may take another three days to resume the evacuation process.
Most of the people from Kedarnath area have been rescued while there are a few held up at Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, who are being "slowly evacuated", Director General of Indian Tibetan Border Police Ajay Chadha said in New Delhi.

"We can resume the rescue operations once air sorties can be conducted," he told reporters, adding that the weather was expected to improve by June 28.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its forecast update this afternoon said, "Heavy to very heavy rainfall, of upto 25 cm, would occur at one or two places over Uttarakhand during the next 72 hours.