Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat visited the rain-ravaged Mori block of Uttarkashi on Tuesday to take stock of relief and rescue operations, even as the death toll in rain related incidents in the district rose to 16.
He also announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those killed in the natural calamity.
Search and rescue teams of the State Disaster Response Force recovered three more bodies from Sanel village on Tuesday, Uttarkashi's Disaster Management officer Devendra Patwal said, adding one of the deceased belonged to neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.
Makudi is the worst-hit among the six villages where heavy rains caused a number of houses to collapse early on Sunday. So far seven bodies have been recovered from Makudi and four from Arakot, four each from Tikochi and Sanel and one from from Tikochi. The six affected villages include Arakot, Makudi, Molda, Sanel, Tikochi and Dwichanu.
The chief minister, who had sent his ministers to the disaster hit areas of Uttarkashi on Monday, himself visited the affected areas along with Tehri MP Mala Rajya Lakshmi Shah, state BJP president and Nainital MP Ajay Bhatt and Vikasnagar MLA Munna Singh Chauhan on Tuesday for a first hand assessment of the situation.
After an aerial survey of the affected villages, Rawat met people in Arakotand assured them of all possible help from the government, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan said, adding the chief minister also announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of those killed and free treatment of those injured.
The district administration has been asked to identify land where people who have lost their homes can be resettled.
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IAF helicopters have taken food packets, blankets, medicines and clean drinking water to the affected people, Uttarkashi district magistrate said.
The rescue teams have left Arakot where a base camp was set up on Monday for Tikoch, Dochang, Makudi and Chiva whereas a medical team has also been ferried by a helicopter to the affected areas, officials in Dehradun said.
The SDRF is putting up food camps in the affected areas and alternative roads are being built in areas where roads are blocked by rubble of landslides. An alternative bridge is also being built in Chiva by SDRF personnel.
Chief Secretary Utpal Kumar Singh also held a meeting to assess the damage caused by heavy rains in Uttarkashi and instructed PWD officials to take up connectivity restoration in affected areas on a priority basis.
He also asked officials concerned to restore supply of drinking water in the affected areas expeditiously. Singh directed different departments to co-ordinate with each other so that relief reaches people smoothly.
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