 "Rahul meets flood victims in Uttarakhand")
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today visited affected areas in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand and personally met with victims of the tragedy.
After arriving at Rudraprayag by air, Gandhi travelled to Khankra, where he inspected damages and met local people here. He also met a group of pilgrims on their way back home, who were stranded at Khankra due to a huge landlside at Sirobhgarh, three km away. He skipped a visit to the landslide site itself, though.
Fresh spells of rain overnight triggered a major landslide at Sirobhgarh, at a bend on the highway between Rudraprayag and Srinagar, hampering movement of traffic and on-going rescue and relief operations.
An hour after Gandhi's departure, engineers finally managed to connect both ends by 3.30 p.m. But the route was open only to pedestrian movement as one end of the newly-built road was still strewn with boulders and needed to be paved for vehicular traffic.
Engineers were hopeful of finishing work by nightfall, but further rains could make things worse.
While pilgrims returning from Joshimath and Gaurikund are stuck on the Khankra side, crucial supplies such as vegetables, provisions and other relief items headed for Rudraprayag and flood-affected areas ahead were stuck on the other side of the slide, as scores of vehicles which left Srinagar last evening have been unable to move ahead. Even helicopter relief operations might be affected as at least two tankers carrying aviation turbine fuel to Gauchar airbase are stuck here.
Sardar Maninder Singh, who is part of a convoy of ten vehicles carrying essential supplies, said, "Last night, when the road briefly opened up, only people used to slides and difficult terrain were able to go-ahead. Vehicles were getting stuck on the lose soil and had to be pushed through. We never wanted to take a chance."
The longer wait has increased agony among those who are going in search of their loved ones. Two brothers, who are waiting for the roads to be re-opened to go in search of their family said, "We haven’t heard from them since last Tuesday. The longer the wait, the more our concerns rise," one of them said.
A second longer route, which goes to Rudraprayag is also shut as a bridge had been washed away. Engineers said the government should have kept at least a second route in good conditions to address such a situation.
The General Reserve Engineers Force of the Indian army had been working since morning to re-build the road. Three bulldozers are working from both ends to remove the debris and build the road. Work though, was slow as the area is full of loose soil.
After arriving at Rudraprayag by air, Gandhi travelled to Khankra, where he inspected damages and met local people here. He also met a group of pilgrims on their way back home, who were stranded at Khankra due to a huge landlside at Sirobhgarh, three km away. He skipped a visit to the landslide site itself, though.
Fresh spells of rain overnight triggered a major landslide at Sirobhgarh, at a bend on the highway between Rudraprayag and Srinagar, hampering movement of traffic and on-going rescue and relief operations.
More From This Section
An entire stretch of 200-300 metres of road has been wiped away by the slide that happened late last night. "The highway was open briefly between 8 p.m. and midnight after rehabilitation force had worked all day to rebuild the road. But fresh spells of rain at midnight nullified all the hard work by us," said Palam Singh Negi, officer on duty, Uttarakhand police.
An hour after Gandhi's departure, engineers finally managed to connect both ends by 3.30 p.m. But the route was open only to pedestrian movement as one end of the newly-built road was still strewn with boulders and needed to be paved for vehicular traffic.
Engineers were hopeful of finishing work by nightfall, but further rains could make things worse.
While pilgrims returning from Joshimath and Gaurikund are stuck on the Khankra side, crucial supplies such as vegetables, provisions and other relief items headed for Rudraprayag and flood-affected areas ahead were stuck on the other side of the slide, as scores of vehicles which left Srinagar last evening have been unable to move ahead. Even helicopter relief operations might be affected as at least two tankers carrying aviation turbine fuel to Gauchar airbase are stuck here.
Sardar Maninder Singh, who is part of a convoy of ten vehicles carrying essential supplies, said, "Last night, when the road briefly opened up, only people used to slides and difficult terrain were able to go-ahead. Vehicles were getting stuck on the lose soil and had to be pushed through. We never wanted to take a chance."
The longer wait has increased agony among those who are going in search of their loved ones. Two brothers, who are waiting for the roads to be re-opened to go in search of their family said, "We haven’t heard from them since last Tuesday. The longer the wait, the more our concerns rise," one of them said.
A second longer route, which goes to Rudraprayag is also shut as a bridge had been washed away. Engineers said the government should have kept at least a second route in good conditions to address such a situation.
The General Reserve Engineers Force of the Indian army had been working since morning to re-build the road. Three bulldozers are working from both ends to remove the debris and build the road. Work though, was slow as the area is full of loose soil.