Dehradun: The recent monsoon rains in Uttarakhand have wreaked havoc, claiming 13 lives and leaving the toll still climbing. In a recent tragedy, 16 people went missing after a cloudburst triggered landslides on the Kedarnath pedestrian route late Wednesday night. The State Meteorological Center reports that the state has shattered its 58-year rainfall record.
The disaster has stranded over 1,000 pilgrims at Kedarnath Dham. Police Superintendent Rudraprayag, Dr. Vishakha Bhadane, confirmed that search and rescue operations are actively underway to locate those missing.
In an interview with The New Indian Express, Commandant of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Manikant Mishra, stated, “SDRF personnel worked tirelessly through the night to evacuate 450 stranded pilgrims from the Munakatiya area to Sonprayag on the Kedarnath yatra route. The rescue efforts will persist on Thursday until all pilgrims are safely evacuated.”
Mishra deployed drones to assess the damage and plan the 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 unprecedented rainfall in Dehradun, breaking a 58-year record for 24-hour rainfall. Haridwar also recorded its highest rainfall in 40 years,” reported Dr. Bikram Singh, Director of the State Meteorological Center. He warned of more heavy rainfall, stating, “There is a possibility of one or two spells of heavy rainfall on Friday. An orange alert has been issued for Uttarkashi, indicating heavy to very heavy rainfall. Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Bageshwar, and Nainital may experience thunderstorms with heavy rainfall.”
The MET department noted that Dehradun experienced 175 mm of rainfall between Wednesday and Thursday mornings, the highest since 1966 when 487 mm was recorded. Haridwar saw 242 mm of rainfall, surpassing the previous record set in 1984. Dr. Singh added that Dehradun received 35% more rainfall than usual in July.
Vinod Kumar Suman, Secretary of Disaster Management in Uttarakhand, informed that only the route between Gaurikund and Kedarnath is blocked. “Yesterday, we evacuated 2,300 people from Gaurikund to Sonprayag and 700 people from Bhimboli and Lincholi to Guptkashi. 1,000 people are safe in Kedarnath. Relief and rescue operations are ongoing with 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 pilgrimages to Yamunotri, Gangotri, and Badrinath continue, the Kedarnath pilgrimage has been temporarily suspended.
Central Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah spoke with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to discuss the disaster situation. Dhami briefed Shah on the extensive relief and rescue operations underway. Shah assured all possible assistance for the safety of the state’s residents and pilgrims.
