Uttarakhand: Helicopter operations suspended due to bad weather; 22,000 still stranded
Helicopter operations have been suspended due to intermittent rains and thick fog over Kedarnath, Badrinath, Dehradun and Rishikesh.
The Met department has already predicted heavy showers from June 25 onwards, prompting Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to set a three-day deadline on Saturday for completion of rescue work.
The National Disaster Response Force will use Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) today to locate survivors in remote areas that still remain inaccessible. Over 500 are still stuck in the dangerous terrain of Jungle Chatti, in mountains between Gaurikund and Rambara in Kedarnath, which the government has dubbed a point of concern.
500 sorties are also expected to be conducted today, weather permitting, to bring back to safety those stranded. While 8,000 pilgrims are awaiting help in the holy town of Badrinath, 1,000 more are stuck in Pithorgarh. Nearly 100 others are stranded at Hemkund Sahib. 900 people also are likely to be evacuated from Barkot today.
Rescuers in Kedarnath - one of the worst-hit - are hopeful of evacuating an estimated 500 people stranded en route to the temple town. 123 bodies have already been recovered by NDRF teams from the Kedarnath temple complex.
Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, on Saturday, said that the casualty figures are certainly far higher and could easily touch the one thousand mark.
A medical camp has been set up at Guptkashi in Rudrapayag district which also witnessed massive destruction. Road links have also been established to several areas.
Over 60 helicopters of the Army and Air Force have been pressed into service in what is being considered as the biggest rescue operation launched by the armed forces. Around 10,000 army and paramilitary troops, members of the country's disaster management agency and volunteers are involved in the rescue and relief efforts.
Many survivors - desperate for food and water - have complained that they were robbed, cheated and exploited.
Distraught relatives clutching photographs of missing family members have been waiting for days outside the airport at Dehradun, the state capital, hoping for news of their loved ones.