Dharali flash floods: 43 missing, 1,308 rescued, says Uttarakhand govt.  

Seven days after flash floods hit Dharali village of Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand, the district administration issued a list of 43 persons missing from the spot along with 1,308 people rescued since August 5.

Commissioner of the Garhwal region, Vinay Shankar Pandey said that so far, 43 people were reported missing in this disaster. The body of Akash Panwar, a youth from Dharali village, had been recovered. Financial assistance had been provided to the family of the deceased youth, he said.

“Those missing include nine Army personnel, eight locals from Dharali and five from nearby areas, one person from Tehri district, 13 from Bihar and six from Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

Also, 29 Nepali labourers were reported missing from Dharali, out of which five persons had been contacted after the mobile network was restored. Details about the remaining 24 labourers had not been received from their contractors, the official said.

Citing the example of 2013 Kedarnath disaster, Mr. Pandey said many people who were reported missing at that time later returned to their homes.

“Efforts are also being made to find out the missing people of other States by collecting their home addresses. The final facts about these people are expected to be clear in a day or two,” he said.

He said 1,308 people had been rescued from various locations by teams comprising the SDRF, ITBP, Army and police. Those rescued were mostly tourists who were at Uttarkashi to visit Gangotri and Yamunotri temples, as part of ongoing the Char Dham yatra.

“Search for people buried under the debris is the top priority of the government. We have deployed a separate officer along with the NDRF team for this purpose at Dharali. The IG of SDRF is also camping at the spot. A special team of 10 expert geologists has been sent from Dehradun to Dharali to know the cause of the flash floods,” Mr. Pandey added.

The Commissioner said distribution of ex gratia of ₹5 lakh had been started to all those affected by the disaster.

“As per the announcement of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, a better package of relief and rehabilitation is being prepared for the affected people. We have set up a high-level committee for the same. The members of the committee will reach Uttarkashi soon to assess the damage caused by the disaster and to talk to the affected people,” he said.

Meanwhile, a machine and its driver fell in the swollen river while repairing a road near Dharali on Monday. The whereabouts of the driver could not be found till the time of filing this report. This led to protest by construction workers at the site who were later pacified by the administration.

The construction of the Bailey bridge in Limchyagad was completed on July 10.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department predicted heavy rains and thunderstorms in various areas of Uttarakhand from July 10 to 14. Orange and red alerts were issued for Bageshwar, Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar districts. Rivers across the State are already flowing near the danger mark.