Trekkers were not carrying mandatory satellite phone
PrashantNews
The Sahastratal rescue operation was delayed because the trekkers were not carrying the mandatory satellite phone, a necessary gadget for communication in emergency especially in the whiteout conditions in a blizzard in the high altitude areas.
After the snow storm struck in the evening of June 3, the authorities could launch the rescue operation only in the morning of June 5 which left a gap of more than one and a half days. “More lives could have been saved, if we had got the information about the blizzard in time,” said a top police official monitoring the rescue operation.
Nine trekkers were killed after the blizzard struck near the Sahastratal area.
It is also not clear whether the trekkers were also carrying extreme cold climate clothing as most of the trekkers were killed due to hypothermia, the police official noted. However, some trekkers have gone on record to say that they were carrying thermal clothes also.
After the Sahastra Tal tragedy, the pressure is also mounting on the state government to chalk out a foolproof plan on the lines of Sikkim to regularize trekking and prepare its SOP in Uttarakhand. “The SOP in Sikkm for trekking and other adventure activities is almost foolproof. We can also follow such SOP,” said Col (retd) Ajay Kothiyal, former Principal of Uttarakashi-based Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM).
Manikant Mishra, the Commandant of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said a blueprint for regularizing trekking and preparing its SOP is in final stages. “We are making it in such a way that the entire plan for regularizing trekking becomes flawless,” Mishra said.
After the tragedy, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered a magisterial inquiry.
“We are making the entire plan to provide facilities and security to tourists coming for trekking,” he said. “We have already held some meetings” Mishra said.
After getting the information of the tragedy from a guide, the state government swung into action and pressed Air Force and private helicopters for a tough rescue operation in the high terrains of the Garhwal Himalayas in the morning of June 5. Through the combined efforts of the Air Force and SDRF, 11 trekkers were rescued while two others including a guide reached the base camp.
Due to the high altitude and undulating terrain, the rescue was conducted by IAF helicopters. SDRF personnel who were air dropped walked more than three kms in bad weather conditions to airlift the bodies and also to rescue the stranded trekkers, Mishra said.
The trekkers, who lost their lives, have been identified as Sindhu Vakekalam, Asha Sudhakar, Sujatha Mungurwadi, Vinayak Mungurwadi, Chitra Praneeth, Venkatesh Prasad, Padmanadha Kundapur, Anita Rangappa and Padmini Hegde. Most of the trekkers were from south Bangalore in Karnataka. There were at least 10 women trekkers in the expedition.
According to the SDRF, the 22-member trekking team was sent by Himalayan View Trekking Agency, Maneri on May 29 on a 35 km long trek from Uttarkashi, which included 18 trekkers from Karnataka and one from Maharashtra and three local guides. This trekking team was to return by June 7.
Meanwhile, a police case has been filed against Himalayan View Trekking Agency in Maneri in Uttarakashi district.