2500-3000 pilgrims rescued so far
PrashantNews
After the heavy rains wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand, the authorities on Friday continued the rescue operation after a big portion of the Garukikund-Kedarnath trek at Bhimbali collapsed stranding scores of devotees.
The centre pressed chinook and MI-17 helicopters to rescue the pilgrims around the Kedarnath areas. Nearly 700 pilgrims were airlifted on Friday.
So far, nearly 10,000 pilgrims have managed to come back from Kedarnath area through different treks in two days since Thursday, top officials said. The landslides cut off a big portion of Kedarnath trek at Bhimbali following a cloudburst that inundated Mandakini river on Wednesday night.
The government has provided food packets to the stranded pilgrims at Kedarnath.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked the top officials to start repair work for the damaged trek which has disrupted the yatra since Wednesday. The Kedarnath yatra has been suspended for time being.
At least 20 people were killed and dozens of others missing in cloudbursts, landslides and floods triggered by heavy rains since Wednesday in the two Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
Nearly five people were killed and dozens others missing after a couple of cloudbursts in Rampur in Shimla and Kulu districts in Himachal Pradesh early on Thursday, police reports said. The rescue teams have rushed to the spots to look for survivors and recover bodies. The situation is being described as grim.
In Uttarakhand, 15 people were killed since Wednesday in heavy rains that triggered landslides and floods at number of places. Six people were killed in two separate incidents in Haridwar district due to house collapse and electrocution. Two people were killed in Dehradun when they were swept away in a swollen canal at Raipur area last night. Three people died in Ghansali area in Tehri district. One person died in Gairsain in Chamoli district. One child went missing in Nainital district.
In the latest incident, two persons were swept away in the swollen Sahastradhara river in Dehradun on Thursday, police said.
With the met office issue warning of heavy rains, the schools in Dehradun remained closed for the second consecutive day on Thursday.