PrashantNews
Was there any lapse in ignoring the weather forecast of heavy snowfall in the hills of Uttarakhand?
Raising the issue, Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee Senior Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana on Friday claimed that the workers in the avalanche-struck Mana village near Badrinath were not taken to a safe place despite the warning of snowfall issued by the Met office.
Releasing a video of the weather forecast bulletin issued by the Met office in Dehradun, Dhasmana said it was a matter of deep concern that the administration and the BRO, which was doing the road construction work in Mana where the avalanche occurred, knew about the weather forecast of heavy snowfall but did not shift the workers to a safe place.
Dhasmana said “although we are all praying for the well-being of the workers trapped in the avalanche, but this is also a serious lapse due to which the lives of such a large number of people have been put in danger and responsibility for this must be fixed.”
Dhasmana said that we often do not identify the people responsible for negligence and lapse in such disasters.
Dhasmana lamented that no one has been held accountable for not (not) constructing an escape channel in Silkyara tunnel nor has anyone been punished for it. Nearly 41 workers remained trapped inside Silkyara tunnel for nearly 17 days before they were rescued safely on November 29, 2023.
Significantly, the same issue of ignoring the weather warning had cropped up after the dreadful Kedarnath deluge which had claimed over 5000 lives in 2013 when Congress was in power in the state and the centre.
Meanwhile, local leaders in Mana village also claimed that the place in Mana village where the avalanche struck was vulnerable to such natural disasters.