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Uttarakhand floods: death toll may cross 10,000, says state assembly speaker
June 29, 2013
Uttarakhand assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal on Saturday triggered a fresh controversy by stating that the number of the dead post-disaster could cross the 10,000 mark.
The official figures projected by the state government, however, put the death count at 1,000.
Kunjwal made his observation following the feedback he reportedly got during and after his visit to the rain-hit locals. He is still getting the feedback, he said and told
Hindustan Times the magnitude of the disaster has been immense, specially taking into account the tragedy in Kedarnath where bodies were still being retrieved from the debris.
"No one can give the exact death count but after travelling to different disaster affected areas and information gathered from victims and other locals of the area I could say that death toll is around 10,000," said Kunjuwal.
This is the second time in the past 14 days of disaster hit areas of the state that Kunjwal has spoken on deaths toll. A week ago, he had claimed during his visit to the disaster hit areas that around 5,000 persons had died of rain fury in the state.
According to the Congress sources, the speaker's statement, belying the official figures, may put the state government into embarrassment.
200 evacuated from Badrinath
After an initial delay due to unfavourable weather conditions, rescue work in Badrinath area of flood-hit Uttarakhand resumed on Friday, and nearly 200 pilgrims have so far been evacuated from the shrine, officials said.
The operation, which is in its last leg and focuses largely on Badrinath, where nearly 1,400 people were reported to be stuck, is likely to be completed by this evening if the weather permits, officials said.
Helicopters started flying sorties to evacuate the pilgrims from the area.
Road network in Uttarakhand has been badly damaged in the floods, with 259 roads damaged in Tehri, 139 in Dehradun, 132 in Uttarkashi, 110 in Chamoli and 71 in Rudraparayag district.
Water level of Bhagirathi continues to rise
Meanwhile, over 200 families living along the banks of Bhagirathi river have been asked to move to safer places following a rise in water level.
The MeT department, however, has sent a word of assurance, and said the rise is mainly due to melting of glaciers with the sun showing up, and there is no flood threat.
Uttarakhand MeT department Director Anand Sharma said the snow in upper reaches was melting with the sun coming out, and this was increasing water level in rivers.
He asserted there is "nothing to worry about, as it will not create any flood situation."
"We are just expecting light showers, but no heavy rains, nothing of that sort, just light showers here and there," Sharma said.
Supply of food and relief material
Efforts are also being made on war-footing to ensure supply of essential relief material to over 600 villages in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts, which are cut off after the floods.
2,379 metric tonnes of wheat and 2,875 metric tonnes of rice has so far been dispatched to these villages.
The frequently changing weather is hampering work as the relief material can be supplied only by air, officials said.
However, all steps are being taken to ensure enough supply of foodgrains, kerosene and LPG to flood-hit villages, they said.
ASI team to visit Kedarnath
In the worst-hit Kedarnath region, cremation of bodies is on in full swing to minimise chances of an epidemic outbreak.
Till now, last rites of 34 bodies has been performed and the cremation of 12 more bodies pulled out from the debris will be conducted soon.
Meanwhile, a team of experts from Archaeological Survey of India will visit the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand to assess the quantum of damage caused by the flood fury and restoration required for the shrine.
A team of five experts from Dehradun and Delhi will be the part of the exercise for the revered temple which bore the brunt of floods and landslides triggered by the deluge in the hill state on June 16.
The state government had sought help from the ASI to assess the damage caused to the shrine.
Over 8000 troops deployed
The defence forces have deployed around 50 helicopters and over 8,000 troops in flood-hit Uttarakhand to rescue 2,000 people stranaded in the state, including Badrinath and Harsil.
The IAF has deployed 37 choppers along with 13 helicopters of the Army. Together, they have flown 84 sorties in the last 24 hours for evacuating the stranded pilgrims in the state, a defence ministry release said.
The armed forces have been successful in bringing out over 650 people from the pilgrimage town of Badrinath and Harsil in the last 24 hours, it said.
In the operations which started on June 17, the two forces have deployed over 60 choppers which have flown 2,518 sorties and overall evacuated around 46,000 people from the higher reaches of the state.
Meanwhile, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne received the bodies of the five IAF personnel who were killed in a helicopter crash on Tuesday.
The Airforce also carried out a mission using its ALH Dhruv choppers in Gaurikund to bring the bodies from the crash site for postmortem and for DNA analysis at Dehradun.
Wing Commander Daryll Castellino, Flight Lieutenants Tapan Kapoor and K Praveen, Junior Warrant Officer AK Singh and Sergeant Sudhakar Yadav were among the 20 people who lost their lives in the chopper crash.
(With HT and PTI inputs) - Uttarakhand floods: death toll may cross 10,000, says state assembly speaker - Hindustan Times
June 29, 2013
Uttarakhand assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal on Saturday triggered a fresh controversy by stating that the number of the dead post-disaster could cross the 10,000 mark.
The official figures projected by the state government, however, put the death count at 1,000.
Kunjwal made his observation following the feedback he reportedly got during and after his visit to the rain-hit locals. He is still getting the feedback, he said and told
Hindustan Times the magnitude of the disaster has been immense, specially taking into account the tragedy in Kedarnath where bodies were still being retrieved from the debris.
"No one can give the exact death count but after travelling to different disaster affected areas and information gathered from victims and other locals of the area I could say that death toll is around 10,000," said Kunjuwal.
This is the second time in the past 14 days of disaster hit areas of the state that Kunjwal has spoken on deaths toll. A week ago, he had claimed during his visit to the disaster hit areas that around 5,000 persons had died of rain fury in the state.
According to the Congress sources, the speaker's statement, belying the official figures, may put the state government into embarrassment.
200 evacuated from Badrinath
After an initial delay due to unfavourable weather conditions, rescue work in Badrinath area of flood-hit Uttarakhand resumed on Friday, and nearly 200 pilgrims have so far been evacuated from the shrine, officials said.
The operation, which is in its last leg and focuses largely on Badrinath, where nearly 1,400 people were reported to be stuck, is likely to be completed by this evening if the weather permits, officials said.
Helicopters started flying sorties to evacuate the pilgrims from the area.
Road network in Uttarakhand has been badly damaged in the floods, with 259 roads damaged in Tehri, 139 in Dehradun, 132 in Uttarkashi, 110 in Chamoli and 71 in Rudraparayag district.
Water level of Bhagirathi continues to rise
Meanwhile, over 200 families living along the banks of Bhagirathi river have been asked to move to safer places following a rise in water level.
The MeT department, however, has sent a word of assurance, and said the rise is mainly due to melting of glaciers with the sun showing up, and there is no flood threat.
Uttarakhand MeT department Director Anand Sharma said the snow in upper reaches was melting with the sun coming out, and this was increasing water level in rivers.
He asserted there is "nothing to worry about, as it will not create any flood situation."
"We are just expecting light showers, but no heavy rains, nothing of that sort, just light showers here and there," Sharma said.
Supply of food and relief material
Efforts are also being made on war-footing to ensure supply of essential relief material to over 600 villages in Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Uttarkashi districts, which are cut off after the floods.
2,379 metric tonnes of wheat and 2,875 metric tonnes of rice has so far been dispatched to these villages.
The frequently changing weather is hampering work as the relief material can be supplied only by air, officials said.
However, all steps are being taken to ensure enough supply of foodgrains, kerosene and LPG to flood-hit villages, they said.
ASI team to visit Kedarnath
In the worst-hit Kedarnath region, cremation of bodies is on in full swing to minimise chances of an epidemic outbreak.
Till now, last rites of 34 bodies has been performed and the cremation of 12 more bodies pulled out from the debris will be conducted soon.
Meanwhile, a team of experts from Archaeological Survey of India will visit the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand to assess the quantum of damage caused by the flood fury and restoration required for the shrine.
A team of five experts from Dehradun and Delhi will be the part of the exercise for the revered temple which bore the brunt of floods and landslides triggered by the deluge in the hill state on June 16.
The state government had sought help from the ASI to assess the damage caused to the shrine.
Over 8000 troops deployed
The defence forces have deployed around 50 helicopters and over 8,000 troops in flood-hit Uttarakhand to rescue 2,000 people stranaded in the state, including Badrinath and Harsil.
The IAF has deployed 37 choppers along with 13 helicopters of the Army. Together, they have flown 84 sorties in the last 24 hours for evacuating the stranded pilgrims in the state, a defence ministry release said.
The armed forces have been successful in bringing out over 650 people from the pilgrimage town of Badrinath and Harsil in the last 24 hours, it said.
In the operations which started on June 17, the two forces have deployed over 60 choppers which have flown 2,518 sorties and overall evacuated around 46,000 people from the higher reaches of the state.
Meanwhile, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne received the bodies of the five IAF personnel who were killed in a helicopter crash on Tuesday.
The Airforce also carried out a mission using its ALH Dhruv choppers in Gaurikund to bring the bodies from the crash site for postmortem and for DNA analysis at Dehradun.
Wing Commander Daryll Castellino, Flight Lieutenants Tapan Kapoor and K Praveen, Junior Warrant Officer AK Singh and Sergeant Sudhakar Yadav were among the 20 people who lost their lives in the chopper crash.
(With HT and PTI inputs) - Uttarakhand floods: death toll may cross 10,000, says state assembly speaker - Hindustan Times
