Uttarkashi, Aug 11 (PTI) Incessant rains in Uttarkashi since Monday morning hampered rescue operations in disaster-hit Dharali and Harsil, even as efforts were on to drain a lake formed in the wake of
the flash floods in the area a week ago.
Hopes of finding survivors dimmed as it has been almost a week since raging waters and mudslides buried virtually half of Dharali village besides causing extensive damage to an army camp in Harsil.
Evacuation of people with helicopters could not start on Monday due to the inclement weather and rescuers had to temporarily halt their search for the missing people in the debris, officials said.
The state government, quoting the Meteorological Department, said that the weather will remain bad for the next few days with heavy rain predicted in the state on August 13, 14 and 15.
The district administration had initially said that four people had died in the tragedy. Later, two bodies were recovered and 49 were reported missing since the disaster. A junior commissioned officer of the Army and eight jawans are also among the missing.
A vital Bailey bridge near Gangnani connecting the flood-hit areas around Dharali has been built and made operational on Sunday night. The construction of the 30-metre-long Bailey bridge at Limchagad ahead of Ganganani on the Gangotri National Highway is expected to speed up the work for restoring road connectivity to Dharali and Harsil.
The highway remains blocked at Songad, Dabrani and Harsil.
The IMD has issued a 'yellow' alert, warning of rain across Uttarakhand during the day.
It has also issued a 'red' alert for heavy to very heavy rain over the next few hours in Almora, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, Pauri and Udham Singh Nagar districts.
It has been raining heavily in Dehradun since morning which has led to heavy waterlogging in various areas of the town, including Sahastradhara road and IT park.
An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) official in Dharali had said earlier in day that the force is manually digging through the debris where a hotel stood before the disaster hit.
"A hotel stood here. There was some movement of people in front of it when the disaster struck. The debris here is being dug manually with the help of radar equipment as people might be buried here," he said.
Uttarkashi District Magistrate Prashant Arya, who has been stationed in the affected area, visited Harsil in the morning to review efforts being made to reduce the water levels of a lake formed in the wake of the flash floods.
Water in the lake has receded but efforts are on to remove a huge uprooted tree from it which might block further drainage of water, Arya said.
Officials said that the work of distributing relief material in the disaster-affected area is underway.
Heavy rain is also expected in the state from August 13 to 15, the MeT department said. PTI Cor ALM RT
