Dehradun: After the cloudburst incident in Kedarnath’ Bheembali on Wednesday night, the emergency authorities NDRF and SDRF along with local administration conducted a daylong rescue operation on Thursday and more than 2300 pilgrims were rescued by pedestrian routes and 737 pilgrims were evacuated by using helicopters. According to the sources, more than 2000 pilgrims are still stranded in the Kedarnath yatra route.
Airforce’s Chinook and MI dispatched from Delhi
To speed up the rescue operations, the central government has stepped in and AIF’s Chinook and MI steps are dispatched from Delhi on Friday morning. After this rain-induced disaster, prime minister Narendra Modi is keeping an eye on the situation and PMO has taken stock of the entire situation. Along with the Air Force’s Chinook and MI 17, three ATF tankers have also been sent. On the request of the Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the PMO has assured all necessary assistance.
Kedarnath pilgrimage is suspended for two days
Due to the landslides at several places on the Kedarnath route, this pilgrimage has been halted for two days in view of the safety of the people. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami did ground inspection of the disaster affected areas of Tehri and Rudraprayag. More than 1500 pilgrims stranded on Kedarnath Yatra route were safely evacuated and 425 passengers stranded in Bhimbali, Rambada, Lincholi were airlifted on Thursday evening. Apart from this, 1100 passengers stranded between Sonprayag and Bhimbali on the yatra route have been taken to a safe place by making an alternative route by 5pm on Thursday.
More than 2000 people are still stranded
Rescue operations have been started today for the second day to safely evacuate more than 2000 pilgrims stranded in Kedarnath pilgrimage route. As yatra route has been damaged at several places in the aftermath of cloudburst on Wednesday evening, pilgrims stranded at different places have been rescued with the help of helicopters and rescue teams (SDRF, NDRF, District Disaster Management, District Police).
Drones are being used by SDRF for further rescue
On Thursday, due to a sudden landslide on the Sonprayag-Gaurikund hill road, the 2-kilometer alternative route used for rescue operations was damaged. In response, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) Commandant Manikant Mishra utilized drones to create a new action plan. The SDRF teams were then directed to safely rescue passengers along the Sonprayag-Gaurikund route, with the assistance of the drone-based plan.