Uttarakhand Rains: Death Toll Reaches 72, Four Still Missing; Rescue Operations Underway

The death toll due to heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand has reached 72 with four people still missing reported by ANI.

Rescue Operations continue in Uttarakhand | Image Courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: The death toll due to heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand has reached 72 with four people still missing. The state has been crippled with heavy rainfall in the past week. According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), Uttarakhand received five times higher rainfall between October 1 and 21.

Rescue Operations Underway

While the residents are struggling with the personal damage and being relocated because of the disaster, many tourists and trekkers stuck in different regions also await rescue.

As per a report by PTI, the bodies of seven members from the 11 member trekking team were recovered by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on Sunday. 

The SDRF team has also been looking for a trekker who went missing on the Sunderdhunga trek in the Bageshwar district.

Search for two other trekkers who went missing on the way to Chitkul via Harsil in Uttarkashi district is also on.

The heavy rainfall, roadblocks, landslides, and house collapses have left Nainital to be cut off from the rest of the state without electricity, telecom services, and internet connection as per a report by PTI.

Earlier, around 200 tourists were rescued from the Lemon Tree Resort in Nainital’s Ramnagar by Almora Police.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have also joined the SDRF as the rescue operations still continue in the state.

As the rescue operations continue and the state is claiming to have restored electricity and telecom connectivity in the major areas, Chardham Yatra which was put on halt due to heavy rainfall and snowfall on October 18 has resumed.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, along with Cabinet Ministers Yatishwaranand and Dhan Singh Rawat visited the Gaula Bridge in Haldwani on Saturday which had collapsed due to the overflowing Gaula river. He surveyed the construction work in progress to repair the bridge.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also talked to CM Dhami over the phone and enquired about the ongoing rescue and relief operation in the state. 

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has announced a financial aid of Rs 2 lakh for the victims from Champaran. Uttarakhand CM Dhami announced that he will donate his salary for October to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).