Bhatwari: Access to Dharali, the village worst affected by flash floods that struck Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi Tuesday, has been completely cut off by road. Other roads in the district too have been damaged by heavy rainfall and subsequent landslides.
Videos of the disaster showed a wave of water gushing through the area and engulfing entire structures, houses and hotels among them. At least four people have been confirmed dead, with hundreds still missing.
Mohsen Shahedi, DIG, National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) confirmed Wednesday that more than 150 people had been rescued and taken to safe spots.
In Bhatwari, an entire section of the road to Dharali has been damaged, with parts of it sinking into the Kheer Ganga river. Along the route, bulldozers have been busy clearing debris from landslides and reinforcing weak structural points of mountain walls with wire meshes.
“Its not just one point that is damaged,” said an NDRF official who did not wish to be named. “If we clear one point, there’s another one 30 metres down that is also damaged. An entire bridge has been destroyed.” This bridge is located in the Gangnani forest area and is a key crossing point to reach Harsil and Dharali, both affected by the flash floods.
Both NDRF and State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) have now resorted to exclusively airborne operations, taking helicopters for search and rescue runs. The helipad at Bhatwari saw a constant stream of helicopters landing, unloading passengers and taking off again to disaster-struck areas.
The route to Dharali is dotted with debris from landslides. Police officers warn vehicle passengers to get out of their cars at certain points, to avoid too much of a load on already damaged roads.
The sound of helicopters regularly resonates through the valley. Private operators have also stepped in—a Himalayan Heli Services helicopter was seen ferrying NDRF officials to the disaster site.
“We tried clearing the road with whatever equipment we had, but it’s of no use right now,” another NDRF official told ThePrint. Adding, “Members from our team have already been searching via helicopter, and now we are going to be joining them. Our priority is rescue efforts.”
A bright orange truck of NDRF officials left the damaged road site for the helicopter pad in Bhatwari. A few local workers stayed behind, continuing to clear what little debris they could along with the bulldozers present.
Heavy rainfall continued to plague the region Wednesday, hampering disaster relief efforts. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘red’ alert for parts of Uttarakhand till 10 August.
“It’s hard to work in these conditions, especially since there is a chance of more landslides,” said a worker at one of the damaged sites. “But I understand it’s important to get the road cleared so we can reach the affected people faster.”
Uttarakhand police were stationed at regular checkpoints, turning away tourist vehicles and warning media professionals of roadblocks ahead. The biggest choke point—a damaged bridge—could take over a day to fix.
“You can see that the entire structure has fallen into the river,” said a third NDRF official, showing a picture of the bridge on his smartphone. “We don’t have the equipment to fix it right now, which is why we are going back to helicopter operations.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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