June 30, 2013 – “10,000 dead is a rough estimate. There are several bodies lying around,” says Uttarakhand Health Minister.
A total of 1,350 people have been evacuated from Badrinath while over 3,500 remain untraced in flood-hit Uttarakhand even as a UN agency estimated that the number of missing could be over 11,000.
On the 17th day of the calamity, the task of extricating bodies from the debris and their disposal in Kedarnath also remained a major headache for the administration with no cremation having taken place there over the past two days.
Snowfall impedes cremation at Badrinath
According to a report on Hindustan Times, the cremation of the dead in Badrinath have taken a hit following heavy snowfall. According to the report, only 30 bodies could be cremated as snowfall and fog made it impossible to get the required supply of firewood into Badrinath.
“There is no room for speculation on the casualty figure. It is a massive tragedy but as per my information, the number of visible bodies is 500 to 600. Bodies are lying under the debris and around 3000 are missing,” Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna told reporters.
“The country has never seen such a huge evacuation like in the Uttarakhand floods,” Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken told a press conference.
Never seen such destruction, says NDRF team
Members of the National Disaster Response Force have spoken out about their experiences, saying that the death and destruction they saw was unparalleled.
“There was not even a single structure that was standing. There were many bodies. It was a ghost town. The stench of the bodies was so bad that our men found it difficult to go ahead. It was with great difficulty that we walked ahead”, said Inspector Gopal Singh Meena who was among the first to be air dropped in to Kedarnath.
“There were wailing women and children in hysterical condition. They were there without food and water. They were totally in panic. They were crying for help. We faced a lot of problems as we had no way to reach them. We then made ropeways and then many of our men carried them on their backs. Our first priority was to reach the women, children and the old,” Meena added.
“The scene in Gaurikund was even more horrific. We saved a sadhu who was stuck in one corner of the gushing water. Here again people had taken shelter in jungles. Many just couldn’t walk. Their feet were swollen. They were totally famished and in urgent need of food and water,” added Meena, whose team members were the ones who rescued and evacuated hundreds of people stuck in the entire stretch of Kedarnath valley.
“I have been to many places, including Japan (tsunami of 2011). But I have not seen such a scene. It was horrifying. We felt helpless before the force of nature. I cannot easily forget what I saw there. It will take time,” he said.
Heavy rains to hit Uttarakhand again this week
The met department has issued a warning again, predicting that heavy rains are likely to hit Uttarakhand towards the end of this week. The rains might be similar to the rainfall on June 16 in magnitude. According to a Times of India report:
http://www.firstpost.com/india/uttarakhand-live-over-3000-people-still-missing-says-bahuguna-916243.html
Share Topic
January 06, 2013, 04:54:10 PM