NEW DELHI: Rescue operations in flood-hit Uttarakhand will end on Friday. With armed and paramilitary forces hoping to complete evacuation of the remaining 1,829 pilgrims in the next 24 hours, the focus on Thursday shifted to relief and rehabilitation of 'locals' who have largely remained unattended in the past 11 days since the disaster struck on June 16.
Moving to the next big task, state government officials along with medical support teams from the Centre have already started dropping in at different places in the rain-ravaged areas carrying relief material and essential medicines.
As per preliminary official estimates, 2,232 houses, 154 bridges and 1,520 roads have been damaged due to the disaster which affected at least 16 lakh people in four districts — Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Garhwal.
"We hope that the rescue operation will be completed by Friday. The biggest challenge for the authorities is to look after displaced people," NDMA vice-chairman M Shashidhar Reddy said on Thursday.
Echoing Reddy's concerns, home secretary R K Singh said, "Our priority now is to ensure regular supply of essential commodities and establish communication links with all inaccessible villages and rehabilitate affected people."
He added, "In case a village is cut off and there are sick and infirm in need of medical attention, we will have them evacuated. We will also look for all missing people."
Though the official figure of missing persons still remains at 344, authorities believe that this could be much more as different control rooms and state websites continue to get queries from relatives and well-wishers about the whereabouts of their kin.
The home ministry - which on Thursday termed the overall situation as "under control" — wrote to chief secretaries of all states "to verify details of missing persons from their states who had recently visited Uttarakhand".
Official figures show that while 1,04,095 people were evacuated till Thursday evening, nearly 2,500 people including locals were still in Badrinath and would be evacuated by Friday evening. All pilgrims from Harsil have been evacuated. Only 100-150 locals remain in Harsil who need to be evacuated to safer places. Army chief General Bikram Singh will visit Uttarakhand on Friday to review the situation.
A home ministry official here said Army, IAF, ITBP and NDRF personnel would be withdrawn from the rain-ravaged areas only when the last pilgrim was evacuated. The forces will move out after state officials, medical and paramedical staff reach there in adequate numbers to take responsibility of relief and rehabilitation, he added.
The Centre, meanwhile, sent a three-member team comprising health ministry officials to Dehradun to review the public health situation with state health authorities.
"The Indian Red Cross Society has deployed a two-member team to Uttarkashi and another team to Pithoragarh. The IRCS has provided seven truckloads of relief material that include tents, family packs, kitchen sets, blankets and lanterns," a statement by the health ministry said.
"No outbreak of water borne/food borne/air borne or direct contact diseases have, so far, been reported from affected areas," it added.
According to the ministry, the state government has sought specified quantity of 60 drug and non-drug items and three truckloads of these medical supplies had been delivered. On the state's request, 10,00,000 chlorine tablets are being procured by the ministry.
"These items would be delivered to the state in the next two days," an official said.
Moving to the next big task, state government officials along with medical support teams from the Centre have already started dropping in at different places in the rain-ravaged areas carrying relief material and essential medicines.
As per preliminary official estimates, 2,232 houses, 154 bridges and 1,520 roads have been damaged due to the disaster which affected at least 16 lakh people in four districts — Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Garhwal.
"We hope that the rescue operation will be completed by Friday. The biggest challenge for the authorities is to look after displaced people," NDMA vice-chairman M Shashidhar Reddy said on Thursday.
Echoing Reddy's concerns, home secretary R K Singh said, "Our priority now is to ensure regular supply of essential commodities and establish communication links with all inaccessible villages and rehabilitate affected people."
He added, "In case a village is cut off and there are sick and infirm in need of medical attention, we will have them evacuated. We will also look for all missing people."
Though the official figure of missing persons still remains at 344, authorities believe that this could be much more as different control rooms and state websites continue to get queries from relatives and well-wishers about the whereabouts of their kin.
The home ministry - which on Thursday termed the overall situation as "under control" — wrote to chief secretaries of all states "to verify details of missing persons from their states who had recently visited Uttarakhand".
Official figures show that while 1,04,095 people were evacuated till Thursday evening, nearly 2,500 people including locals were still in Badrinath and would be evacuated by Friday evening. All pilgrims from Harsil have been evacuated. Only 100-150 locals remain in Harsil who need to be evacuated to safer places. Army chief General Bikram Singh will visit Uttarakhand on Friday to review the situation.
A home ministry official here said Army, IAF, ITBP and NDRF personnel would be withdrawn from the rain-ravaged areas only when the last pilgrim was evacuated. The forces will move out after state officials, medical and paramedical staff reach there in adequate numbers to take responsibility of relief and rehabilitation, he added.
The Centre, meanwhile, sent a three-member team comprising health ministry officials to Dehradun to review the public health situation with state health authorities.
"The Indian Red Cross Society has deployed a two-member team to Uttarkashi and another team to Pithoragarh. The IRCS has provided seven truckloads of relief material that include tents, family packs, kitchen sets, blankets and lanterns," a statement by the health ministry said.
"No outbreak of water borne/food borne/air borne or direct contact diseases have, so far, been reported from affected areas," it added.
According to the ministry, the state government has sought specified quantity of 60 drug and non-drug items and three truckloads of these medical supplies had been delivered. On the state's request, 10,00,000 chlorine tablets are being procured by the ministry.
"These items would be delivered to the state in the next two days," an official said.
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