Rain fury in Uttarakhand: More than 700 people stranded on Kedarnath route evacuated
Rain fury in Uttarakhand: Uttarakhand, known for its rugged terrain and scenic beauty, often faces the brunt of the monsoon season. This year, the intensity of the rains has been particularly severe, resulting in widespread damage and leaving many pilgrims stranded on the way to Kedarnath, one of the holiest pilgrimage sites in India
Heavy rains have severely damaged the route in the Rudraprayag district on Wednesday night.
In a significant operation, as many as 737 people were rescued by helicopter and at least 2,670 people were taken to Sonprayag by the relief forces as of Thursday.
Taking to its official handle on X, Uttarakhand police posted, "The rescue work of people stranded on the Shri Kedarnath Dham Yatra route is continuing. 737 passengers were rescued by helicopter throughout the day."
"2,670 passengers were taken to Sonprayag. SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, District Police and Administration teams are selflessly helping the devotees," read the post.
श्री केदारनाथ धाम यात्रा मार्ग में फंसे लोगों के रेस्क्यू का कार्य लगातार जारी है। आज दिनभर में हैलीकॉप्टर से 737 यात्रियों का हुआ रेस्क्यू। 2670 यात्रियों को सोनप्रयाग पहुंचाया। SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, जिला पुलिस व प्रशासन की टीमें निःस्वार्थ भाव से कर रही हैं श्रद्धालुओं की मदद। pic.twitter.com/fLLX4Z4ekr — Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) August 1, 2024
The rescue and relief work to evacuate the people stranded is underway.
Amid heavy rainfall in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar informed on Thursday that the Kedarnath Yatra has been suspended for two days due to weather conditions and 12 NDRF as well as 60 SDRF teams are engaged in rescue work.
Speaking to media on the situation created by heavy rains in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar said on Thursday, "We had received an alert from the Meteorological Department about heavy rains in the state for 48 hours. In view of this alert, the police, NDRF, SDRF and local administration were put on alert. After the rain started last night, we started getting reports of landslides, rock falls, etc. from various areas."
Kedarnath Yatra has been stopped for the time being in view of the safety of the passengers due to landslides at many places on the Kedarnath footpath.
Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar said, “Due to the weather warning, we have suspended the Yatra for the next two days. We have restricted the movement of pilgrims on the Yamunotri and Kedarnath trek routes. The state government has taken the help of the Air Force to evacuate the people stranded in Kedarnath. NDRF 12 teams of INS and 60 teams of SDRF are engaged in rescue work.”
The state has been experiencing continuous heavy rainfall, leading to landslides and flash floods that have severely impacted travel and communication in the region.
- With inputs from agencies
