7,500 are still stranded in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand

An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter, part of a rescue operation, flies over the Gauchar area after heavy rains.

Agencies/Dehradun/New Delhi

Fresh rains and dense fog yesterday hampered rescue operations in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand, where around 7,500 people are still stranded, as the authorities said they were taking all precautions to prevent the outbreak of an epidemic with hundreds of bodies reported to be buried under the debris.

The process of mass cremation of bodies began yesterday. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) cremated around 300 bodies at Kedarnath.

The bodies of 17 of the 20 people killed in the Indian Air Force helicopter crash on Tuesday were recovered. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne visited Gauchar, where force has set up its rescue base. He expressed grief over the death of the personnel belonging to the IAF, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in the crash.

“We are proud to be here and proud to be doing the job… we need to hang on there. The period will last for another 8-10 days,” Browne said in.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed sorrow over the deaths. “Your men have done heroic work in treacherous circumstances and saved thousands of lives,” he told Browne.

Bad weather held up rescue operations at many places. While the skies opened up in some places, dense fog remained a cause of concern in most places, holding up helicopter services.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said the people stranded in Harsil would be rescued by today and those in Badrinath would be evacuated in “one or two days” if the weather is conducive for air operations.

Aid workers said they were concerned that a combination of heavy rains and corpses lying out in the open would contaminate streams and rivers.

“We are getting reports from the field that there are rotting bodies lying around, many of them semi-buried in soil and rubble that came down from the mountains,” said Zubin Zaman, Humanitarian Manager for Oxfam India, which is working in Rudraprayag, one of the worst affected districts.

“There are also carcasses of livestock in rivers and streams and this has, of course, contaminated so many of their water sources. But people are desperate and are being forced to consume water they wouldn’t otherwise.”

Zaman said he was concerned of outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea and dysentery, adding that he had received reports that 400 people were admitted to a medical camp in Sonprayag.

The NDMA said it had performed the mass cremation of around 300 bodies yesterday. NDMA vice chairperson N Shashidhar Reddy said the mass cremations would be performed in batches and the process would be completed by tomorrow.

“Our rescue operations will hopefully be completed by tomorrow. There is about 8-10ft of debris in and around Kedarnath. We need to clear it. Several bodies may be trapped underneath it; the death toll may reach 1,000,” Reddy told reporters in New Delhi.

Survivors said they were thankful to be alive.

Vimla Devi from Patna, who was rescued from Kedarnath, said she can never forget the horror that unfolded after the floodwater receded from the temple. “There were dead bodies lying everywhere… It was terrible.”

A local in Guptkashi said all their homes had been washed away. “We were without food for three-four days, we drank water from the well and sometimes even rain water.”

Helicopter services were continuing in Dharasu area of Uttarkashi. But with the inclement weather continuing to affect the rescue, the army was now focusing more on evacuation on foot.

Rescuers were urging people to walk to army base camps with the help of troopers guiding them.

The hundreds who had reached relief and medical camps set up by the army were waiting for the weather to clear so that chopper sorties could begin and they could be airlifted to Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh.

More than 845 people have been confirmed dead in the natural calamity that hit Uttarakhand on June 15.

Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President Hamid Ansari and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar have appealed to MPs to contribute to the rehabilitation effort from their funds and to donate one month’s salary.