New Delhi: All pilgrims rescued from Kedarnath, focus shifts to Badrinath and Harsil

TNN

BADRINATH/DEHRADUN/NEW DELHI, 24 June, 2013 : Amid the first official confirmation that more than 5,000 people perished in the Uttarakhandcatastrophe, massive efforts to save thousands of pilgrims stranded in Kedarnath and Badrinath achieved a big breakthrough with rescue teamsscooping up nearly 12,000 survivors against the looming threat of rains, disease and starvation.

 

 

Of those brought to safety, 7,000 had been trapped in the Kedarnath and Gaurikund areas — the stretch that bore the brunt of the deluge.

However, the fate of around 2,000 pilgrims stuck in Harsil near Uttarkashi remains vulnerable, and will see a concerted action from the rescue teams.

Although 10,000 people are still to be taken out from Badrinath, Harsil and Jungle Chatti, it was those marooned in Kedarnath and Gaurikund who had looked really precarious. Weak from days of starvation and facing the real risk of outbreak of epidemic in an area littered with rotting bodies, the hapless lot had looked particularly vulnerable against the threat of hostile weather.

The cloud burst had wreaked havoc in the area and smashed infrastructure, leaving the survivors without any shelter. The situationof those stuck in Badrinath is relatively better.

In short, the task of saving thousands of lives which appeared hopeless on Saturday evening with the clock ticking away still seemed daunting on Sunday but mercifully, not insurmountable. "The focus of the operation on Mondaywill be Harsil where around 2,000 pilgrims are stranded in vulnerable conditions," an official said.

However, the weather continues to be a worry. "Rains on Tuesday are our main worry... if we get three to four hours of window tomorrow, we can do well," Air Marshal S B Deo, DG, Air Operations, told reporters.

With Kedarnath and Gaurikund region — the epicentre of the destruction — virtually cleared of pilgrims, authorities can focus on those who remain in Badrinath and Harsil. The local police reached Kedarnath and Gaurikund on Sunday and have started the process of identification of bodies.

The 5,000 pilgrims who remain in Badrinath have been put up in different hotels, as Army and ITBP personnel try to step up their operations to get them out of the area. Around 100 people remain in Gaurikund.

The achievement of the Army, IAF, ITBP and NDRF will help contain the toll from the calamity which Uttarakhand’s disaster management minister Yashpal Arya said was "at least 5,000". "At least 5,000 people must have been killed in the deluge," Arya told reporters at Jolly Grant airport in the state capital.