Thousands still under threat in Garhwal
Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow
If you thought the danger from the landslides that hit the Garhwal region of Uttar Pradesh is over, you have another think coming. For the landslides around the Mandakini river in Rudraprayag have actually blocked off the collecting waters by forming a dam. One that may well collapse under the strain and unleash floods across Garhwal.
Thousands of people from Rudraprayag and Shrinagar had been evacuated from low-lying areas to safer camps in the upper reaches. But some of these camps are themselves in danger now.
Soldiers have managed to drain some water out of one corner of the ever-growing gigantic lake, but they have failed to make much headway. According to UP's principal home secretary Naresh Dayal, "Water has been spilling over the boulders, blocking the natural passage of the river. We are keeping our fingers crossed, hoping that the dam does not burst, since that could result in unprecedented devastation downstream."
Dayal said a rise of 8 to 10 metres in the level of two major rivers in the downstream -- the Alaknanda and the Ganga -- was imminent.
Meanwhile, renewed rains and a fresh landslide once again hampered relief operations at Malpa village in Pithoragarh, where Tuesday's calamity is feared to have left at least 202 dead. A total of 38 bodies have been recovered so far.
Despite repeated efforts, four IAF choppers that had managed to reach Dharchula on Thursday evening, could not make it to Malpa, barely 60 km away, as dark clouds and rains continued to engulf the area.
An official admitted that "some of the bodies had started decomposing and there is not much that we can do about it. Even a special team of doctors who could perform post-mortems and who could embalm the bodies, could not get beyond Dharchula."
Asked if the body of Odissi danseuse Protima Bedi was among those extricated, he said, "it is presumed that she was among the nine bodies of women recovered yesterday. These were found crushed under a fibre-glass hut where she was believed to be camping." In all there were 14 women among the ill-fated batch of 60 pilgrims.
According to him, of the 32 bodies recovered, only 12 were believed to be of pilgrims. None of these could be identified since the relatives of the pilgrims could not reach the spot.
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