Nature brought its anger on us when a glacier burst in Uttarakhand.At the time of writing, from the first tunnel 32 and from the second tunnel 121people are still missing. Rescue operations are underway with the efforts ofmultiple agencies. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Indo-TibetanBorder Police (ITBP) are working to search and rescue each one of theindividuals trapped in this natural disaster.
Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand confirmsthat saving lives is the first priority. Losing a family member to death cannever be recouped, but still, the Chief Minister has announced Rs 4 lakh asfinancial assistance for the families who have lost their family member.
A block of glacier from Nanda Devi glacier broke off in Tapovanarea of Joshimath in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. This led to damage in Rishigangapower project.
Apprise yourself of the timeline of the disaster below:
2:07 pm, 8 February 2021:
Rescue work, which began before 7 am with the cooperation ofmultiple agencies is on.
Further, to transport the rescued individuals, the militaryhas pressed its aircrafts, including MI 17, into service.
From Dehradun to Joshimath, transportation as and whenrequired has been completed of 122 personnel, 5 tonnes of load, 6 rescue dogs.
Also, six scientists have visited the site for initial observationsto learn about the disaster.
1:29 pm, 8 February 2021:
The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand assures everyone that weare expected to reach the people stuck in the tunnel by the evening of thisday.
32 individuals will be saved if this deadline of clearingthe entire debris stretch is achieved.
The Chief Minster praised the collective efforts of theITBP, NDRF, and all the other agencies involved in the rescue efforts.
1:25 pm, 8 February 2021:
Debris is now cleared from 90 metres of stretch, and 100metres are left.
The same is being worked on to rescue 32 people who arestuck in the big tunnel at Tapovan.
12:43 pm, 8 February 2021:
The search and rescue operation continues on. Today’s aim isto save 32 people trapped in the big tunnel at Tapovan.
12:11 pm, 8 February 2021:
19 bodies have been recovered so far from the efforts of thedebris being removed from the big tunnel in Tapovan.
11:54 am, 8 February 2021:
Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand visitedthe site at the Chamoli district to assess the efforts to rescue every persontrapped in this nature’s wrath.
He also talked to media persons on the site and assured thatno stone is being left unturned, whether in men or in machines, to get thepeople trapped rescued as soon as humanly possible.
11:38 am, 8 February 2021:
The central government is keeping itself fully cognizant of therescue operations with the Home Minister Amit Shah reviewing the situationevery half-an-hour.
11:30 am, 8 February 2021:
The rescue work continues on. Till now, 19 bodies have beenrecovered - 4 individuals from Rudraprayag and 15 are from Chamoli.
9:55 am, 8 February 2021:
Ashok Kumar, DGP of Uttrakhand confirmed that 10 bodies havebeen recovered. 3 people are rescued from Tapovan and the other 7 from theroute to Karnprayag.
From the smaller tunnel, 12 individuals were rescuedyesterday and the efforts are already underway to clear the big tunnel torescue any people trapped in there.
As of now, 32 people from the first tunnel and 121 from thesecond tunnel are still missing.
The DGP requested all to not panic, the authorities areundertaking rescue efforts which are in full swing.
9:18 am, 8 February 2021:
Efforts are underway to rescue the people trapped. VivekPandey, ITBP Spokesperson informed that about 300 ITBP Jawans are deployed toclear the tunnel and more teams are on stand-by if need arises.
7:48 am, 8 February 2021:
Antonio Guterres, Secretary, United Nations shared his griefon the loss of lives due to the natural calamity, and offered any assistancerequired in the rescue efforts.
7:40 am, 8 February 2021:
Rescue operations have resumed. The same had to be haltedbecause the water levels had risen suddenly in Dhauli Ganga around 8 pmyesterday.
One more body has been recovered since the resumption of thework.
7:26 am, 8 February 2021:
8 bodies have been recovered till now, and over 120 standmissing.
7:19 am, 8 February 2021:
16 labourers rescued and 7 bodies recovered, and 125 arestill missing.
6:03 am, 8 February 2021:
Scientists leave for the site to ascertain the cause of the disaster.Everyone is concerned that this not be a repeat of the 2013 disaster in the state.The causes could be either of a glacial lake burst, a cloud burst or anavalanche, or the impact of climate change.
6:03 am, 8 February 2021:
Scientists leave for the site to ascertain the cause of the disaster.Everyone is concerned that this not be a repeat of the 2013 disaster in the state.The causes could be either of a glacial lake burst, a cloud burst or anavalanche, or the impact of climate change.
1:39 am, 8 February 2021:
The neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh has put its DistrictMagistrates (DM) and the police in-charges on the banks of Ganga to keep strictvigil.
If any need arises, the people living on the banks are to beevacuated.
Agencies NDRF, SDRF, and the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC)flood company have been instructed to stay on high alert.
11:27 pm, 7 February 2021:
Our neighbouring state, Pakistan, shares its grief on theloss of lives due to natural calamity and also expressed its hope of earlyrescue of all the trapped people.
11:15 pm, 7 February 2021:
Water level has started rising again, and thus the peoplenear the river bank in Chamoli are being alerted.
22:22 pm, 7 February 2021:
The rescue work had to halted due to the rising water level.
150 metres of the tunnel was dug when the rescue operationshad to be halted.
Uttarakahnd DGP Ashok Kumar informed that a clear picture isexpected on the identities of the people by tomorrow morning.
10:45 am, 7 February 2021:
Flash flood occurred in Rishiganga river due to falling of glacierin the river. This increased the volume water exponentially .
Consequently, Rishiganga hydro project near Raini villagewas destroyed. Further, the BRO (Border Roads Organisation) on Joshimath-Malariawas also washed away.
Moreover, six graziers with their livestock and they all toohave been washed away. 56 houses of the village were lost.
NTPC’s project on river Dhauli Ganga neat Tapovan has been destroyed.
Two Jhulla bridges connecting villages on the other side ofthe river was also washed away.