Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) [India], August 11 : Transport aircraft C295 landed at Dharasu town in Uttarkashi district from Agra on Sunday morning with personnel, technicians, and relief material for conducting rescue and relief operations, said defence officials.
A massive mudslide struck Dharali village in the Kheer Gad area near Harsil, triggering a sudden flow of debris and water through the settlements on August 5. The cloudburst led to flash floods in the high-altitude villages of Dharali. Several houses were reported to have been swept away.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Deepam Seth on Sunday reviewed the first phase of relief and rescue operations being carried out under the direction of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami after the natural disaster in Dharali and Harshil areas of Uttarkashi.
DGP Seth conducted a high-level review of the upcoming action plan at Police Headquarters in Dehradun. All senior police officers and team leaders of various branches of police - SDRF, fire service, PAC, telecom, etc., who were sent for effective conduct of relief and rescue operations in Uttarkashi district, attended the meeting.
During the meeting, the DGP took updated information of relief and rescue operations from all the officers - ADG L/O, IG PAC, IG SDRF, IG Telecom, IG Fire, IG L/O, IG SDRF, IG Garhwal Range, DIG L/O etc and appreciated the efforts made so far by the forces working at the site of the incident.
The second phase of the action plan was discussed in detail in the meeting, and it was decided that in the second phase of relief and rescue, special focus will be given on the search and rescue operation.
During the meeting, the DGP directed the Incident Commander (Search & Rescue) to coordinate with DM / SP Uttarkashi, Army / ITBP / NDRF / BRO / PWD / Health Department and all other agencies, divide the site of incident into different sectors, determine their responsibilities and prepare a concrete strategy to carry out search and rescue operations.
The DGP also directed that an adequate number of SDRF, Fire, PAC and Police forces should be immediately deployed strategically at Dharali and Harshil sites to speed up the search and rescue operation.
He requested that an accurate list of missing persons be prepared by coordinating with local citizens, village representatives, and the district administration. This list would then be used to prioritise the search operation and ensure necessary legal action.
Moreover, the DGP further directed that the deep, dangerous and slushy areas present at the site should be immediately red-flagged from the security point of view, so that search can be done using special equipment during the search operation.
The DGP also directed that the search operation should be intensified by making full use of technical and human resource capacity, like drones, thermal imaging cameras, victim locating cameras and dog squads.
The DGP directed everyone to remain on 24x7 alert mode and ensure real-time reporting of every activity, so that quick decisions can be taken in case of any need or emergency.