Chamoli (Uttarakhand) [India], August 23 : The Chamoli District Magistrate has ordered for the temporary requisition of the offices and rest houses of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) in Kulsari and Deval villages respectively, after Tharali's tehsil office suffered extensive damage due to the cloudburst in the area.
A cloudburst struck the Tharali area of Chamoli district late on Friday night, prompting immediate relief and rescue operations by the district administration, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and police teams. Atleast one person has died and another has been missing since Friday, according to officials.
Posting on X about the properties being temporarily being requisitioned, the Uttarakhand government mentioned, "Due to the damage caused by excessive rainfall to buildings and the tehsil office in Tharali tehsil of Chamoli district, the District Magistrate has ordered the immediate requisition of the rest house and office premises of Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam in Kulsari and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam in Deval for temporarily operating the tehsil office and setting up relief camps for the affected."
The Chamoli DM has also ordered multiple officials to help the sub ditrict magistrate for coordinating relief operations. The District Rural Development Agency project director, Chief Agriculture Officer, Panchayat Raj officer, Youth Welfare and Prarad officer, and Supply officer of Chamoli have been posted to Tharali following damage to the tehsil office.
"Due to the heavy rainfall in the night of August 22, the tehsil barati of the district, debris has fallen in the tehsil office, resident complex, Tharali market and other buildings have been damaged. Due to which the officers are posted in Tehsil Tharali with immediate effect to provide relief to the affected people," the order read.
SJVN is a Navratna CPSE jointly under the Union Ministry of Power and Himachal Pradesh government making power projects in various parts of the country. GMVN is an Uttarakhand government undertaking which aims to facilitate travel and tourism for the people coming in the state, having multiple guest houses and other tourist activities across the state.
Earlier today, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed 'deep grief' over the death of a young woman after she got buried under debris following cloudburst in Tharali.
Meanwhile, on the instructions of the Chief Minister, teams of police, disaster management department and district administration have reached the spot and started rescue and relief work.