Uttarakhand: Safe rescue of more than 15 thousand people stranded in Kedarghati, operation completed under the able leadership of Chief Minister Dhami
Under the able leadership and guidance of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the rescue operation of the passengers stranded at various places due to the blockage of the road due to heavy rains in Kedarghati was completed on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister himself continuously monitored the rescue operation to safely rescue the passengers stranded at different places on the Kedarnath footpath due to heavy rains in Kedarghati on July 31. The Chief Minister left no stone unturned in providing relief to the affected people and rescuing the people.
The Chief Minister himself visited the disaster-affected areas twice. Whatever resources were needed by the teams engaged in relief and rescue operations, they were immediately made available on the instructions of the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister kept taking information about the rescue operation every moment.
All the resources and manpower required for relief and rescue operations were immediately made available on the instructions of the Chief Minister. Under the guidance of the Chief Minister, despite such a big disaster and widespread damage, the rescue operation was completed in less than a week, which shows that this is why Uttarakhand is seen as an ideal state in the entire country in the field of disaster management.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Rudraprayag on Tuesday to review the damage caused by heavy rains in Kedarghati, rescue and rescue operations, and preparations for restarting the yatra. After this, he held a review meeting of the concerned officers and employees regarding the heavy rains. Earlier, he also conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas. The Chief Minister said that more than 15 thousand passengers and local people have been rescued safely by air and foot routes in record time. Now the rescue operation has been completed.
The Chief Minister said that it is our endeavor to normalize the situation in Kedarghati as soon as possible. He said that due to heavy rains, the pedestrian and road route has been blocked due to landslides at 29 places. A large number of government properties including drinking water and electricity lines were also damaged. Telecommunication services have also been disrupted at some places. Wherever the roads are damaged, work is being done on a war footing to repair them.
On this occasion, Cabinet Minister Mr. Saurabh Bahuguna, Chief Secretary Mrs. Radha Raturi, Principal Secretary Mr. RK Sudhanshu, Director General of Police Mr. Abhinav Kumar, Secretary PWD Mr. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner Garhwal Mr. Vinay Shankar Pandey, Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Mr. Vinod Kumar Suman, IG Garhwal Karan Singh Nagnyal, District Magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar, Superintendent of Police Dr. Vishakha Ashok Bhadane, NDRF Commandant Mr. Sudesh Daral, SDRF Commandant Mr. Manikant Mishra etc. were present.
Government of India provided full support
The Chief Minister said that as soon as this incident occurred on July 31, he requested the Government of India to provide Air Force helicopters to rescue the passengers. Chinook and MI-17 helicopters were immediately made available by the Government of India for the rescue operation. He thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Home Minister Amit Shah for the support provided by them in this rescue operation. Apart from this, hundreds of passengers were also rescued and taken to safe places through 05 state helicopters.
Reconstruction work being conducted on war footing
The work of repairing the roads damaged by the disaster in Kedar Valley is being done on a war footing. The Chief Minister himself is monitoring each and every work. The Chief Minister said that it is the priority of the government that the situation in Kedar Valley should be normal as soon as possible and the devotees of Baba Kedar should once again come for darshan.
On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the number of laborers engaged in reconstruction work at various places has also been increased. 200 additional laborers have been deployed by the Public Works Department. About two hundred employees of the Irrigation Department have also been increased.
The Chief Minister said that work is being done on a war footing to solve all the problems of the people of Kedar Valley. Exemption has been provided in the acquisition rules so that the department can complete the work soon. There will be no shortage of funds for relief and construction work. If there is a need for exemption in doing any work, that too will be given immediately. He said that he himself will monitor all the construction works.
Various teams involved in the rescue did commendable work: CM
The Chief Minister said that the employees of NDRF, SDRF, Army, Police, DDRF, District Administration, GMVN, Public Works Department, Electricity Department, Drinking Water Department and other line departments involved in the rescue operation established mutual coordination and carried out search and rescue operations at a rapid pace and this is the reason that despite such a big disaster, the safe rescue of thousands of passengers in such a short time at a rapid pace is a commendable work in itself. The district administration is working on a war footing to repair the damaged roads.
Local people gave full cooperation: CM
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while interacting with the local people in Rampur and Sonprayag, thanked everyone for working shoulder to shoulder with the administration and the government in difficult circumstances and contributing to the rescue operation.
He also thanked Chaumasi Pradhan Mulayam Singh, Rudraprayag Pradhan Sangathan President Subhash Rawat, Kedar Sabha President Rajkumar Tiwari and others who helped in the relief work. On this occasion, he assured to solve all the problems of the affected people.
The Chief Minister said that in this entire campaign, the temple committee, local people, people of the Panda and priest community, the trade board and social organizations also provided their full support. He said that this is the specialty of the people of Devbhoomi that whenever a disaster strikes, everyone stands up to support the government and administration like a family.
So far more than 15 thousand passengers have been rescued
The Chief Minister said that more than 15 thousand people stranded at various places on the Kedarnath Yatra route were rescued safely on foot and by air. The rescue operation has been completed. If any of the local shopkeepers and businessmen want to come down, then full arrangements have been made for them too.
The leadership of District Magistrate Rudraprayag is being praised everywhere
In this entire rescue operation, the local people praised the role of District Magistrate Mr. Saurabh Gaharwar in front of the Chief Minister. Local people told that the District Magistrate and his team conducted relief and rescue operations in an excellent manner with speed even in adverse conditions.
Under the leadership of the District Magistrate, various departments conducted relief and rescue operations in an excellent manner in record time, the result of which was that such a large number of people were rescued safely. The District Magistrate worked continuously for 18-18 hours. He did good planning at every level, the result of which was that the relief and rescue work could be completed in record time.
Police department officials also did commendable work
Dehradun. Local people appreciated the contribution of the officers and employees of the police department during this entire operation. Local people told that the police force stopped the passengers at safe places due to heavy rain, due to which a large number of people could be saved from danger. The local people also praised the leadership skills and planning of Superintendent of Police Dr. Vishakha Ashok Bhadane.
Tehri District Magistrate was also praised
People also praised District Magistrate Tehri, Mr. Mayur Dixit in front of the Chief Minister for building the Bailey Bridge in record time. On July 31, due to heavy rains in Tehri, the bridge at Muyalgaon on the Chirbatia-Tilwara motor road was washed away. The construction of this 18 meter long bridge was completed within a week by the District Magistrate Tehri, demonstrating excellent leadership skills.
The Chief Minister had given a week’s time to build the Bailey Bridge, but due to the efficient leadership of the District Magistrate and the commendable efforts of the Public Works Department team, this bridge was built in less than a week. Expressing his appreciation for this, the Chief Minister said that commendable work is being done by all the District Magistrates during the disaster.
Rajkumar Tiwari, President of Kedar Sabha, Kedarnath Dham, has praised the rescue operation conducted with full promptness under the leadership of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami during the disaster in Kedarnath valley.
Kedarnath Dham President Rajkumar Tiwari said that the pilgrimage priests have expressed their gratitude to Chief Minister Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami for his efforts to provide immediate relief to the natural disaster that occurred in Lincholi, Gaurikund and Sonprayag of Kedarnath area on July 31.
He said that immediately after the disaster in Kedarnath area on July 31, the Chief Minister visited Kedarnath area on August 01 and gave instructions to expedite the relief and rescue operations and gave responsibility to the officials to provide relief by talking to the pilgrimage priests and local people, which has given a great relief to the residents of the area and the pilgrims.
He said that the promptness of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has made the path of disaster relief easier. The priests and local people have also welcomed the aerial survey of the affected areas by the Chief Minister on Tuesday and the review of all the departments related to the Yatra route, instructions to normalize life in the affected areas, restore damaged roads, drinking water and electricity lines as soon as possible and to start the Shri Kedarnath Dham foot pilgrimage soon, and the announcement of starting helicopter service for Shri Kedarnath Dham from Wednesday itself and giving 25 percent discount in fare to the devotees arriving for darshan through helicopter service. They have also demanded compensation from the Chief Minister for the loss suffered by the disaster victims.
