Rains stall relief ops, Kedarnath debris removal in U'khand

Inclement weather today posed a major hurdle to repair of vast network of damaged roads and distribution of relief material in calamity-hit Uttarakhand with moderate to heavy rains in most parts of the state not allowing debris removal exercise to take off at Kedarnath.

A team of experts from New Delhi, which will assess the extent of damage caused by the June flashfloods and landslides in Badrinath, Gangotri and Dharchula areas,could not go beyond Pauri due to low visibility conditions induced by overcast sky and intermittent rains, official sources said.

Incessant overnight rain in Chamoli district brought debris on Gadora road this morning, hampering road restoration work underway in the area by the BRO, Chamoli ADM Sanjay Kumar said on phone.

Over a month has passed since the worst ever natural disaster hit Uttarakhand but the exercise of removing tonnes of debris lying at Kedarnath shrine, which bore the brunt of the tragedy, and the adjoining structures continues to be hampered by a combination of factors including lack of heavy equipment and bad weather.

"Proper removal of debris has not yet started owing to bad weather and lack of heavy equipment," Uttarakhand DGP Satyavrat Bansal told PTI.

"The combined team of doctors, PWD and NDRF men have not been able to dispose of any more bodies for the last three days. They disposed of two bodies which were visible and reachable four days back with all necessary rituals but there has been no disposal of bodies since," he said.

"Nothing can be done there until the debris is removed which is proving to be an onerous task with inclement weather making chopper operation impossible.

"After all, how will heavy equipment needed to remove the debris be transported to the shrine if choppers don't fly," he said.

Removal of debris from damaged structures close to the shrine is another headache as they may cave in under the impact of heavy equipment to be used for the purpose, putting at risk the lives of personnel engaged in the exercise, he said.