Thousands rescued by ITBP in rain-deluged Uttarakhand

Thousands of tourists, pilgrims and residents have been rescued by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), involved in the rescue operations in Uttarakhand, as heavy rains continued to wreak havoc in the hill state, an official said here Monday.

At least 10 people are dead and another 50 were missing in the heavy downpour that began Saturday night and has continued for the past two days. The met department has forecast more thunder showers.

The Met department said the rains in the month of June have since broken an 88-year record. Between Saturday and Sunday, the state capital received 220 mm of rains and by evening, another 220 mm of rains.

"More than 500 ITBP personnel are carrying out rescue and relief operation for thousands of yatris (tourists) stranded on Char Dham Yatra route," said ITBP spokesman Deepak Kumar Pandey.

Following the heavy rains, the Char Dham Yatra has been halted and hundreds and thousands of pilgrims are stranded enroute to Badrinath, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Yamunotri.

"Thousands of yatris stranded near Govind Ghat, en route to Hemkund Sahib, were rescued... they are being accommodated in various shelters in Joshimath," he said.

"A shelter and emergency medical centre has been established at the ITBP campus in Joshimath," added Pandey.

Giving out details of the grim situation, Pandey said hundreds of tourists and vehicles are stranded en route to Badrinath due to rains and consequent landslides in the upper reaches of Himalayas.

The affected tourists and residents are being provided food, shelter and medical care by ITBP.

"Our rafting team has rescued 24 victims from Budi village, 12 km from Dehradun," said Pandey.

"Our teams are acclimatized and have special equipment used for relief and rescue work at high altitude mountainous areas. ITBP does most of the search and rescue work in the Himalayas," he added.