Indian Air Force helicopters will be pressed into service to evacuate stranded pilgrims and tourists from the upper reaches of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh which have been hit by landslides and heavy rains.
A meeting was convened today at the Union Home Ministry where Home Secretary R K Singh met senior officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), ITBP and other senior officials.
Sources said NDRF personnel will be airlifted in Mi-17 choppers, if weather permits, from Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun and sent to Kedarnath in Uttarakhand and Sangla Valley in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur and Kangra Valley.
They will not only rescue people but also provide them food and medical care.
NDRF teams have also reached Rudraprayag and Srinagar in Uttarakhand for rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry is in touch with state governments, Army and Border Roads Organisation with regard for any help that might be required.
NDRF personnel will also restore communication lines in these places and supplement the efforts of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) which is already in action in these areas.
"We are making all out efforts and are continuously enhancing the operations to rescue as many people as we can. Sixty people were today rescued by us in Haridwar," NDRF Inspector General (Operations) Sandeep Rai Rathore told PTI.
NDRF has also asked its units in other parts of the country to be on standby in case of any emergency deployment to these affected areas.
