Kedarnath rescue operation enters fifth day, air operations speed up as weather clears

Rudraprayag (Uttarakhand): More than 130 people were airlifted to safety as rescue operations on the damaged Kedarnath yatra route entered its fifth day on Monday.

Air rescue operations gained momentum with the weather clearing in Kedar Valley and the Indian Air Force's (IAF) Chinook and MI17 helicopters aiding in the evacuation of pilgrims, earlier being carried out largely by small helicopters, officials said.

Till 9 am, 133 people were evacuated to safety outside Kedarnath Dham, they said.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other rescue teams sent 100 other people from Kedarnath Dham to Lincholi from where they will be airlifted to Shersi helipad.

Disaster management and rehabilitation secretary Vinod Kumar Suman on Sunday said that 10,374 people had been rescued from various stops on the yatra route such as Kedarnath, Lincholi, Bhimbali and Gaurikund.

Only 350 pilgrims were left in Kedarnath and 50 in Lincholi, he had said.

Dense cloud cover in Kedarnath and surrounding areas had hampered air operations on Sunday as the IAF's Chinook helicopter could not make even a single sortie. Only 60 people were evacuated by three sorties made by the MI17 helicopter, Suman had said.

Apart from some pilgrims, only priests, shopkeepers, horse and palanquin operators are now left in Kedarnath and Gaurikund and, if they want to come, they will also be evacuated, he had said.

Adequate arrangements for food, water and accommodation have been made for those evacuated in Sonprayag, Shersi, Chaumasi, Chardham helipad and Kedarnath helipad, the official said on Sunday.

Due to heavy rainfall and a cloudburst on July 31, the Kedarnath trek route was washed away at many places, including Lincholi, Bhimbali, Ghorapadav and Rambada, while the path was damaged at other places due to landslides.

This resulted in the devotees being stranded in many places.

Meanwhile, the Army has started the construction of a footbridge on the Sonprayag-Gaurikund road on the Kedarnath national highway that was washed away.

The Army has also installed a trolley for the movement of the differently-abled, sick and the elderly in Sonprayag.

It has deployed two sniffer dogs in the search and rescue operations. The operation from Lincholi to Rambada has been completed and no victim was found.

NDRF teams are continuously conducting search operations in the forests and around the Mandakini river.

The officials believe that many people might have moved towards the forests due to fear of the rain.

Sniffer dogs have been deployed to search for them.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who is personally monitoring the search and rescue, appreciated the participation of locals in the operations.

In a post on social media, he called it "Devbhoomi's culture" of "Atithi Devo Bhava".

Mentioning many by name, he said, "The administration is getting full cooperation of local people in the rescue operations going on in the Kedarnath area." Expressing his gratitude to the locals, he said, "Your tireless efforts prevented major damage by heavy rain."