9 West Bengal Tourists Still Missing in Uttarakhand

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Army helicopters today continued search operations to trace a nine-member team from West Bengal which has been missing for the past ten days from Gangotri- Kalindikhal trek following turbulent weather in upper Himalayan reaches.

Two Cheetah helicopters of the Indian Army made sorties for the third day today but failed to trace the tourists, said the Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC), a state government agency.

The helicopters, which were pressed into search operations on September 25, have so far made 13 sorties to locate the nine-member team but failed to trace them as the area had received heavy snowfall during the past one week.

Two West Bengal ministers Kanti Ganguly and Srikumar Mukherjee, along with a rescue team, had also searched the area with the help of helicopters yesterday.

Uttarkashi district administration has already sent a ground team in the search of tourists.

Meanwhile, the government continued its rescue operation in different parts of the state and airlifted 8 persons to safer areas from Gunji in Pithoragarh district where they were trapped due to bad weather.

Nearly 48 people were rescued from Chinyalisaur area in Uttarkashi district by the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF). Four ailing persons from Bhaingaon area of Tehri were also brought to Koti for treatment by NDRF, officials said.

The government has so far rescued over 200 people from different places of the state, badly hit by landslides and floods.

Besides, 469 people including tourists from Nepal, Bhutan have been willingly staying in hotels of Naugaon area in Uttarkashi district, they said.

In Almora district, which was worst-affected by natural disasters last week, 204 relief camps have been set up for accommodating 5,593 people.

All essential commodities have been sent to the camps and the sub-divisional magistrates concerned directed to ensure their delivery to the needy.

The disaster management teams, along with police, PAC, ITBP and BRO, are working to reopen roads blocked due to landslides for the past several days.

Nearly a dozen major roads including Rishikesh-Badrinath and Rishikesh-Kedarnath national highways have been cleared for traffic. However, Rishikesh-Gangotri and Rishikesh-Yamunotri national highways are still blocked due to landslides at Sukkhi top and Ranachatti.