Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh devastated by rain; 550+ dead, thousands stranded

[adi B]

Dehradun is safe. even other dhams like Badrinath are safe. Most devastation happened in Kedar ghati and the places that come in the way of Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers. Alaknanda is very dangerous as its a narrow river but amount of water is huge and water flows at high due to that. Roads are destroyed everywhere in Uttarkashi' date=' Chamoli, tehri, joshimath, Rudraprayag. This is the biggest calamity I have ever seen in my life.[/quote'] yeah man,very true..the rescue ops are slow tbh,they interviewed people stranded in b`nath for over 6 days,they said ops were slow,were taking very less people on avg/day

[bulbul]

RKT , are you in Dehradun??

[rkt.india]

RKT ' date=' are you in Dehradun??[/quote'] Yeah.

[rkt.india]

yeah man' date='very true..the rescue ops are slow tbh,they interviewed people stranded in b`nath for over 6 days,they said ops were slow,were taking very less people on avg/day[/quote'] They are bound to be slow. You cant reconstruct roads and bridges overnight in those places. So only way to reach there is choppers and they cannot land everwhere. I dont think govt. understood the severity and extent of the calamity instantly. As many as possible choppers should have been sent for operation from Ist day itself. CM yesterday in interview said usually we see 65-70 mm rain here but it was 300-350 mm this time and then cloud bursts there at two places made it worse.

[seedhi]

Sad. Really sad.

Uttarakhand: pilgrims trekking to safety being looted en route Dehradun: Even with hundreds dead and thousands stuck in tragedy-hit Uttarakhand, there are people who have decided to make a quick buck by exploiting the helpless and stranded. Survivors, who for days have battled the cold without any food or water, are now facing another threat. "Some unknown people came and robbed us. They took everything we had. They took even our shoes. What could we do? They were armed. We had not eaten for days. We were weak. We now have blisters on our feet. With great difficulty we climbed down," said a teary-eyed elderly couple. Radheshyam Pandya, another survivor, said, "I don't know where my brother-in law is. I gave a man Rs. 2000 to bring him to us. He didn't come back. I gave another man Rs. 3000. He too didn't return." "Taxi drivers are charging four times the fare. We had to give everything we had. It became so bad that we almost had to sell the clothes we are wearing. What could we do? We were desperate and worried," said a man stranded in Uttarakhand. "They are selling a paratha for Rs. 250, a bottle of water for Rs. 400," said another survivor. After being pushed to the extreme, physically and psychologically, many of the survivors are arriving at the relief camps, without a rupee in their pockets. And with no money left, they face another challenge - making the long journey back home. http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/uttarakhand-pilgrims-trekking-to-safety-being-looted-en-route-382890?pfrom=home-topstories

[adi B]

They are bound to be slow. You cant reconstruct roads and bridges overnight in those places. So only way to reach there is choppers and they cannot land everwhere. I dont think govt. understood the severity and extent of the calamity instantly. As many as possible choppers should have been sent for operation from Ist day itself. CM yesterday in interview said usually we see 65-70 mm rain here but it was 300-350 mm this time and then cloud bursts there at two places made it worse.

precisely,they started sending from 19-20 june ..most of the people interviewed are critical of the govn`s effort ,though thats ought to be

[cowboysfan]

wasnt the point of creating a new state was the better management of resources to the foothills?it loks like the uttarkhand govt had no plan in place even though cloudbursts are common during monsoons.

[rkt.india]

They need to send high capacity helicopters.

[Rocky Balboa]

There are instruments available which can detect cloud burst and give warning before three hours. ****ers delayed it just like any other thing thats delayed in India. Chootiya people. ******* cm is going to Switzerland next week. My blood boils when I see things like this

[seedhi]

Stranded Pilgrims Fleeced in Uttarakhand Shocking tales of human apathy to the sufferings of Uttarakhand flood victims have come to the fore with some stranded people forced to pay Rs 250 for a 'paratha' and Rs 100 for a small pack of chips. 56-year-old flood victim and Dehradun local Manohar Lal Mauriya, who has been rescued and admitted to the Doon Hospital here, said the exploitation of distraught travellers has saddened him. "I had to pay Rs 40 for a small bowl of rice.There was no food available anywhere," Mauriya, who saw his taxi being washed by the swirling flood waters, said. Amit Gupta of Baghpat UP, who spoke to his relatives stranded in Gaumukh, said they had to pay Rs 400 for two small packets of chips and two bottles of water. Having survived the tragedy, the stranded persons, many of whom are left with little money and belongings, are finding it difficult to buy food and water for themselves. A stranded Sikh tourist complained that some locals were exploiting their helplessness. "Taxi drivers are demanding Rs 3000-4000 for a journey that would normally cost Rs 1000. All our money has been exhausted. We are helpless," the tourist said. Another tourist waiting at the railway station said they are paying through the nose to buy food. "Shopkeepers are selling a paratha for Rs 250 and a water bottle for Rs 200. It is terrible". Ramesh from Udaipur, whose parents are stranded in a flood-hit area, said they are finding it hard to buy food and water as the locals were demanding an exorbitant amount for the same. 72-year-old Shyam Sunder Sharma from Phagwara said there were no arrangements in the camp in Harshil for food and medicines. An old couple, who survived the massive Uttarakhand flash floods triggered by incessant rains, said, "We were made to cough up Rs 7,000 for a room in a hotel for a night. A packet of bread cost us Rs 100, a water bottle was sold for Rs 70-100, a paltry meal cost Rs 200 per head. In Chamoli, we had to shell out Rs 7,000 for a rickety room to spend a night." Authorities are making efforts to rush food packets amid reports that hundreds of survivors did not get anything to eat for days. http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=801431

[seedhi]

Report of assault on stranded women pilgrims shocks Uttarakhand Uttarakhand reeled in horror on Saturday as reports came in that a stranded woman tourist and her daughter were raped and murdered in Gaurikund area of Kedarnath valley. Another stranded woman, from Bihar, too was reportedly raped in the area. What’s more, criminals reportedly murdered three brothers — all mule traders — in the same area and looted Rs. 17 lakh from them. Locals told HT unidentified people raped and murdered the woman and her daughter at Ghondhlu Pani village under Ukhimath police station. The other rape also took place under the same police station limits. According to the locals, the mule traders were murdered in a forest near Chauwasi village of Gaurikund. The locals said they had informed the police about the crimes. A police official at the Rudrprayag SP office admitted receiving such complaints. The official, who declined to give his name, said no FIRs had been registered. Asked about the bone-chilling crimes, Uttarakhand DGP Satyavrat Bansal said, “I am not denying that anti-social elements taking undue advantage of the situation. There might have been isolated incidents, but not a spree.” Bansal added, “I have directed Rudraprayag SP to keep the local police vigilant and all efforts must be made to check criminal activities there if any.” Locals in the flood-affected areas suspect bands of roving criminals are preying on the stranded people and even stealing from the dead — chopping off fingers to steal jewelry. The Ukhimath police have arrested a person and recovered cash and other articles he reportedly took off bodies lying in the area. “The arrested person claims to be a sadhu (ascetic),” said a police source. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NorthIndiaRainFury2013/Report-of-assault-on-stranded-women-shocks-Uttarakhand/Article1-1080734.aspx

[akshayxyz]

^ Looks like the bandits/criminals are taking this too seriously... कर्मणयेवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि। “You have a right to perform your prescribed action,but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results your activities,and never be associated to not doing your duty." (...whereas the govt may be not)

[hhunaeh]

Influential people exert pressure on agencies to rescue their kin first

NEW DELHI: Apart from bad weather and difficult terrain, rescue teams in Uttarakhand are also troubled by calls from influential people to rescue their kin first. Sources in the agencies engaged in rescue work said on an average, over 50 such calls were received every day from politicians, bureaucrats and other government officials even though their kin were not caught in an emergency situation. "Most of these people are trapped in Badrinath, Yamunotri and Gangotri where hardly any damage has happened. These places have merely been cut off but there are enough supplies and people can survive for days," an officer overseeing rescue work in Uttarakhand said. Being peak pilgrimage season, families of several politicians and bureaucrats too have been on a visit to the Char Dham and have been trapped at various places. As they have connections and can reach senior officials in the home department or directly in the forces, there is pressure to rescue them first. "We are receiving messages that such and such person is staying in a particular room in a certain hotel at Badrinath or Yamunotri and needs to rescued urgently. If you are in a hotel room, getting food and sleep, why do you need to be rescued urgently? We can understand the panic among family members caught in such situations, but there are people dying in Kedarnath valley with no food, water or shelter. They are our priority," the officer said. Sources said rescue agencies have been politely declining many, trying to make them understand the situation. "While many understand, others try to pull strings but we are dealing with it," another officer said, adding that kin of certain politicians had to be evacuated on priority basis due to pressure from above. Forces say they are trying to help whoever they can if they come to know of their trouble. "This is not to say that people from influential families must not approach us if they are really in trouble. But if I have a request of looking for an 80-year-old woman who can't walk and has been separated from her family competing with that of a person living in a hotel, where should I direct my resources," the officer asked. He added that calls from influential people were adding to the stress of personnel engaged in rescue work.

[bulbul]

As Uttarakhand faces its worst natural calamity ever, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna admitted to lapses in his preparedness to deal with it. He, however, claimed the magnitude of the disaster is so "huge" that not even "the Government on India has a force to deal with the problem". Bahuguna was speaking to CNN-IBN's Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate.

src : IBNlive

[beetle]

Uttarakhand floods: a tiny village does what a state fails to do A tiny Himalayan village professing both Buddhism and Hinduism is spreading the message of humanity amidst the worst ever disaster in the upper reaches of the Ganges. Bhagori, all of about 350 families is doing something that a state government of Rs. 8,500 crore annual plan size failed to do so far - reaching out to the pilgrims-tourists stranded because of floods. The residents – mostly shepherds, weavers, small farmers and some serviceperson - have voluntarily come forward to feed the hundreds of pilgrims awaiting their turn to be airlifted at the Harsil Army helipad, located beside the village 25 kms downstream from Gangotri in the Uttarkashi district. Bringing along whatever they could afford – a little of cooking oil, wheat flour, lentils – as their contribution, the women of Bhagori are cooking and feeding the hapless pilgrims daal-chawal or puri-sabzi with tea. Girls and boys, studying arts to engineering elsewhere like Delhi, Dehradun but are in the village for holidays are seen ushering people to the community kitchen set-up in an apple orchard. Some are carrying drinking water to the pilgrims in the long queue for the helicopter, under searing heat of the sun. “Do not worry about us. We have enough grains to feed ourselves, else we shall manage together. Please eat stomach full,” says Shanta Devi (56), making the dough for the puris. Feeding since Thursday when the chopper sorties to evacuate the marooned became regular following the inclement weather; the villagers have lost count of numbers. “We would continue this kitchen till the pilgrims are here or till our resources last.” “We are grateful to these villagers who are keeping us alive when the government here seems to be dead,” said Naresh Devgan, a businessman from Ludhiana. Most like Devgan are running out on money. The nearest ATM is 70 kms away in Uttarkashi, road to which is cut-off at several places and would take about two weeks to restore. The village kitchen however is a supplement to the army kitchens of 5th Battalion of The Garhwal Rifles stationed at Harsil. The camp has opened its barracks and a local school premises to the about 2500 pilgrims stranded at Harsil. A few are still trickling in from Gangotri. “We would also be running out of supplies soon. But for now, we would eat at the same daal-chawal together,” Colonel Pradeep Singh, commanding officer, tells the pilgrims. Soldiers gave away their bed-rolls, blankets to the needy. Singh also visited the Harsil village, a tourist hub requesting hoteliers, restaurateurs not to take advantage of the situation. Most distressingly, no higher official of the Uttarakhand State or Uttarkashi district has reached Harsil (at-least till Friday) – the main rehabilitation and evacuation centre in the Gangotri segment. Army officials said they received no request from the district authorities but are sheltering and feeding the pilgrims on humanity grounds. “The officials do come here often for picnics but now in this situation, would they?” said a local official. “Ours is a nikamma (useless) government. There is no dispute to that,” says head of a local institution at Harsil – which is designated as Atal Adarsh Gram during the BJP regime. http://http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NorthIndiaRainFury2013/Uttarakhand-floods-a-tiny-village-does-what-a-state-fails-to-do/Article1-1081130.aspx

[Aaku]

^ :clap: :(

[bulbul]

^ :hatsoff:

[Sidhoni]

Dhawan dedicates his award to those who lost their lives.

[beetle]

Now there is a fresh cloud burst near my village....:((:((

[Muloghonto]

Now there is a fresh cloud burst near my village....:((:((

No cell phone reception ?