Even as much of India is struggling with a weak monsoon, the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand is facing a very different emergency, as heavy rains and flash flooding have swept away homes, stranded villagers on high ground and left at least 28 people dead.
“Our biggest problem is connectivity now,†said S.C. Badoni, undersecretary of the state's disaster management department. “Some areas of Uttarkashi district are inaccessible because a major bridge on the river Ganges is washed away.â€
Aerial surveys have revealed widespread property damage as surging currents in some tributaries of the Ganges river have overtopped their banks, shearing roadsides and wreaking havoc on low-lying villages. Property damage is already estimated at $110 million, according to a press release, which found that at least 402 families had been relocated to higher ground.
The heaviest rains poured down last weekend, stranding groups of tourists, including many Hindu pilgrims visiting holy sites near the Ganges. “Five hundred tourists beyond Uttarkashi, near Harsil, are still stranded,†Mr. Badoni said, adding that the state was using three helicopters in rescue efforts.
Civil administrators also have gotten help from the Indian Army and paramilitary forces, which are participating in relief and rescue operations. Among the dead are three firefighters who were washed away in a heavy current while trying to rescue stranded people, Mr. Badoni said. Some employees of the hydropower dam at Gangori also drowned in the surging waters.
Vijay Bahuguna, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, visited the disaster-hit areas of Matli and Gangori, where local officials were urged to quickly start reconstructing a bridge damaged by the high waters of the Ganges. Mr. Bahuguna said that navigating the state's hill regions has been difficult, with roads submerged in high water, meani ng that rescue teams cannot deliver food, medicines and cooking gas cylinders.
State leaders are distributing 5,400 rupees, or about $100, as “pocket money†to people affected by the flooding. Many local residents have angrily blamed the government for a slow response to the emergency. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also ordered a relief package valued at $27 million, according to a press release.
