Dehradun: With most parts of Uttarakhand witnessing overcast skies on Sunday and the met department forecasting heavy rain in the next 48 hours, the fate of nearly 20,000 people stranded there after last week’s heavy rains seems frighteningly uncertain, officials say.
Officials engaged in rescue operations had Saturday said 20,000 people were still awaiting evacuation from the hill state ravaged by flash-floods and landslides which have claimed hundreds of lives.
While the rescuers say they are doing their best to ensure that the “last living soul” in the rain-ravaged areas is brought back to safety, they admit that airlifting of stranded people may become impossible in rains.
“If the rains restart, our choppers would not be able to fly and the rescue sorties will have to be stopped,” said a senior official involved in the relief operations in Uttarakhand.
An officer of the army’s Central Command told IANS that heavy rains are expected between June 25 and 27, and that the presence of “multi-layered clouds” would hamper flying.
Heavy rains are expected in the state’s Pithoragarh, Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts, which are already disaster-stricken following last week’s rains and cloud-burst.
The army has already said that Sunday will be a crucial day for the ongoing rescue operations.
Several sorties had to be abandoned Saturday owing to the dense and heavy cloud cover over the state capital Dehradun and Rudraprayag. Dehradun received some showers too.
An army official said heavy fog has enveloped the valleys around Chamoli town, making air movement “either difficult or confusing”. The fog is likely to get denser, environmentalists say. (IANS)