New Delhi: All the pilgrims stranded at Kedarnath Dham and the halts on the footpath after the disaster in Kedarghati on July 31 have been evacuated safely. On Tuesday, various agencies engaged in relief and rescue work evacuated 348 pilgrims safely. Four bodies have also been recovered during the search operation.

Rescue and relief work completed on the seventh day

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that rescue and relief work has been completed on the seventh day. Now Kedarnath Yatra will be started through heli service from Wednesday. Passengers will be given a discount of up to 25 percent in helicopter fare. However, due to the collapse of the road at many places, the journey on foot will remain suspended for now.

Pilgrims were stranded at many places

After the cloudburst and landslide in Kedarghati, the footpath to the Dham collapsed at many places, due to which pilgrims were stranded at Kedarnath Dham and various stops. Teams of Army, NDRF, SDRF, Police and Disaster Management Department were engaged in evacuating the pilgrims. The central government also provided seven helicopters including Chinook and MI-17.

More than 15 thousand people have been rescued

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived to inspect the areas affected by heavy rains. He said that due to landslides, footpaths and roads have collapsed at 29 places. Work is underway to repair it so that the journey can be smooth. It is a great achievement that more than 15 thousand passengers and local people have been rescued in record time.

Two more bodies found in Himachal, 37 still missing

On the other hand, bodies of two more people missing due to floods after cloudburst at seven places in Shimla, Kullu and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh on the night of July 31 have been found. Additional Deputy Commissioner Shimla Abhishek Verma said that so far 18 people have died in the state, while 37 are still missing. Meanwhile, flood warning has been issued in eight districts due to heavy rainfall. 53 roads in the state are closed for traffic.

Situation worsened in Rajasthan, 11 died in two days

The situation in Rajasthan is worsening due to continuous rain for the last three days. Heavy rains which started late Sunday night in Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Pali districts of the state continued on Tuesday as well. This has created flood like situation. Due to this, 11 people have died in various accidents in two days.

The Tordi Sagar dam of Tonk district has overflowed. Six trains have been cancelled and the same number of trains have been diverted in Jodhpur division. Jaipur Meteorological Centre director Radheshyam Sharma said that there is a possibility of getting relief from rain from Wednesday.

Rivers in spate in UP and Bihar

In Uttar Pradesh, the water level of rivers has started rising again due to rain and water being released from the barrage. The water level in Ganga and Yamuna is rising rapidly, while Saryu has also started scaring again. The water level of Ken river in Bundelkhand has crossed the danger mark. In Patna too, the Ganga river crossed the danger mark on Tuesday. The water level in Bagmati, Jhim river and Lakhandei river is also rising rapidly.

When no one paid any attention, the villagers themselves built a wooden bridge

Due to cloudburst in Tosh of Kullu district, the bridge connecting Tosh village was washed away in the flood. After this, the people neither looked at the government nor complained. The villagers themselves kept busy in the work and prepared a wooden bridge for commuting.

Similarly, in Tiun, the Salawari bridge connecting the villagers to the road was washed away by the flood, due to which people were facing a lot of problems. People told that last year also the bridge connecting the village was washed away by the flood, but no one took any notice. In such a situation, the villagers had built a wooden Bailey bridge on the river, but that too has been washed away by the flood this year. In such a situation, now people are again building a wooden bridge.

SDM Kullu Vikas Shukla said that the administration has issued orders to build permanent bridges at both the places. The work of building the bridge will be started soon.