By IANS,
New Delhi: The government Saturday denied that there was any lack of co-ordination between its agencies engaged in rescue and relief operations in Uttarakhand, while putting the death toll in the flood-ravaged state at 557.
Dismissing reports of lack of co-ordination between different agencies, Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari told media persons that there was “complete co-ordination” and “harmony” between the different agencies engaged in rescue and relief operations.
Stating that as of now 70,000 people have been evacuated from the flood-hit regions of the hill state, he said: “Let me tell you in unambiguous terms that there is absolute and complete co-ordination between various agencies active in relief operations.”
His comments came after union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said in Dehradun earlier Saturday that said there had been some lack of coordination between agencies in rescue work but now steps were being taken on war footing to evacuate people.
Giving an update on the status of relief and rescue operations, Tiwari put the death toll at 557, with 412 injured. He said that 22,000 people were still stranded in the flood affected upper reaches of the state.
He said that on Saturday, about 10,000 people were evacuated, of which the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the army evacuated 4,000 people each. Of those rescued by the army, 2,000 were from critical areas.
Despite bad weather, the Indian Air Force carried out 150 helicopter sorties till Saturday afternoon, said Tewari, adding that in all, 61 helicopters – 43 of IAF, 11 of army and seven private – are engaged in the rescue and relief mission.
Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth chaired a meeting to assess the situation Saturday afternoon, he said.
Giving details of the rescue operations, Tewari, who was flanked by officials of the army, air force, ITBP, Border Roads Organisation and NDRF said the forces were facing operational difficulties like inclement weather and bad terrain.
The minister added that rains are likely on Monday and Tuesday, so the focus is on completing as much rescue work as possible by Sunday.
As of now, 70-80 people are stranded in Kedarnath. The rescue forces have handed over 83 bodies to the local police in Kedarnath.
At Gaurikund, the NDRF has rescued 143 people, officials from the agency said adding 149 sadhus have refused to evacuate the place.
The government has tried to restore communications network in those areas, Tewari said.
According to the ITBP, 25 satellite telephones have been sent by the Tata telecom company and 50 are being bought from Congo.
ITBP has evacuated seven Israelis from a monastary in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh’s Lahaul Spiti, officials said adding the Kailash Mansarovar yatra is progressing as scheduled.