Under the able leadership and direction of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the rescue operation of the passengers stranded at various places due to the blockage of the road due to heavy rains in Kedarghati was completed on Tuesday. On July 31, due to heavy rains in Kedarghati, the Chief Minister himself continuously monitored the rescue operation to safely rescue the passengers stranded at different places on the Kedarnath footpath. The Chief Minister left no stone unturned in providing relief to the affected people and rescuing the people.
The Chief Minister himself visited the disaster-affected areas twice. Whatever resources were needed by the teams engaged in relief and rescue operations, they were immediately made available on the instructions of the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister kept taking information about the rescue operation every moment.
All the resources and manpower required for relief and rescue operations were immediately made available on the instructions of the Chief Minister. Under the guidance of the Chief Minister, despite such a big disaster and widespread damage, the rescue operation was completed in less than a week, which shows that this is why Uttarakhand is seen as an ideal state in the entire country in the field of disaster management.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Rudraprayag on Tuesday to review the damage caused by heavy rains in Kedarghati, rescue and rescue operations, and preparations for resumption of the journey. After this, he held a review meeting of the concerned officers and employees regarding the heavy rains. Earlier, he also conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas. The Chief Minister said that more than 15 thousand passengers and local people have been rescued safely by air and foot routes in record time. Now the rescue operation has been completed.
The Chief Minister said that it is our endeavor to normalize the situation in Kedarghati as soon as possible. He said that due to heavy rains, the pedestrian and road route has been blocked due to landslides at 29 places. A large number of government properties including drinking water and electricity lines were also damaged. Telecommunication services have also been disrupted at some places. Wherever the roads are damaged, work is being done on a war footing to repair them. On this occasion, Cabinet Minister Mr. Saurabh Bahuguna, Chief Secretary Mrs. Radha Raturi, Principal Secretary Mr. RK Sudhanshu, Director General of Police Mr. Abhinav Kumar, Secretary PWD Mr. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Commissioner Garhwal Mr. Vinay Shankar Pandey, Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Mr. Vinod Kumar Suman, IG Garhwal Karan Singh Nagnyal, District Magistrate Saurabh Gaharwar, Superintendent of Police Dr. Vishakha Ashok Bhadane, NDRF Commandant Mr. Sudesh Daral, SDRF Commandant Mr. Manikant Mishra etc. were present.
Government of India provided full support
The Chief Minister said that as soon as this incident occurred on July 31, he requested the Government of India to provide Air Force helicopters to rescue the passengers. Chinook and MI-17 helicopters were immediately made available by the Government of India for the rescue operation. He thanked the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Home Minister Amit Shah for the support provided by them in this rescue operation. Apart from this, hundreds of passengers were also rescued and taken to safe places through 05 state helicopters.
Reconstruction work being conducted on war footing
The work of repairing the roads damaged by the disaster in Kedar Valley is being done on a war footing. The Chief Minister himself is monitoring each and every work. The Chief Minister said that it is the priority of the government that the situation in Kedar Valley should be normal as soon as possible and the devotees of Baba Kedar once again come for darshan. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the number of laborers engaged in reconstruction work at various places has also been increased. 200 additional laborers have been deployed by the Public Works Department. About two hundred employees of the Irrigation Department have also been increased. The Chief Minister said that work is being done on a war footing to solve all the problems of the people of Kedar Valley. Exemption has been provided in the procurement rules so that the department can complete the work soon. There will be no shortage of funds for relief and construction work. If there is a need for exemption in doing any work, that too will be given immediately. He said that he himself will monitor all the construction works.
Various teams involved in the rescue did commendable work: CM
The Chief Minister said that the employees of NDRF, SDRF, Army, Police, DDRF, District Administration, GMVN, Public Works Department, Electricity Department, Drinking Water Department and other line departments involved in the rescue operation established mutual coordination and carried out search and rescue operations at a rapid pace and this is the reason that despite such a big disaster, the safe rescue of thousands of passengers in such a short time at a rapid pace is a commendable work in itself. The district administration is working on a war footing to repair the damaged roads.
