Rahul Rasgotra, DG, ITBP and Piyush Anand, DG, NDRF, visit Dharali, Uttarakhand, to review ongoing rescue operations & coordination with other govt agencies, in Uttarkashi on Friday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
Rescue and relief operations at Dharali, the village in Uttarakhand ravaged by flash floods on August 5, continued for the fourth day on Friday (August 8, 2025) amid fresh warning of heavy rainfall across the State in the next 24 hours.
Sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and earthmovers have been deployed to find people suspected to be buried beneath the 40-foot sludge spread over 80 acres in the village. Officials have said four people were killed in the flash floods, and two bodies were recovered on Wednesday. Those missing include nine Army personnel and seven civilians.
According to the State government, more than 560 people have been rescued from various areas of Uttarkashi district till Friday evening. These people were stuck after connecting roads and bridges were washed away in the floods or got blocked due to landslides caused by heavy rain.
“We are using state-of-the-art techniques such as thermal imaging and victim-locator camera, and sniffer dogs to locate any life beneath the sludge. Special directions were issued to rescue teams considering the warning of fresh spell of heavy rain across the State,” said Deepam Seth, Director General of Police, Uttarakhand.
More casualties feared
The residents of Mukhba, the village neighbouring Dharali, who witnessed the disaster, say the number of missing and dead is likely to be higher than what is being claimed by the district administration as labourers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Nepal were working at under-construction hotels and in the apple orchards at the disaster spot.
“Around 50 labourers were employed at various apple orchards and an equal number of workers were at multiple construction sites. There were tourists and pilgrims in hotels. The claim of administration that only 15-20 people are missing is false,” said Kali Devi, a resident of Nepal whose six children were in Dharali when disaster hit the village.
Brijesh Sati, general secretary of Uttarakhand Teerthpurohit Mahapanchyat, a body of priests, told The Hindu that a congregation of people at a fair on the village outskirts might have saved lives. “When the flood struck, an aarti was being performed at the fair due to which most of the villagers had gathered there. Had this been a normal day, the extent of loss of human lives would be much more,” he said.
The debris that flowed down with the flash flood also left its oldest monument, the Kalp Kedar temple, buried, he said.
Published – August 08, 2025 10:10 pm IST
