Uttarakhand: Heavy rains damage route in Rudraprayag, over 700 people evacuated as rescue ops underway

August 2, 2024

Heavy rains have severely damaged the route in the Rudraprayag district on Wednesday night. The rescue and relief work to evacuate the people stranded is underway. According to the Uttarakhand police, as many as 737 people were rescued by helicopter and at least 2,670 people were taken to Sonprayag by the relief forces as of Thursday.

Taking to its official handle on X, Uttarakhand police posted, “The rescue work of people stranded on the Shri Kedarnath Dham Yatra route is continuing. 737 passengers were rescued by helicopter throughout the day.”

“2,670 passengers were taken to Sonprayag. SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, District Police and Administration teams are selflessly helping the devotees,” read the post.

श्री केदारनाथ धाम यात्रा मार्ग में फंसे लोगों के रेस्क्यू का कार्य लगातार जारी है। आज दिनभर में हैलीकॉप्टर से 737 यात्रियों का हुआ रेस्क्यू। 2670 यात्रियों को सोनप्रयाग पहुंचाया। SDRF, NDRF, DDRF, जिला पुलिस व प्रशासन की टीमें निःस्वार्थ भाव से कर रही हैं श्रद्धालुओं की मदद। pic.twitter.com/fLLX4Z4ekr

— Uttarakhand Police (@uttarakhandcops) August 1, 2024

Earlier, Abhinav Kumar, Director General of Police, Uttarakhand, gave information about the relief and rescue operations after heavy rains in the state and appealed to the people of the state and travellers to be cautious and follow the instructions of the officials.

Amid heavy rainfall in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar informed on Thursday that the Kedarnath Yatra has been suspended for two days due to weather conditions and 12 NDRF, as well as 60 SDRF teams, are engaged in rescue work. SDRF teams are using drones to devise new rescue plans after landslides damaged the Sonprayag-Gaurikund route.

PM Narendra Modi is closely monitoring the situation arising from heavy rains and the ensuing disaster. The Prime Minister’s Office has assured full support following the Chief Minister’s request.

Speaking to ANI on the situation created by heavy rains in Tehri and Rudraprayag districts, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar said on Thursday, “We had received an alert from the Meteorological Department about heavy rains in the state for 48 hours. In view of this alert, the police, NDRF, SDRF and local administration were put on alert. After the rain started last night, we started getting reports of landslides, rock falls, etc. from various areas.”