Uttarakhand Chief Minister Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat inspected the site and the situation immediately after the horrific disaster caused by the breaking of the glacier in Raini area of Joshimath on Sunday. After returning from the scene, Chief Minister Shri Trivendra in a press conference said that following the information received about the glacier bursting in Joshimath area, the district administration and SDRF team rushed the spot for relief and rescue operations.
Chief Minister has announced ex-gratia of 4 lakh to the kins of deceased. Prime Minister Modi has also announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased.
The PMO also said Rs 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured. “PM Narendra Modi has approved an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF (Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund) for the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the tragic avalanche caused by a Glacier breach in Chamoli, Uttrakhand. Rs 50,000 would be given to those seriously injured,” the PMO tweeted.
The chief minister said that he reached the affected areas along with Garhwal Commissioner Shri Ravinath Raman and DIG Garhwal Smt. Neeru Garg. He took full information from District Collector of Chamoli. Chief Secretary Shri Om Prakash and Secretary Disaster Management Shri SA Murugesh being present in the Disaster Management Center Secretariat constantly monitored the situation and also gave necessary guidelines to the District Magistrates.
Mr Rawat said that along with this disaster, the Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project located near Rainey has also suffered some damage along with NTPC’s power project at Tapovan. He said that according to preliminary estimates about 125 people are missing in this disaster. 5 people of the rainy region also lost their lives in it, while bodies of seven people have been recovered so far.
The Chief Minister said that our first objective is to protect the goods as Rishiganga and NTPC are assessing their losses. He said that one big and 4 small bridges have been damaged in this area. Army helipad and SDRF personnel as well as army and state government helicopters have been provided with necessary medical facilities to provide necessary assistance etc. to the 11 affected villages affected in the incident.
He added the villages whose road connectivity has been damaged due to the accident include villages like Gahar, Bhangule, Raini Palli, Pang, Lata, Suraithota, Tolma, Fagarasu etc. while bridges connecting include the Jugju’s Jhoolga bridge, Juvagwad-Satdhar Jhulapul, Bhaguel-Tapovan Jhulapul and the Pang Murnda bridge. Shivji in Rani and mother Bhagwati temple in Jugju have also been washed away in the disaster, he added.
Chief Minister Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat further said that now the situation is out of danger. Debris in the tunnel of the power project is stored deep inside and it was extremely difficult to reach the tunnel. As it was difficult for the machine to go into the tunnel, ITBP jawans reached there with the help of rope. There is 35-40 feet of silt deposited in the tunnel. In this tunnel of 250 meters, the soldiers have reached 150 meters through their morale.
CM Trivendra added that the team of NDRF has come from Delhi and more soldiers will come tomorrow. The Army, Paramilitary Force and our doctors are deployed at the disaster site. He himself took stock of the situation after conducting an aerial survey. Army, Air Force and state helicopters have been deployed there in case of any need. Our medical team is ready for every situation and 90 jawans have also been reached there.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his West Bengal outreach has said that he is in regular contact with the Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah and, the NDRF team. He said that he is taking regular stock of the entire situation.