Army personnel build a bridge near Raini village, in the aftermath of a glacier burst in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath that triggered a flash flood in Chamoli district, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021.
Three more bodies were recovered on Monday from the flood-ravaged Tapovan tunnel, taking the toll in the glacial disaster in Uttarakhand to 53. The bodies were recovered this morning from the Adit tunnel at the NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad project site, Chamoli District Magistrate, Swati S Bhadauria said. Rescue efforts are now underway at the Silt Flushing Tunnel (SFT) only with the help of excavators as a camera or a pipe cannot be inserted due to mounds of sludge and water choking it, the district magistrate said.
Officials said over 150 people still remain missing after the February 7 devastation, possibly triggered by an avalanche in the upper reaches of the Alaknanda river system. A surge of water in the Dhauliganga and Rishiganga rivers had ripped through two hydel projects.
The last rites of those pulled out dead after DNA sampling and other formalities have also been going on and compensation cheques are also being distributed among the next of kin of the deceased.