UTTARKASHI: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday continued to monitor relief and rescue work in the flash flood-affected Dharali-Harsil valley for the second day, after a cloudburst struck Uttarkashi earlier this week.The Chief Minister directed officials to restore roads, communication, electricity, and food supply at the earliest.He said the government was working to safely evacuate all affected people and restore normal life as quickly as possible.Efforts to rescue stranded residents have been stepped up with aerial assistance.Helicopters are airlifting people from remote areas to the Matli helipad, from where arrangements have been made for their onwards journey.Meanwhile, in a coordinated response, the Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed multiple assets, including Chinook and Mi-17V5 helicopters, as well as C-295 and AN-32 transport aircraft. As of now, 226 civilians have been evacuated, 130 personnel from the National and State Disaster Response Forces (NDRF/SDRF) have been inducted, and nearly 20 tonnes of relief material have been airlifted to the affected region.The IAF confirmed that its resources remain on standby for sustained operations in the days ahead.On Thursday, the Indian Army played a crucial role in restoring communication links. Its teams successfully established satellite and radio relay systems, enabling stranded civilians to reconnect with their families using satellite internet.A footbridge has been constructed on the Bhagirathi River between Dharali and Mukhawa village. CM Dhami announced he would donate one month’s salary towards disaster relief. According to his office, the state government is conducting relief and rescue operations in the Dharali and Harsil areas on a “war footing”.He appealed to public representatives, officials, voluntary organisations and citizens to “cooperate” in relief work “according to their capacity”.Two days after the cloudburst, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said 21 more civilians stranded at Gangotri were airlifted by helicopter from Nelong to Harsil on Thursday.
