Fresh ‘heavy rainfall' alert poses new challenges in Dharali

Time of India

2 days ago

Dehradun: A fresh weather alert has triggered renewed concern in Uttarkashi's flood-battered Dharali village, where rescue and relief efforts are already racing against time.
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting heavy rain across several districts, including Uttarkashi, over the next 24 hours, officials fear that worsening weather conditions could hamper operations in the coming days. The rain could also trigger fresh landslides in vulnerable areas in the hills, the regional meteorological centre said in its advisory.
Based on the Met alert, the State Emergency Operation Centre issued a warning to all district magistrates on Friday, stating: "Most places in the state are likely to receive light to moderate rainfall in the next 24 hours, with moderate to heavy rainfall expected at some locations during the evening/night."
Senior scientist at regional meteorological centre, Rohit Thapliyal, told TOI: "The monsoon is going to remain active over Uttarakhand till Aug 10, with bouts of heavy showers expected at isolated places in the state, including Uttarkashi, during the period."
Rescue efforts in Dharali, where a massive flash flood triggered by a cloudburst earlier this week flattened homes and swept away infrastructure, are still largely dependent on air support.
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With roads leading to the village buried under debris and multiple stretches along the Gangotri highway still blocked, helicopters have been the only way in or out. On Friday, MI-17 and Chinook helicopters were grounded post-afternoon due to low visibility — highlighting how vulnerable operations remain to changing weather.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started reconstruction of a Bailey bridge at Limchigad near Gangnani.
The bridge was washed away by a swollen local stream early on Wednesday.
Over 90 sorties have so far been flown by MI-17s, Chinooks, Cheetahs and Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) to evacuate stranded villagers and drop essential supplies. But any disruption in air movement could leave teams and locals stranded again, with rains increasing the threat of fresh landslides in the already fragile terrain. Officials said they are closely monitoring the weather conditions considering that the next 48 hours will be critical.
Amid the challenging weather conditions, the Army continued its efforts in the rescue operations at Dharali as well as at their Harsil camp on Friday.
General officer commanding of Army's Uttar Bharat area, Lt Gen DG Misra, said, "We are carrying out the task along with Indian Air Force (IAF). Amid our relentless efforts, our main focus is to evacuate the pilgrims from Gangotri shrine. The armed forces have been able to bring around 400 people, mainly pilgrims, from Gangotri to Harsil.
The IAF choppers then evacuated 350 of them to Uttarkashi from where they were reaching Dehradun by road.
The second priority is to evacuate the affected local residents while helping in restoration of power supply and communication lines."
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand director general of police Deepam Seth reached Dharali to oversee the rescue operations being carried out by SDRF and local police units. "Our utmost priority is to rescue the stranded people from there and get them to safer areas," said Seth.
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