As hours tick by inexorably, search and rescue teams face a challenging situation in clearing slush and debris from the Tapavon tunnel, where 30- 35 workers are trapped, in Chamoli. The search operation is going on relentlessly and the target is to clear the debris and to reach 180 mts inside the tunnel.

According to the rescue team, so far about 150 mts has been cleared and efforts are underway to remove debris from the next 30 mts. Water is gushing out of the tunnel and slippery condition is making operation arduous. The rescue team is working on different plans to establish contact with the trapped workers. Using drones for surveying the tunnel and inserting cameras using drilling machines, are some of the options.

A team of ITBP is distributing ration packets in disaster affected villages. The local administration has established a temporary helipad at Lata village for relief operation. Ration kits are moved by chopper to Lata and from there the ITBP team walks to the affected villages to distribute it. Ration was distributed at Jugaju and Juwagwar villages, which are around 7 kms from Lata.

Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat visited the disaster affected Reni village and interacted with the villagers and assured them all possible help. He instructed the district collector Chamoli that there should be no shortage of essential items in the 13 villages cut off from connectivity after the 7 February flash flood.

A dozen workers of the power project were rescued from the Tapovan tunnel on Sunday. After rescue, the workers were admitted at the ITBP Hospital in Joshimath. All the rescued workers were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.

Union home minister Amit Shah today addressed the Rajya Sabha over the diaster and assured that rescue operations to save those stuck inside tunnels “is going on a war footing and all-out efforts are simultaneously being made for searching missing persons.”

He said in the financial year 2020-21, Rs 1041 crore has been allocated to the Uttarakhand under the State Disaster Risk Management Fund (SDRMF)and the first installment of the central share amounting to Rs 468.50 crore has been released to the state government.

As hours tick by inexorably, search and rescue teams face a challenging situation in clearing slush and debris from the Tapavon tunnel, where 30- 35 workers are trapped, in Chamoli. The search operation is going on relentlessly and the target is to clear the debris and to reach 180 mts inside the tunnel.

According to the rescue team, so far about 150 mts has been cleared and efforts are underway to remove debris from the next 30 mts. Water is gushing out of the tunnel and slippery condition is making operation arduous. The rescue team is working on different plans to establish contact with the trapped workers. Using drones for surveying the tunnel and inserting cameras using drilling machines, are some of the options.

A team of ITBP is distributing ration packets in disaster affected villages. The local administration has established a temporary helipad at Lata village for relief operation. Ration kits are moved by chopper to Lata and from there the ITBP team walks to the affected villages to distribute it. Ration was distributed at Jugaju and Juwagwar villages, which are around 7 kms from Lata.

Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat visited the disaster affected Reni village and interacted with the villagers and assured them all possible help. He instructed the district collector Chamoli that there should be no shortage of essential items in the 13 villages cut off from connectivity after the 7 February flash flood.

A dozen workers of the power project were rescued from the Tapovan tunnel on Sunday. After rescue, the workers were admitted at the ITBP Hospital in Joshimath. All the rescued workers were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.

Union home minister Amit Shah today addressed the Rajya Sabha over the diaster and assured that rescue operations to save those stuck inside tunnels “is going on a war footing and all-out efforts are simultaneously being made for searching missing persons.”

He said in the financial year 2020-21, Rs 1041 crore has been allocated to the Uttarakhand under the State Disaster Risk Management Fund (SDRMF)and the first installment of the central share amounting to Rs 468.50 crore has been released to the state government.