Over 400 people, including devotees, stranded on the rain-ravaged trek route to Kedarnath, have been evacuated and sent to Lincholi to be airlifted as the rescue operation continued for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday.
Uttarakhand Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said that only 350 passengers are left to be evacuated from Kedarnath and 50 in Lyncholi.
So far, more than 10,000 people have been shifted to safe places.
Mr Suman said dense clouds in Kedarnath and surrounding areas have hampered rescue operations by air.
Due to bad weather, the Chinook helicopter provided by the Indian Air Force on the instructions of the central government could not be used even once, while the MI17 helicopter could only be used to rescue 60 people in three flights, he said.
Five small helicopters helicopters have been employed instead in view of the weather conditions, he said.
About 400 people were brought from Kedarnath to Lincholi on foot in the morning due to the bad weather, and they were later sent to Chardham and Sirsi helipad in helicopters, the official said.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other rescue teams also evacuated people via alternative routes.
Till 5 pm on Sunday, 2,622 people were airlifted from various stops of the Kedarnath Yatra route, Kedarnath, Lincholi, Bhimbali and Gaurikund to Chardham helipad and Sirsi helipad, while 567 people have been brought from Bhimbali and Lincholi to Chaumasi Kalimath on foot, he said.
An additional 7,185 people have been taken from Gaurikund to Sonprayag, taking the four-day total of the rescued to 10,374, Suman said.
The official added that 350 pilgrims are still stranded in Kedarnath and 50 in Lyncholi, while all pilgrims have been evacuated from Gaurikund.
Suman said only priests, shopkeepers and those providing ‘palki’ and pony services who are Kedarnath and Gaurikund residents are still left, and added that if they want to come, they will also be evacuated.
Arrangements for food, water and accommodation have been made for people at Sonprayag, Sirsi, Chaumasi, Chardham helipad, Kedarnath helipad, he said.
On the instructions of the chief minister, the number of people engaged in search and relief operations was increased from 882 to 1,160 on Sunday, he said.
The trek route to Kedarnath suffered extensive damage as a result of a cloudburst in Junglechatti near Lincholi on Wednesday night.
Roads were washed away at many places, including Lyncholi, Bhimbali, Ghorapadav and Rambada, on the Kedarnath trek route. At some other locations, roads were damaged due to landslides and large stones falling from the hill, due to which pilgrims were stranded at many places.
Meanwhile, the construction of a footbridge has been started by the Army on the washed-away road between Sonprayag-Gaurikund on the Kedarnath National Highway.
Rudraprayag district administration officials said the help of two sniffer dogs will now be taken in the rescue operation going on on the Kedarnath route.
They said that this operation will be carried out with the help of the Army.
According to officials, the sniffer dog squad has landed in Lincholi Helipad, from where it will start searching the entire area.
Officials believe that many people would have moved towards the forests to save their lives due to fear of rain and during this time, search will be conducted in such areas as the possibility of them getting lost is high.
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