To aid the families of persons who have gone missing in the Uttarakhand catastrophe that happened two days ago, the Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand state governments have set up helpline numbers and have opened control rooms. Out of the total 171 persons estimated to be missing, nearly 70 people are from Uttar Pradesh, IANS reported. Meanwhile, rescue operations are still ongoing to find the missing persons who were working in two power plant projects that were destroyed in the disaster.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a high-level meeting late on Monday night to review the situation. The state government has released a toll-free number 1070 and a WhatsApp number 9454441036 on which the family members of those who are missing, can contact for help.
The Chief Minister is also setting up a control room in Haridwar and four officers have been designated to go to Joshimath and help people from Uttar Pradesh who are stranded there. The UP Chief Minister has also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government has also released helpline numbers for the people of the state. “People and students from Jharkhand who are affected by the glacier incident can call the state control room numbers in case of any emergency and if any help is needed. Those looking for information or those who can give information to the state government can send a message to those WhatsApp numbers,” said a tweet by Prasar Bharati.
The contact numbers are 0651 - 2490055, 2490083, 2490037, 2490058, 2490052, 2490125. The WhatsApp numbers to be contacted are 9470132591, 9431336427, 9431336398, 9431336472 and 9431336432.
According to IANS, the maximum number of missing persons from Uttar Pradesh belong to Lakhimpur district. Majority of the labourers had gone to work on the Tapovan project in the farming off-season. Sources told IANS that the majority of the bodies were unrecognisable since they had either been crushed under the weight of stones and boulders or bloated due to water.
It was on Sunday that Alakananda river flooded after what is believed to be a glacial outburst. The massive flood was caused after Rishi Ganga Power Project was damaged with the glacier bursting in the Tapovan area. It is said to be the biggest flood since the 2013 floods, which reportedly killed over 5,000 people in and around the Kedarnath shrine in the state.
Rescue operations are underway for the third day by the forces of the Indo Tibetan Border Police and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). Bodies of 26 persons have been recovered during the rescue operations held so far.
With IANS and PTI inputs