The situation in the state of Uttarakhand is going from bad to worse, as more than 8,000 people remain stranded in the state with fresh landslides and cloudbursts, along with torrential rains are making rescue operations very difficult to manage. The death toll rose to 822 and 142 bodies have already been found, including 127 in Kedarnath.
Meanwhile, rescue operations in Joshimath had to be suspended due to rains. A landslip in Tehri district left a woman and a child dead. There were also reports of fresh cloudbursts in Devprayag and heavy downpour in Augustya Muni in Rudraprayag. Since Monday, June 24, 2013, about 127 more bodies have been recovered from Kedarnath area. In addition to that, at least 15 corpses were seen floating in the river Ganga in different districts of Uttarpradesh, including Muzaffarnagar, Bulandshahr and Bijnore and the official death toll has risen to 822.
Foggy weather conditions delayed the rescue operations, as choppers could not take off at Sahasradhara helipad and Jolly Grant Airport, however the operations resumed as soon as the weather improved.
Many agencies undertaking the relief and rescue operations are extremely worried about the imminent spread of diseases due to the rotting of the bodies in the temples, which have been there for ten days. Trucks of dry Deodar wood and ghee are being sent to Kedarnath and efforts are being made to conduct mass ritual cremation of bodies after the identification.
