ITBP, NDRF teams rushed to Uttarakhand

NEW DELHI: Teams of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the National Disaster Response Force were rushed to flood-hit areas in Uttarakhand, where a glacier broke off at Joshimath and caused massive flooding in the Dhauli Ganga river on Sunday, officials said. An ITBP officer said two teams of the force, comprising about 200 personnel, had moved to the affected areas from Joshimath.

The border guarding force has units based in Joshimath as part of its mandate to guard the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.

As news of the disaster came in, two teams were rushed from Dehradun to Joshimath, NDRF Director General S N Pradhan added. “We are working to airlift three-four more teams from the Hindon IAF base near Delhi,” he said.

The extent of damage can only be ascertained after some more time, he said.

More than 150 labourers working at the Rishi Ganga power project may have been directly affected, said State Disaster Response Force DIG Ridhim Aggarwal.

“Representatives of the power project have told me that they are not being able to contact around 150 of their workmen at the project site,” she said. Though details are awaited, several districts, including Pauri, Tehri, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Dehradun, are likely to be affected and have been put on high alert.