Uttarkashi: Rescue efforts entered their second day on Thursday in Uttarakhand’s high-altitude Dharali village after a devastating cloudburst triggered flash floods in the Kheer Ganga river’s catchment area on August 6. The disaster has claimed at least six lives, with dozens still missing, including 30–31 tourists from Maharashtra.
The calamity swept through Dharali and Harsil villages, washing away homes, roads, and bridges, and leaving a trail of destruction across Uttarkashi district. Nearly 274 people have been rescued so far, while around 180–200 tourists remain stranded in Gangotri, where they are receiving food, shelter, and medical aid from the armed forces.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed rescue operations from the Disaster Control Room and met survivors in affected areas. He sanctioned ₹1.3 lakh each to 15 families in Sainji village whose homes were completely destroyed. Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan said some people may still be stranded in Gangotri and confirmed that rescue work would continue despite adverse conditions.
Maharashtra Minister Yogesh Ramdas Kadam said 151 tourists from his state were trapped in the region, with 30–31 currently untraceable. Search and rescue teams from SDRF, NDRF, ITBP, and the Indian Army are working in remote locations, supported by Chinook and Mi-17 helicopters for airlifting stranded civilians.
Road connectivity remains severely affected, with landslides damaging the Ganganani–Harsil road. The Gangotri Highway near Papargad has been restored, but work is ongoing near Ganganani where a bridge was washed away.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued heavy rain alerts for multiple districts until August 11, warning of thunderstorms, lightning, and very intense rainfall in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Dehradun, Nainital, and other districts. The southwest monsoon remains active over the region, raising fears of further flooding and landslides.
High-resolution images captured on August 7 by ISRO’s Cartosat-2S satellite show the extent of the disaster. A massive fan-shaped deposit of mud and debris — nearly 20 hectares in size — has formed at Dharali where the Kheer Gad stream meets the Bhagirathi river. Several buildings have disappeared under the mud and debris, while the river’s course has widened and shifted, indicating severe geomorphological changes.
The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) in Hyderabad compared post-disaster images with cloud-free data from June 13, confirming the scale of damage. ISRO said these images would aid rescue teams in locating stranded residents and restoring connectivity.
Separately, Uttar Pradesh-based Suhora Technologies ruled out a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) as the cause. Their analysis found no glacial lake upstream of Dharali, based on Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery obtained late on August 5.
Officials warn that with monsoon rains forecast to continue, the risk of further flooding remains high. Rescue operations are ongoing under challenging conditions, as teams race against time to locate the missing and provide relief to those cut off in the disaster zone.
