Indian Army personnel rescue a stranded child with the help of ropes through the flooded waters of a river in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand(Reuters)
Indian Army personnel rescue a stranded child with the help of ropes through the flooded waters of a river in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand(Reuters)

Rescue operations in the flood ravaged state of Uttarakhand have slowed down due to lower visibility and heavy rains in Kedarnath town.

According to NDTV, incessant rains have forced helicopters to halt rescue operations in Badrinath, Kedarnath, Dehradu and Rishikesh as the visibility is way below the required 1500 metres.

Wing Commander RC Pathak told Asian News International (ANI), "Helicopters, pilots, food packages everything is ready, but we can't fly because of bad weather."

However, ground operations have begun and army teams have set on foot as the road to Rudraprayag was opened. A makeshift bridge was built to help 1500 people cross to safety.

Reports have stated that close to 12000 people, including tourists and locals, are still trapped while 80,000 have been rescued till now. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said the death toll has reached at least 1,000.

Meanwhile, as Kedarnath laid in debris and silt left by the floodwaters, reports stated that around 500 bodies are rotting inside the main temple building.

Soldiers rescue stranded people after heavy rains in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand(Reuters)
Soldiers rescue stranded people after heavy rains in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand(Reuters)

Indo-Tibetian Border Force (ITBP) which is working in urgency is said to have rescued hundreds of people from Kedarnath, while the Army is in the process of rescuing those in Hanuman Chatti and Jungle Chatti.

"The people are being moved now over the mountain from Jungle Chetti up to Gaurikund. The process has started, the people need not worry. We have established emergency rescue camps with medicines, rations, blankets, food and water. We are also giving personalised medical attention at Gaurikund. On the Yamnotri access army has reached Hanuman Chatti, which is 15 km short of Yamunotri. We have come to know that there are about 700 people stranded between Hanuman Chatti and Janki Chatti near Yaminotri. By the afternoon we will be able to link up with them and start evacuation processes", Brigadier Uma Maheshwar told CNN-IBN

Several trains with extra coaches have been allotted to transport the rescued pilgrims and tourists to select destinations.

Those who were rescued in many areas of the state have complained they were being cheated and robbed in the name of essential commodities - food and water.

Gujarat CM Narendra Modi who had landed in Uttarakhand on Friday took over the reins of the rescue mission and managed to find 15,000 Gujarati pilgrims.

Modi managed to procure 80 luxury Toyota Innova and four Boeings which ferried the fellow Gujaratis to a safer location in Dehradun. For the rescue operation, the BJP supremo is said to have called for a meeting with a team of five IAS, one IPS, one IFS and two GAS (Gujarat Administrative Service) officers till late on Friday.  

Helpline numbers:

Uttarkashi: 01374-226126, 226161. Chamoli: 01372-251437.

Tehri: 01376-233433. Rudraprayag: 01732-1077.

The ITBP helpline and control room numbers: 011-24362892, 9968383478.

Army medical emergency helpline numbers: 18001805558, 18004190282, 8009833388.

Uttarakhand Helpline numbers: 0135-2710334, 2710335, 2710233.

Railway helpline numbers at Haridwar: 09760534054/09760534055.

Dehradun: 01352622131. Rishikesh: 01352434167.