Kedarnath turns into a ghost town after Uttarakhand floods

Updated: Thu, 27 Jun 2013, 22:55 IST

The hellish rains have turned Kedarnath into a ghost town. Though the outer structure of the temple seems intact, there were bodies piled up outside its gate. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)

According to reports, rain water gushed into the town from the summit behind the shrine carrying rocks and boulders, destroying everything on its path. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
Buildings have been completely damaged, rooms are only half standing, while lodges are filled with slush. Only the temple itself got saved due to its stone structure. However, while the damage to it has been slight, the scenes inside are as devastating. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
None is as stark as the one right at the entrance, before the deity. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
Inside the Kedarnath shrine, a heavy layer of silt has accumulated, nearly covering the shivling that is the main object of worship. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
Inside of the Kedarnath shrine with idols covered in silt. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
The most ironic part of the tragedy was that despite the mobile phone towers remaining intact, there was no electricity due to which people were unable to contact their families as their phones ran out of charge. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)

Officials said on June 25 that search and rescue operations in Kedarnath and surrounding areas was over for all practical purposes.(IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
No more survivors have been found and defence and paramilitary personnel have now wrapped up their mission in town.
"No survivors remain in the jungles around Kedarnath. They have all been brought out," Ravinath Raman, nodal officer of rescue operations in Rudraprayag district said in Guptkashi on June 24. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby) 
Government officials quote the death toll at 1000 with thousands still missing.
A view of a shivling in the town. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
After days of recee, a total of 48 bodies have been marked out in Kedarnath, among the worst hit in Uttarakhand''s flood disaster last week. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
Hundreds are still buried under several feet of mud. The temple committee, whose 18 pujaris and functionaries have not been found, estimates that the number of missing people in the town could touch the 3,000 mark. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
One of the National Disaster Relief Force troopers who has been camping here and coordinating rescue efforts for six days has given Kedarnath a new name: 'Graveyard town''. A town whose dead remain uncounted. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
Local construction teams are expected to reach Kedarnath and start digging up the 10-15 feet of slush, after which an estimate may be provided. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)
ITBP teams have got reports from local goat herders or 'bakarwals'' that at several locations along the long path down to the Kedarnath base camp, as well as alternate routes that people took after the floods hit, casualties have taken place due to exposure to cold, lack of food and dehydration. (IE Photo: Manu Pubby)

More: 

Uttarakhand floods: 6,500 people await evacuation, rain hits rescue operation 

Updated: Fri, 28 Jun 2013, 0:32 IST

 

An estimated 6,500 people are now at these camps and are being airlifted or evacuated as the weather permits. (PTI)

"Four days ago, it was a very gloomy picture. That was the time we were getting into the interiors and finding utter devastation. We had no idea how many had survived or died and where all the survivors were. Today, we have been able to pull out all the stranded people and have brought them to our temporary camps from where they are being evacuated in a coordinated manner," Lt Gen N S Bawa, General Officer Commanding, Uttar Bharat Area, who has been coordinating rescue and relief operations, told The Indian Express. (PTI)

"Today there is a lot of confidence that the situation has been brought well under control. However, there are still more that 2,000 people stuck between Harsil and Uttarkashi and approximately 4,500 at Badrinath," said Lt Gen Bawa, adding that over 1,000 people are likely to be evacuated from Badrinath to Joshimath by Monday evening, a large majority of them on foot, after the Army constructed temporary bridges and ropeways across cut-off areas. (PTI) 

"We are encouraging all able-bodied people to come by foot so that the air operations are directed only towards the sick and the elderly. Our teams are accompanying survivors across the difficult terrain," said Lt Gen Bawa. Foot operations will also continue to identify and evacuate any survivors found in isolated patches. Besides troops from the 5 Sikh regiment, paratroopers from the Agra-based 50 Para Brigade are also involved in these search operations. However, by Monday no new pockets with survivors were found by rescue troops. (PTI)

Uttarakhand after the floods  27 June 2013

Elsewhere in India, prayers are being said for the Uttarakhand flood victims. Students of Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidhya Pratishthanam, along with their elders, performed a "yagya," or fire ritual, in the city of Ahmedabad.

From: BBC