Uttarkhand floods: Toll rises to 35, 169 still missing; water rise in Dhauliganga briefly halts rescue ops at NTPC tunnel

Uttarakhand governor Baby Rani Maurya, who visited the Tapovan tunnel to take stock of the rescue work, had to face the ire of the kin of those trapped inside the tunnel as well as relatives of those who went missing after the barrage at the same hydel project Drilling operations started by rescue agencies to establish contact with over 30 people trapped in the Tapovan tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district were halted for some time on Thursday as the water level in the Dhauliganga river rose again briefly. Rescue ops focus on providing life-saving devices to trapped workers As concerns mount over the lives of those trapped inside the tunnel, the focal point of the rescue operation remains the 1.5-km “head-race tunnel” — a part of the 2.5-km long network of tunnels. An officer said that no doubt that those trapped inside must be in a bad situation without food and water, but there is “hope against hope that they are surviving somehow as the temperature inside the tunnel is about 20-25 degrees Celsius and some oxygen is possibly available to them.” The Public Relations Office in Lucknow tweeted: #UPDATE: #Uttarakhand #HADROps ➡️ Chinook helicopters were utilised today to transport men, material & heavy loads towards rescue ops ➡️ 14 passengers and 1400 kg load was carried for NDRF and SDRF ➡️ 3T load and 5 personnel of BRO were also transported to forward locations pic.twitter.com/X0x2I5xZrb — PRO Defence Lucknow February 11, 2021 Workers at the 480-MW Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel power project of the NTPC got trapped after a surge of water in the Alaknanda river system. But as the Governor said, let’s all pray to Badri Vishal that all of them are safe.” Uttarakhand governor faces ire of families Meanwhile, Uttarakhand governor Baby Rani Maurya, who visited the site to take stock of the rescue work had to face the ire of the kin of those trapped inside the tunnel, reported news agency PTI.