Discovery of the skeletal remains of those who perished in the deluge 2013 continuing, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, engaged in combing operation along the trekking routes of Garudchatti, Devvishnu, Gomukhda, Gaurigoan, Vasukital and Pavjangal, found 19 remains by Tuesday.
The second phase of combing operation began on October 20 and continued till October 25.
In the first phase of combing operation, SDRF had discovered 31 skeletal remains in the areas along the river in the valley, said SDRF SP Jagat Ram Joshi. The third phase of combing operation would start in November for five days, he added.
Joshi said that following the direction of State Chief Minister, seven teams from SDRF had been formed and engaged in combing operation since October 20 in the second phase.
Postmortem, photography and DNA sampling were done by the teams. He further said that SDRF personnel along with local police had performed the last rites of the remains in deference to the religious rituals. He said that Special Task Force consisting 20 to 25 state disaster response force (SDRF) personnel, mountaineers and Uttarakhand policemen had launched the intensive combing operation in search of the human remains in Kedar valley. “They combed four different places along the rivers of above places,” Joshi added.Notably, following the discovery of human remains along some of the routes to the Kedarnath shrine, the Chief Minister Harish Rawat directed IG Sanjay Gunjyal to constitute a Special Task Force to conduct intensive combing operation.