At least a dozen villagers were reported to have been hit by debris following a cloud burst in the Ghat development block of Chamoli district. Even as the authorities initiated search and rescue efforts, the residents of disaster-affected rural areas complained that despite repeated attempts, they were not able to contact the district authorities by phone with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam limited (BSNl) network in the region reportedly suffering a technical failure.
The Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway is either damaged or blocked by debris at various sites falling between Maithana and Peepalkoti. The locals state that following a cloud burst incident in Ghat development block in Nandprayag,villagers were reportedly trapped under debris apart from which homes were also damaged.
Further, two persons reportedly died in the Siro village adjoining Chamoli with the Alaknanda river here stated to be flowing above the danger mark. Some hours after the people were able to overcome the initial damage and shock, according to communication spread by word of mouth by villagers in the disaster affected regions, the affected people were frustrated due to the BSNl mobile phone network collapsing which prevented the affected and stranded villagers from contacting the district administration via mobile phone.
Observers point out that after the June 2013 disaster, the State Government and senior officials of various departments concerned repeatedly averred and issued instructions to officials concerned for improving and strengthening the BSNl mobile telecommunication set up in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand where it is notorious for frequent service disruption despite being considered to have the biggest infrastructural set up for facilitating mobile communication in Uttarakhand.
Considering the reported collapse of the BSNl service in a disaster scenario when it was most needed, observers opine that the State authorities have evidently not learnt or done much following the 2013 disasters in contradiction to official claims made repeatedly regarding the same.
Considerable damage has been wreaked in various parts of the Chamoli district due to heavy rains being experienced since Thursday in the mountainous region. Reports are also being received about an unconfirmed number of people being swept away by flood or buried by debris in various villages.
locals confirm that two youth had died in the Siro village of the district after being swept away by a mountain stream flooded with rainwater. The villagers themselves conducted search efforts and managed to retrieve the two bodies. In the Ghat block, many homes are feared buried under debris with at least three deaths being reported.
The Border Roads Organisation is working on clearing the debris but the failure of the BSNl network in the region is preventing vital communication especially between affected villagers and the district administration as a result of which the villagers were reportedly not getting official assistance in rescue and relief efforts.
Complaints also surfaced from the affected areas about delay in rescue and relief measures with the locals not being able to get any information from disaster management machinery stated to be established here here. When this correspondent asked the Chamoli district magistrate Vinod Kumar Suman about details of the disaster affected area, the head of the district administration himself appeared to have incomplete information about the impact and status of the disaster scenario. Observers point out that considering the crores of rupees spent on various construction and related works for disaster management, the district magistrate showing lack of complete information on the disaster scenario status makes it appear as if the authorities have not really learnt lessons nor have they done the needful following the 2013 disaster.