The bodies of five more people missing in the Doon Valley disaster have been recovered. Three bodies were found in Dehradun and two in the Yamuna River in Mirzapur, Saharanpur. With this, the death toll has reached 22. 23 people are reported missing. These include six laborers from Saharanpur in Phulet village. The SDRF has been conducting search operations in Phulet and several other villages since Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, PWD and other department personnel were busy throughout the day on Wednesday repairing damaged roads and bridges. Both routes to Mussoorie remained closed for the second day. However, the State Disaster Management Authority has officially reported 16 deaths and 17 missing people.
Heavy rains in the capital and surrounding areas on Monday night caused all rivers and streams to overflow. The Bandal, Song, Tamsa (Tons), and Asan rivers wreaked havoc. Fifteen laborers, along with a tractor-trolley, were swept away in the Tons River. Of these, the bodies of eight people were recovered from the Asan River in the Sahaspur area, while two were rescued. Five are still missing.
Two bodies washed away in the Song River
It is reported that the bodies of two people swept away from Dehradun have been recovered from the Yamuna River in Mirzapur (Saharanpur). They have not yet been identified. However, there has been no local confirmation of their recovery. Additionally, two bodies washed away in the Song River were recovered from the Raipur area. One body was recovered from the Asan River in Herbertpur. These three bodies have also not been identified.
As for the missing persons, six laborers from Saharanpur are missing in Phulet village. They are feared buried under the debris of a house. The SDRF has been conducting a search operation since Wednesday morning to rescue them. With these laborers, the number of missing people has reached 23. Repair work on the collapsed bridge near Nanda Ki Chowki also began on Wednesday. Here, the PWD has blocked the river flow by building a temporary stone wall so that effective repair work can begin on Wednesday.
Rations were delivered via helicopter to the affected villages in the Maldevta area. Repair work on the washed-out road in the Maldevta area also began on Wednesday. It is expected to be temporarily operational on Thursday.
Mussoorie remains cut off for the second day
Both routes from Dehradun to Mussoorie remain closed. Consequently, traffic on the main road and Kimari road remained suspended on Wednesday. Police had circulated this information on social media a day earlier to avoid inconvenience to residents. Furthermore, the Shimla bypass road remained under pressure from the main Paonta Highway for the second day. Due to the heavy traffic, traffic jams occurred at several locations. However, the inconvenience did not last long.
