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In the aftermath of the Dharali disaster in Uttarkashi, the Uttarakhand government struggles to provide clear information on casualties and missing persons.
Despite active relief efforts, including helicopter aid and military involvement, the situation remains dire with debris complicating rescue operations.
Chief Minister Dhami is on-site to oversee the operations, but the true extent of the tragedy is yet to be revealed.
A day after the tragedy in Uttarkashi’s Dharali, the Uttarakhand government was yet to reveal the number of deaths late evening on August 6, 2025.
The state government was actively engaged in relief and rescue efforts ever since the Kheer Ganga river swamped Dharali in a wall of water and debris on August 5.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami not only reached Uttarkashi but also announced he would be camping there on August 6 night, so that the relief and rescue operations can be monitored closely.
But the information about deaths, injuries, rescues and missing persons is still sketchy. A press statement issued at around seven in the evening on August 6 stated that only two people have died, although on the district magistrate of Uttarkashi is on record to have said on August 5 that four people had died.
Dhami visited the disaster-affected areas in Dharali on August 6 and reviewed the relief operations. According to the state’s information and public relations department, essential food items and relief material have been delivered to the Dharali area through two helicopters with the aim of speeding up the relief operations. On the demand of the state government, the central government had made available two Chinook and two MI-17 helicopters from Chandigarh, Sarsawa (Saharanpur) and Agra at Jolly Grant Airport early August 6. Heavy machinery is also being transported by Chinook helicopters to restore road traffic.
Some 125 officers and soldiers of the Indian Army and 83 officers and soldiers of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police are also involved in the rescue operation. Six officers of the Border Roads Organisation, along with more than 100 labourers, are engaged in opening blocked roads.
The health department has reserved beds in Doon Medical College, Coronation District Hospital and AIIMS Rishikesh to provide treatment to the injured in the disaster, and specialist doctors have also been sent to Uttarkashi. Psychiatrists have also been sent to the disaster-affected area.
The Uttarkashi administration has started relief camps in Inter College Harshil, GMVN and Jhala. Along with this, efforts are being made on a war footing to restore electricity and communication networks in the area. The Nehru Mountaineering Institute and State Disaster Response Force have also started building a temporary bridge in Limchagad. On August 5 evening itself, the state government sent three Indian Administrative Service officers along with two Inspector General and three Senior Superintendent of Police level Indian Police Service officers to Uttarkashi to coordinate the relief and rescue operation.
Chief Minister Dhami said in a Facebook post, “Today I will stay in Uttarkashi to closely monitor the relief and rescue operations in Dharali. I am also constantly reviewing the rescue operation by holding meetings with the officials.”
Dwarika Prasad Semwal, founder of Himalayan Environment Herbal Agro Institute, Jardi (Uttarkashi), which runs the ‘Seed Bomb Campaign’, told Down to Earth that a local fair Hardudu was to be organised in Dharali on August 5. People from Uttarkashi and nearby areas had come to participate in it. Apart from this, local people, employees and labourers working there were also present in large numbers.
According to Semwal, about 50 local people are reported missing. Although he was at pains to clarify that it was not a claim, he added that it was certain that a large number of people are missing.
Semwal also mentioned the difficulties of relief and rescue operations and said the debris that came with the Kheer Ganga has been deposited in Dharali up to 10 to 20 feet. In such a situation, relief and rescue operations, removing people buried under the debris is also a big challenge. Apart from this, the roads are also broken, and it is not easy to reach Dharali.
Clearly, the devastation in Dharali is much more than what the government figures are saying. The challenges of relief and rescue are also huge. The picture will become clearer in the coming days, when the extent of the damage done will be known.