New Delhi [India], March 1 : BJP National General Secretary and the party's in-charge for Uttarakhand, Dushyant Gautam, on Saturday spoke about the ongoing rescue operations in the state.
He stressed the importance of saving lives and noted that the rescue teams, along with the state government under Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, are continuously working to address the situation.
Gautam said, "Rescue operations are going on continuously. It is our duty to save lives, and the rescue teams and state government under the leadership of CM Dhami are on their toes."
On Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak stated that the state government is in constant touch with the Uttarakhand administration regarding the rescue operations for Uttar Pradesh workers trapped in the Chamoli avalanche.
"The Uttarakhand government is making continuous efforts to rescue workers from Uttar Pradesh who are trapped in the incident (avalanche) there. We are in continuous touch with the Uttarakhand government. We pray to God for their safe return home. We are also in touch with the relatives of the workers," he told ANI.
District magistrate Sandeep Tiwari said on Saturday that four army choppers have been pressed into rescue operations to save eight people still trapped under snow in the avalanche that struck near Mana Village in the Chamoli district of the state. He said 47 out of the 55 trapped workers have been rescued so far.
The Chamoli District Magistrate further said, "We have brought seven people to Joshimath Hospital, and they are under treatment. They are under doctors' observation. Three of them are stable...I hope that the remaining people will also be rescued soon."
Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister and reviewed the rescue operation.
"Respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji spoke on the phone and took information about the rescue operation being carried out to safely evacuate the workers trapped in Mana of Chamoli district," CM Dhami posted on X.
Workers of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) got trapped under the snow when the avalanche struck on Friday. Teams from the NDRF, Indian Army, and Indo-Tibetan Border Police working on a war footing in a joint operation have managed to pull out 47 workers out of the 55 people trapped so far, and the search for the eight remaining has intensified.
The Uttarakhand government has issued the following helpline numbers: Mobile No: 8218867005, 9058441404; Telephone No: 0135 2664315; Toll-Free No: 1070.