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The Indian Air Force has concluded the rescue operations in Kedarnath valley after evacuating the last survivor from the landslide-hit area of Uttarakhand, the IAF said on Sunday.
A total of 218 personnel were rescued from Gaurikund, where a cloudburst had caused devastating landslides, stranding pilgrims, according to a post on 'X' from the Indian Air Force-Media Co-ordination Centre. "The 10-day operation saw IAF Mi-17 V5 and Chinook helicopters navigate challenging conditions, evacuating the old, injured, and ailing. Over 6 tons of relief material was airlifted. A Chinook remains on standby, while the Mi-17 V5 has been de-inducted," the post added. Earlier, a release from the Chief Minister's office said that 78 people, including local shopkeepers, saints, horse-mule drivers, etc., who voluntarily stayed back in Kedarnath, were taken to Guptkashi on Sunday through MI-17. With this, the MI-17 helicopter of the Air Force has been sent off. Now there are no pilgrims left. All the local people who were to come down have been brought. Food items and other essential items and logistics material which were to be delivered to Kedarnath Dham have been delivered through MI-17 and state helicopter, the release said On the other hand, the Chinook helicopter of the Indian Air Force has been stopped for delivering some heavy machines to Kedarnath. As soon as the weather clears, the Chinook will also be sent off. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for their cooperation in the rescue operation. He said that immediately after the disaster, he sought the help of the Air Force from the Government of India to safely rescue the passengers and the Prime Minister and the Home Minister accepted his request and immediately provided MI-17 and Chinook helicopters. Dhami said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was so concerned about the safety of the passengers after the disaster that he himself kept taking updates of this rescue operation. Chief Minister Dhami has thanked various agencies engaged in relief and rescue operations for their commendable contribution in the campaign launched to safely rescue passengers and local people from various places after heavy rains in Kedar Valley on July 31. In his message, he said that more than 15 thousand people were saved in this rescue operation. Various agencies engaged in relief and rescue operations worked in a planned manner with a great strategy and this operation could be completed in less than a week. In his message issued on Sunday to various agencies engaged in relief and rescue operations, Dhami expressed his gratitude to all. He said that in difficult times and adverse circumstances, the Indian Air Force, NDRF, SDRF, DDRF, District Administration, Police, PWD, Irrigation, etc., departments did commendable work and rescued thousands of people safely. The Chief Minister expressed special gratitude to the temple committee as well as the Vyapar Mandal, local shopkeepers and local residents for their cooperation. Notably, Dhami himself monitored every moment of the entire rescue operation. On August 1, the Chief Minister reached the State Emergency Operations Centre at the SDMA, took stock of the situation and directed the officials to conduct relief and rescue operations at a fast pace. When he requested the Government of India to provide the help of the Air Force for the rescue, the Government of India immediately provided one MI-17 and one Chinook helicopter. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the Secretary of the Public Works Department and the Secretary Disaster Management visited the affected areas and camped there. The Chief Minister also visited the affected areas, reviewed the situation and gave instructions to conduct relief and rescue operations on a war footing. The priority of the government is that the situation in Kedarghati should be normal as soon as possible. (ANI)
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