NDMA pegs death toll at 10,000, NORTH INDIA TSUNAMI

Dehradun/New Delhi: The National Disaster Management Authority on Sunday said that the death toll in Uttarakhand floods might cross 10,000. "Like the Speaker said, it could be more than 10,000. The exact number, however, cannot be known immediately," NDMA Vice Chairman Shashidhar Reddy said. He added that as many 1500 people are still stranded in the hill state.
Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal had said on Saturday that he fears that more than 10,000 people could have been killed in the calamity. "When I returned from Garhwal, I said the death toll could be between 5000 and 10,000. But now I think the death toll could be more than 10,000," he said.
While there has been no clarity yet on how many people lost their lives in Uttarakhand floods, conflicting figures are emerging about the number of missing people also. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Sunday claimed that as many as 3000 people could be missing in the floods but the NDMA pegged the figure at 1800.

"After compiling the data, I've been informed that around 3000 people are missing. If a person is not found in 30 days, the state government will give compensation to the family. About 1335 villages still have no connectivity or aid," Bahuguna said.
The Chief Minister also said a team of 200 people has been formed, including doctors, which will take DNA samples of the dead bodies found. Bahuguna added that out of 4200 villages, connectivity has been restored in 2865 villages. Relief material is being provided through choppers to rest of the 1335 villages, he said. He further clarified that there are no report of an epidemic anywhere.
The NDMA Vice Chairman said that among the 1500 people who are stranded at various parts of Uttarakhand, there are many locals also. "According to the figures 1,07,670 people have been rescued so far. The road between Badrinath and Rambada has been repaired while a stretch in Lambagad is being repaired," he added. The road from Joshimath to Govindghat has now been restored and pilgrims are being evacuated on foot. But there is confusion over the number of pilgrims on ground.
The rescue operations in Uttarakhand are set to wind by Monday and the focus of the security forces has shifted on saving 2000 people, who are still stuck in the higher reaches. However, evacuated pilgrims claim that far greater number of pilgrims are stranded than what the officials have been stating.
According to the Indian Air Force, 842 people were rescued from Badrinath on Saturday even as air sorties were stalled briefly due to bad weather and many pilgrims in Badrinath were evacuated on foot through a newly constructed foot track in Govindghat valley. Harsil was fully evacuated on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has claimed it issued several advisories to the Uttarakhand government, warning it about the massive landslides and rains that have ravaged the state, killed hundreds of people and swept away houses.
"We had issued warnings on June 14 and since then we have been regularly issuing advisories. The warnings were even published in newspapers and a press release was also issued," Uttarakhand MeT department Director Anand Sharma said.
A Congress leader on Sunday claimed there was "poor coordination" among the rescue teams in Uttarakhand. "There was poor coordination in the rescue operations. Authorities in one area did not know the progress of operations in other areas. I kept asking the state authorities including the Chief Minister for immediate air support. Speedy action by the state government would have been effective," Pradeep Tamta said.