Deadline for locating 5,748 people missing in Uttarakhand disasters ends

The deadline for locating 5,748 people still missing in the Uttarakhand disaster ended today, exactly a month after the catastrophe. However, according to chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, they would not be declared dead yet.

Bahuguna, however, added that the process of paying monetary relief of Rs5 lakh each to the kin of those dead and missing in the flash floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains that struck the hill state on 15 June would start tomorrow. The mission to trace the missing would continue, he added.

However, in the event the missing persons were found, the family would need to return the relief money, he said at a joint news conference with union minister of state for planning and parliamentary affairs Rajiv Shukla.

Replying to a question, as to whether the missing were being presumed dead, Bahuguna said, ''This is hoping against hope but we can't declare them dead.''

Setting a deadline, the chief minister had last week said, people who were still missing would be presumed dead if they remained untraced till 15 July.

Out of Rs5 lakh that would be given to the next of kin of the missing, the centre would pay Rs3.5 lakh while the rest would be provided by respective state governments.

''After tabulation of lists of missing persons received from other states and the ones available with us a total of 5,748 persons are missing till date out of which 934 are from Uttarakhand,'' the chief minister said.

For thousands of grieving families looking for closure, the Uttarakhand government's statement on missing persons has created additional confusion. The chief minister's latest statement has also left his own administration confused.

According to Rakesh Tiwari, the sub divisional magistrate (SDM) of Ukhimath, one of Uttarakhand's worst-hit areas, who spoke to NDTV, the chief minister had said that the missing would be declared dead, so their families can be given compensation.

Uttar Pradesh has the maximum number of missing people - at least 2,000, with Madhya Pradesh second with a little over 1,000 missing people.

People from other states, including Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana, are also missing.

An NDTV report quoting a government official in Uttarakhand said the majority of deaths took place between Kedarnath and Gaurikund, the site of one of India's holiest pilgrimages.