4 months after Dharali disaster, 147 bodies still buried under debris: BJP leader

Tue, 02 December 2025

23:55

Bharatiya Janata Party leader Colonel (retired) Ajay Kothiyal has expressed regret that even four months after the cloudburst in Dharali of Uttarkashi district, the bodies of 147 people buried under the debris could not be recovered.

"If the Army rescued seven out of 10 soldiers buried under the debris in Harshil, then why can't we rescue the 147 people buried in Dharali?" he asked, while participating in a discussion at the 'World Summit on Disaster Management' organised in Dehradun by Uttarakhand State Council for Science and Technology two days ago.

Kothiyal alleged that nearly four months after the natural calamity, Dharali is still in tatters.

Instead of finding proper ways for rehabilitation of the people there, disaster management officials, geologists, scientists and environmental experts are finding excuses to avoid the challenges, he alleged.

On August 5 this year, a massive cloudburst over Dharali village in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand resulted in devastating floods and mudslides, nearly erasing the village and causing significant loss to life and property.

The opposition Congress said the statement of Colonel Kothiyal, who was famed for his commendable work during rescue and search operation after the Kedarnath disaster, exposed the BJP-led state government, and demanded an answer from Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. -- PTI

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