Families lose hope as more bodies pulled out
As bodies are being continually pulled out of the muckfilled power project tunnel here, the atmosphere outside is getting grimmer with families of the missing people losing hope of seeing them alive.
Every time a body is brought out of the adit tunnel, families waiting outside for over a week, take some time to pluck up the courage to see if the mortal remains are of a loved one or not.
And the temporary relief of not finding a family member among the dead is brief as they are soon gripped by despair when they see rescue personnel battling through tonnes of sludge choking the tunnel and are reminded that eight days have elapsed since the calamity happened.
Nine bodies have so far been recovered from the tunnel at Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project site taking the toll in the tragedy to 54, while officials say 150 people are still missing.
Out of the three bodies recovered from the tunnel on Monday one is of Satypal
Singh Bartwal from Masoli village in Pokhri area of Chamoli district.
"We hoped Satyapal would return alive. But now we will have to return home with my brother's body. It's unbearable," said his elder brother in a choked voice.
Over a dozen relatives of Bartwal including his brother, who had been camping at Tapovan village since the day the tragedy struck, broke down inconsolably after identifying the body.
The UP government on Monday launched the Abhyudaya scheme under which students across the state will be provided free online and offline coaching classes for competitive examinations. Launching the scheme through videoconferencing, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said it will be a guiding light for students preparing for competitions. The government had decided to launch this unique scheme when over 30,000 students were stuck in Kota, Rajasthan after the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic. “It was then the government had decided to extend the Kota-like facility within the state free of cost to students preparing for the competitive exams. The scheme will help those students who cannot afford to get enrolled in coaching classes,” he stated.
“I am sure students will benefit greatly and crack the competitive exams to make a career of their choice,” hoped the CM, interacting virtually with the selected students.
Offline classes for the free coaching will begin from Tuesday. In the first phase, offline classes have been set up at 18 divisions. Later, the facility will be extended to all the 75 districts.
Over 4.84 lakhs students registered themselves for the free classes in just 4 days. Of the total registered students, 50,192 have been selected for offline classes through an online test.