New Delhi: Uttarakhand health department, under the directions from the Union government, has decided to declare those missing in the February 7 Chamoli disaster, as ‘dead’, officials said.
Following a notification issued by the State Health Secretary Amit Negi, the government has invoked the Birth & Death Registration Act, 1969, under which the designated government officer will issue death certificates of the missing people to their family or relatives.
About two weeks ago, the glacier burst in the upper Himalayas that caused the avalanche and deluge in the Dhauliganga-Alakananda river system washed away a hydroelectric station and five bridges, besides severely damaging another power project.
A multi-agency search-and-rescue operation, involving teams from the state and national disaster response forces, the Army, Navy and Air Force, the ITBP, local police and paramilitary troops, had been working tirelessly since the disaster hit the region on 7 February.