Dehradun: A terrible cloudburst hit Dharali village in Uttarkashi district, close to the Gangotri shrine. The destruction is like what happened in Kedarnath in 2013 and Rishiganga in 2021. The heavy rain came on Tuesday afternoon and turned the peaceful village into a disaster area. This village is a usual stop for Char Dham pilgrims. Currently, the area is filled with water and rubble, which has destroyed homes, hotels, and people’s jobs within minutes.
This disaster happened around the Khirganga River. At least five people have died, and about 70 are still missing. Around 100 people are stuck in the village, which is about 100 km from the district headquarters in Uttarkashi. Rescue teams, including the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and local police, are working hard. They are trying to get everyone out safely. So far, they’ve saved 80 people, but the flow of rubble from the hills is making things tough.
People who saw it say it was awful. Subhash Chandra Semwal, who is 60 and lives in Mukhba village nearby, said he will never forget when it happened. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “Around 2 PM, we heard the loud sound of water and rocks coming down the Khirganga. We ran out, yelling and using whistles to warn people in the Dharali market to leave. But the flood was too powerful. Many people ran from the hotels, but the water moved too quickly — it took everything,” Semwal added.
Videos on social media show how bad it was: huge waves of water and debris crashing through the village, knocking down buildings, and carrying people away. One video shows someone calling family, saying, Everything is gone. The nice village, which had hotels, homestays, and shops for people going to Gangotri, is now under piles of rubble.
The army camp in Harsil, only 4 km away, was the first to help. About 150 soldiers got there in 10 minutes. They used ropes and did everything they could to save 20 people right away. The SDRF sent a team of 50 people with special tools to find victims, like cameras, thermal imaging and cutting gear. An army officer said there’s debris all over the place, making the rescue difficult. He told people to stay away from the area.
This cloudburst makes people remember other bad times in Uttarakhand, a state that often has natural disasters. Dharali, which is on the way to Gangotri, where the Bhagirathi River starts (which becomes the Ganga), was full of pilgrims and locals when the disaster hit. The disaster struck so swiftly that no one had time to prepare, resulting in the village’s destruction within minutes.
The rescue teams are dealing with tough conditions to save people and help those in need. Officials don’t know how much damage there is yet, but the most important thing is to find everyone who’s stuck and make sure the missing people are accounted for. This is a very sad event in Uttarakhand’s history.
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