Struggling Victims of Dharali Village Face Despair Over Lack of Land and Documents
In the heart of Uttarakhand, the picturesque village of Dharali, known for its hotels, homestays, restaurants, and guest houses, has been hit hard by a series of flash floods. As of mid-August 2025, approximately 43 to nearly 100 people are reported missing following the disaster.
The search and rescue operations are being conducted with full momentum, but the task is challenging due to broken roads, collapsed bridges, unstable slopes, and 40-60 feet of sediment and boulders deposited by the flood. A joint task force including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Indian Army personnel, and local administration teams are actively involved in the search efforts. However, heavy rain and the continuing risk of landslides and floods have further hampered the rescue operations and pose ongoing dangers.
Despite several days of search, only one body had been recovered by August 13, reflecting the enormity of the disaster and the difficulties faced on the ground.
In Dharali, a stopover on the way to Gangotri, where the Ganga originates, many individuals staying at relief camps have lost everything due to the flood. Sushila, for instance, is cooking for 150 people at a relief camp located at Someshwar temple in Dharali village.
The number of missing people is likely to be higher, as locals and laborers from Bihar and Nepal were working at under-construction hotels, and there were guests in about two dozen big hotels in Dharali. One of the victims caught on viral videos escaping from a cascading sheet of debris during the flood was Balvinder Singh Pawar. He does not know what happened to the two people he saw stuck in the current as he escaped.
Mr. Pawar, who sustained injuries and bruises during his escape, remembers the Kalp Kedar temple, a Shiva temple where he prayed every day, which is now part of the debris. He believes that the village will not be the same again due to the flood's impact.
Sushil, a boy from Nepal, is personally searching for his father and six other family members in Dharali. Over 500 people have been rescued so far, but the search continues with sniffer dogs and drones being deployed to aid the efforts.
As one of the most devastating disasters in the region in recent years, rescue efforts are continuing amid severe natural and logistical constraints. The village of Dharali, once abounding in hotels, will take time to recover from this tragedy.
[1] Times of India, "Flash floods in Uttarakhand: 43 missing, over 500 rescued", August 14, 2025. [2] Hindustan Times, "Uttarakhand flash floods: Rescue operations ongoing, over 100 missing", August 15, 2025. [3] NDTV, "Uttarakhand flash floods: SDRF, ITBP, Army join rescue efforts", August 13, 2025. [4] The Indian Express, "Uttarakhand flash floods: NDRF, SDRF, ITBP, Army join rescue operations", August 13, 2025.
- Amidst the challenges posed by ongoing landslides, heavy rain, and logistical difficulties, the ongoing rescue operations in Uttarakhand's Dharali village involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Indian Army personnel, and local administration teams have also expanded into fields of political discussion and general news, as well as crime and justice, with the search for missing laborers and the identification of those involved in the disaster.
- As the search for over 100 missing individuals continues in the aftermath of the Uttarakhand flash floods, there have been calls for improved infrastructure, disaster management policies, and accountability in the face of such calamities, turning the immediate crisis into a topic of broader political debate in both general-news and crime-and-justice channels.
