ITBP sends in fresh troops as operations get longer in Uttarakhand

GAUCHAR: As rescue operations get stretched in the upper reaches of Uttarakhand, the ITBP today decided to send in a fresh contingent of its troops and bring out those tired and exhausted.

The paramilitary force, according to sources, is replacing close to 45 men with an equal strength in the areas of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Harshil and Gaurikund.

"Yes, we are rotating our boys.They will be sent on IAF choppers as soon as weather clears," Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) sector DIG Amit Prasad told PTI.

The ITBP has been at the forefront of the rescue operations since June 17 when flash floods and rains devastated large swathes of areas in the state.

With the force having based three battalions in the state as part of border guarding duties along the Sino-Indian frontier, it becomes the first responder in this area in case of disasters.

Close to 1,000 ITBP men are deployed for these tasks in the state.

While three ITBP jawans were brought down from Kedarnath after being air evacuated yesterday, six had earlier been rescued after they were trapped with local people in Kedarnath since flash floods broke in the area.