Soldiers were working to evacuate tens of thousands of people still stranded Saturday in northern India where nearly 600 people have been killed in monsoon flooding and landslides, AP reported. With bad weather and heavy rainfall predicted over the next two days, there was an added urgency to reach the approximately 50,000 people still stranded in the flood-hit Uttarakhand state, federal Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said. Since helicopters could rescue only small groups of people at a time, Shinde said army troops were opening up another road route to the Hindu temple town of Kedarnath, worst hit by the floods. More than 250 people have taken shelter in Kedarnath's main temple and are waiting to be rescued, he said. Bridges and roads were washed away or blocked by debris. Shinde said air force helicopters were dropping food and drinking water to those stranded in inaccessible areas. More than 35,000 people have been rescued from the worst-hit districts over the past five days. Officials say the death toll was expected to rise as troops reach remote hillside villages where flash floods washed away homes and boulders hurtled down on the fleeing villagers. Around 10,000 army and paramilitary troops, members of India's disaster management agency and volunteers were involved in the rescue and relief efforts, Shinde said. Uttarakhand state Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said Friday that 556 bodies were buried deep in slush caused by the landslides. Another 40 were found floating in the Ganges River. Thousands of homes have been washed away or damaged in the state. People across India are collecting clothes, blankets and tarpaulins and contributing money to help those left homeless in Uttarakhand. Army engineers were rebuilding bridges and clearing roads to enable thousands of people to leave the region.
