New Delhi, Aug 6: At least five people died and over 50 are feared missing after torrential rains triggered flash floods in the Kheer Ganga river in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand on Tuesday afternoon.

The floods struck the mountain town of Dharali, located 8600 feet above sea level, sweeping through hotels, homes, and other structures.

Dramatic video footage shared by locals showed torrents of water submerging buildings and sweeping away residents.

Rescue teams recovered a body by Wednesday evening.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited Dharali to assess the situation and oversee ongoing rescue operations.

He confirmed that 190 people had been rescued from the affected region so far.

Overall, 413 people have been rescued, while nearly 100 remain stranded in isolated areas due to blocked roads and debris.

Eleven Army soldiers are missing in the Harsil area of the district following a cloudburst and resulting flash flood.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) confirmed the incident on Wednesday.

“Eleven Army soldiers are reported missing following yesterday’s flash flood in the Uttarkashi region in Harsil,” DIG Mohsin Shahidi of the NDRF said.

Meanwhile, the Army has launched a full-scale Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operation.

Over 225 personnel, including infantry, engineers, and seven specialised teams equipped with Reeco Radar, are engaged in rescue and search efforts.

The operation is hampered by the collapse of a key bridge and road blockages, which have cut off access to the flood-hit zone.

Search and rescue dogs have been deployed in Harsil, with additional canine units enroute from Remount and Veterinary Corps centres to support efforts in locating those missing.

Continuous rainfall in the region is worsening the challenge for rescue teams.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued fresh warnings for heavy rainfall across Uttarakhand, especially in the higher elevations.

Dharali and nearby Sukhi Top have witnessed large-scale destruction, with landslides and water flows inundating entire sections of the villages.

Excavators and other heavy machinery are being used to clear boulders and reach those stranded or buried under debris.

The scale of devastation has prompted local authorities and national agencies to maintain round-the-clock emergency operations as families await news of their missing loved ones.

Beijing, Aug 06: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to travel to China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit to be held in Tianjin City from August 31-September 1, reports cited on Wednesday. This will be PM Modi’s first visit to China since the Galwan clash in 2020, which severely strained bilateral ties.

PM Modi had earlier travelled to China in 2019. He also held a meeting with the Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan in 2024.

The breakthrough in bilateral talks, first after the Galwan Valley face-off between the soldiers of the two countries at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in June 2020, was made possible after New Delhi and Beijing reached an agreement on patrolling along the nearly 3500-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) to end the four-year-long border confrontation.

In July, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar’s visited China to attend the Meeting of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers in Tianjin. He also held discussions with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the event. He also called on Chinese President Xi Jinping along with his fellow SCO Foreign Ministers.

Earlier in June, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited China to attend the SCO Defence Ministers Meeting. India had refused to endorse the joint declaration at the SCO Defence Ministers’ meeting, citing the exclusion of concerns around terrorism as a key reason.

India stated that it wanted concerns about terrorism reflected in the document, which was not acceptable to one particular country; therefore, the statement was not adopted. During his visit, Singh met his Chinese counterpart Admiral Don Jun and the two leaders had “constructive and forward looking exchange of views on issues related to bilateral ties.

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval also visited China to attend the 20th meeting of the Security Council Secretaries of the SCO Member States in Beijing. In his intervention at the meeting, he highlighted the need to shun double standards in the fight against terrorism and take decisive actions against UN-proscribed terrorists and entities like LeT, JeM and their proxies and dismantle their terror eco-systems.

The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established in Shanghai on June 15, 2001. The member states of SCO include India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus.

New Delhi, Aug 06: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off a Vande Bharat Express train service between Amritsar in Punjab and Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra in Jammu and Kashmir on August 10, the Jammu Rail Division said on Wednesday.

“The Vande Bharat train will provide a comfortable and faster travel experience to the passengers going to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra,” Uchit Singhal, senior divisional commercial manager, Jammu Division, said.

“Vande Bharat train No. 26406 will run from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to Amritsar while train No. 26405 will run from Amritsar to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra six days a week except Tuesday,” he added.

According to a press note shared by Jammu Division, train No. 26406 will depart from Katra at 6:40 am and reach Amritsar at 12:20 pm, with stops at Jammu, Pathankot Cantt, Jalandhar City, Vyas etc.

The same train numbered 26405 will depart from Amritsar at 4:25 pm and reach Katra at 10 pm.

“The train will benefit passengers who plan to visit the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. It will take less time to cover the distance due to its advanced features,” Singhal said.