PROBASHI- A Cultural News Magazine Volume 2 Issue 2 | Page 17

Probashi-Cover Theme
Leading from the Front: The role
played by the men and women
from the district civil and the police
administration, who were the first
to respond and coordinate the
massive disaster response effort,
remains largely unheralded and
unrecognised. These foot soldiers
of the government machinery put
up an exemplary team work to pull
off an outstanding disaster
response effort.
The task of evacuating 37000
people trapped in a flash flood,
with roads blocked by landslides
and the weather threatening to get
worse by the minute across a
swathe of 7500 sq kms of area is
one job you would wish you never
had. This is the job which Mr SA
Murugesan, District Magistrate,
Chamoli faced as he raced back on
15 june from Dehradun, where he
had gone to attend an official
meeting, to be at the district
headquarter in Gopeshwar in time.
As the ambassador car traversed
the hill roads which at many places
were in precarious state due to
incessant untimely rains, the
District Magistrate was constantly
on phone getting updates on the
ground situation. The inputs were
unnerving, all the rivers in the
district were flowing much above
the danger mark and rising much
faster than usual - this was an
emergency. While on the way, the
District Magistrate contacted the
Army and ITBP units in Chamoli
district to quickly mobilise rescue
operations. Thousands of pilgrims
were stranded in Govindghat and
Badrinath. With roads blocked by
landsl