Rahul Gandhi monitoring rescue and relief ops in Uttarakhand

Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe at him for his absence from flood-affected Uttarakhand, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday flew from Gauchar to Guptkashi and Kedarnath, the epicentre of the disaster in the hill state.

Gandhi, who yesterday arrived in Uttarakhand to survey the rescue and relief operations, spent the night at a base camp set up at Gauchar. He will today monitor the relief work being done by the Congress and also meet those affected.

The Congress Vice-President's visit comes at a time when Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has asked the VVIPs to avoid visiting the Uttarakhand where the rescue operations are in full swing to evacuate those stranded.

Congress Party earlier on Monday lashed out at the BJP for questioning Rahul Gandhi's absence from the flood and landslide-Uttarakhand, and said that he was visiting the hill state as the party's vice-president and not as a VIP.

"Rahul Gandhi is not going there as a VIP. He is going there as a citizen, as the vice-president of Congress to oversee that the relief materials reach in place. Rahul did not say 'I am a Rambo and I did this and I did that', said Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary, while taking a jibe at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi had earlier last week made to visit to Uttarakhand along with bureaucrats, and allegedly evacuated 15,000 tourists from Gujarat with chartered helicopters and luxury buses.

Meanwhile, rain continued to hamper rescue and relief work in flood and landslide affected areas of Uttarakhand today.

Rescue efforts are now focused on Badrinath and Harsil, which is 400 kms away from Badrinath. 1200 people who are at Harsil are waiting to be airlifted.

The first batch of pilgrims, who were stuck near Badrinath, have just arrived in Gauchar via Joshimath by foot. Joshimath is 44 kms from Badrinath and 90 kms from Gauchar. The pilgrims were escorted through a ropeway and makeshift bridge by soldiers.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna has said that he expects the death toll to reach 1,000 after rescuers access the remotest areas, which have been cut off by floods.

The Indian Railways will carry food, medicines, clothes, building materials and utensils free of cost to Uttarakhand for 15 days from today.