Dehradun, June 27, 2013: It is hot and sultry at the Sahastradhara heliport in Dehradun, but no one is complaining — the shining sun has allowed the weather-hampered rescue operations to be resumed.

Amid a melee of police, administration, anxious relatives, eager volunteers, excitable media persons and hangers-on, Saurabh Bahuguna is overseeing the rescue work. Dressed in a black tee and blue denims, he could easily be mistaken for anyone; except, he is Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna’s second son, who insists his presence is just a way to help his father.

Mr. Bahuguna’s other son, Saket, was recently defeated in the by-elections for the Tehri Lok Sabha seat, which was vacated by the Chief Minister himself and of which Uttarkashi is a part.

The State government and the Chief Minister have received flak for a “delayed” and “inadequate” response to the disaster that is feared to have claimed more lives than the official figures concede.

Though the administration has rescued as many as 97,000 persons, a large number of people have reported missing family members and friends.

While protests and angry reactions — a skirmish broke out between the Congress workers and the TDP workers outside the Jolly Grant Airport on Wednesday — have put the administration on the back foot, Saurabh is poised and calm.

A local leader said, on condition of anonymity, that Saurabh has been roped in to help with the “damage control”, with his “easy and sociable communication style”.

But Saurabh, who is a lawyer, asserts he is only “lending a helping hand” and that this is not a testing ground ahead of a foray into the political arena.

“My whole family is in politics, but I am happy being a lawyer,” he says, insisting that his involvement is all about “relief operations”. Surrounded by National Students Union of India activists and younger members of the party, Saurabh listens patiently as relatives criticise the administration’s failure to trace their families and punch holes into its assertion that all stranded people have been evacuated.

A family from Gujarat is angry that despite information from some of their rescued kin, no efforts are being made to trace the remaining members.

He assures them of all help, promises to instruct the IAF to intensify the combing operations and never forgets to punctuate his sentences with what the “Chief Minister” has promised.

“The weather is the only reason why rescue work is not over still. We have requested the IAF to carry out intensive combing operations in Kedarnath and Badrinath. The State government was criticised for focusing only on Kedarnath, but look at the extent of the damage there. We knew that people stranded in Badrinath were safe, so we had to prioritise. This is a 34,000-sq-km tragedy and we are doing all that we can,” he says, in between comforting relatives and giving a thumbs-up to personnel conducting rescue work to bring more stranded people from Badrinath and Harsil.

Even as he postulates that his role is apolitical, he is quick to deny allegations of rift with other State governments, particularly Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

“The Chief Minister has appreciated Mr. Modi’s help and his financial assistance. We have not turned down any help, all we asked for is better coordination. The IAF, the ITBP and the NDRF — that have been undertaking the relief operations — told us that we already have enough choppers, we cannot use even half of them because of inclement weather, so there would only be more confusion if other States fly in choppers to fly out their residents,” he says.

Source: The Hindu, DT. June 27, 2013.