New Delhi, July 5, 2013: After seeing the massive rescue operation to near completion, the Uttarakhand government, with the aid of Central authorities, is getting ready to release the final list of "missing" persons who may be "presumed dead".

The missing persons' database is expected to be ready by the weekend, or July 8, and officially released thereafter. Sources overseeing the relief work indicated that though the number of missing may be a few thousands, it would be far less than the 10,000-figure being quoted by unofficial sources. The "duly verified" missing persons list will help bring closure to the fate of those untraced even three weeks after the Himalayan tsunami, but also pave the way for release of compensation.

To guard against any slip ups in identifying the "missing" or "presumed dead", the Uttarakhand government, in conjunction with the disaster management authorities, has undertaken a massive verification exercise. This includes aerial survey of the affected regions, verification of missing locals by the village patwari or panchayat, physical checks on the ground, tracking the missing/traced on the net through social media networks, and even a confirmation call to all cellphones active in the flood-ravaged areas between June 14 and 19.

"There are many bodies that are beyond recognition. Though we are taking DNA samples, none of the relatives have approached us for a match. The state of the bodies still buried in the debris or layers of silt is possibly worse," Centre's nodal officer for coordinating relief and rescue operations in Uttarakhand, V K Duggal, told TOI.

Duggal said the missing can be divided into four categories — tourists/pilgrims, locals, registered labour and unregistered labour. Even though rescue operations are almost complete, the authorities recently got the rescue forces to re-survey the villages for any "miracle" survivors. "We got choppers to fly low and spot any stranded survivor. No living person was found, even though some bodies were spotted," Duggal said.

An interactive forum is now active on the Uttarakhand website, with links to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, to report the missing/traced. The state authorities have secured records of cellphone numbers, with activated roaming, which were used in the flood-hit zones between June 14 and 19 and are calling these to confirm if the subscriber reached home safely. If not, they will be enrolled as "missing".

The missing locals are also being verified with the help of the village panchayats or patwaris. While the status of registered migrant workers — mule-owners, palanquin bearers, etc — is being tracked with the help of the relevant registering authority, unregistered workers such as tea-stall workers, beggars, sadhus are being classified as missing or traced through interviews at their respective locations.

Those still untraced after this massive verification exercise will be classified according to gender and duly certified as "missing". Uttarakhand government intends to treat these missing persons as "presumed dead" for the purpose of releasing compensation.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 5, 2013.