NEW DELHI, July 8, 2013: After seeing the massive rescue operation to its completion, the Uttarakhand government, with the aid of disaster management authorities, is getting ready to release the final list of "missing" persons who can, for all practical purposes, be "presumed dead". 

The "missing" database is expected to be ready by the weekend, or July 8, and will be released soon after. 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 some NGOs. The "missing persons" list will not only help bring closure to the fate of the untraced nearly three weeks after the Himalayan tsunami, but also pave the way for tehsildars to start issuing death certificates for the "missing" by July 15. This would pave the way for release of compensation, processing of insurance claims filed by their kin and other legal formalities for inheritance of property. 

To guard against any slip ups in identifying the "missing" or "presumed dead", the Uttarakhand government, with the aid of the Central nodal officer tasked with coordinating rescue and relief operations in the state, has embarked on a massive exercise to verify the missing. This includes aerial survey of the affected regions, verification of 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 cells active in the affected places 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 with the forces and central agencies 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 the rescue operation is complete, the authorities have ensured that the rescue forces of the Army and para-military re-survey the villages for any "miracle" survivors. "We got choppers to fly low and spot any stranded survivor. No living person was found, but some bodies were spotted," Duggal told TOI. 

An interactive forum is now active on the Uttarakhand website and social networks like Facebook and Twitter to report missing/traced . on the state government website and social networks to report missing and traced. The Uttarakhand authorities have secured records of calls made between June 14 and 19 and will call back these cell numbers to know if those who exchanged these calls had reached home safely. If not, these will be enrolled as "missing". 

The locals are also being traced with the help of the village panchayats or patwaris. 

While registered migrant workers - mule-owners, pithoos, etc - are being traced with the help of the relevant registering authority, the unregistered workers - such as tea-stall workers, beggars, sadhus -- are being verified through interviews with the locals at their repsective places of work. 

Those still untraced after this massive verification exercise will be classified according to gender and duly certified as "missing". These would then be presumed dead, and the local tehsildar can then issue death certificates to their kin. 

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 8, 2013.