Uttarakhand: Death toll may cross 10,000

State assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said based on the number of bodies seen from the people, the death toll can cross the 10,000 mark

Almora/Gwalior: The number of people killed in cloudbursts and flash floods in Uttarakhand recently may cross 10,000 mark, state assembly speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal said on Saturday.

"Earlier when I returned from your tour of Garhwal region I believed the casualty figure might be 4000 to 5000. But now according to my information and bodies being seen by the people, I can say the figure can cross the 10,000 mark," Kunjwal told told reporters here.

Though refusing to quantify casualties even fourteen days after the tragedy, chief minister Vijay Bahuguna continues to be saying it really is feared over 1,000 people has been killed within the natural calamity.

According to him, the precise number of people killed will be known only after the removal of debris.

Kunjwal said arrangements ought to be made immediately through the government to get rid of the bodies becuase of the threat of an epidemic.

Meanwhile, After failing to trace her parents, who choose to go to Kedarnath pilgrimage, a 35-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide here, police said today.

The dejected woman, Mamta Tripathi hung herself yesterday when her family cannot find the whereabouts of father Nathuram Parashar (60), mother Kamla Devi (50), uncle Satish Parashar and aunt Vimla Devi, who had left for that pilgrim town on June 5, the course notes said.

Mamta's husband had also left for Haridwar on June 18 to search for his wife's parents. She had spoken to them for the last time on June 15 and also, since then there is no contact, police said.

The woman had yesterday gone to Manshadevi temple to pray for the safety of her parents and on returning home, she cooked food on her behalf family and after consuming went to her room and took the extreme step.

At least 3,000 individuals are still reported missing in the massive Uttarakhand floods and landslides after heavy rains pounded the hill state on June 15, leaving nearly 1,000 dead and scores stranded.

Kedarnath could be the worst-affected within the flood fury, and authorities are racing against time for you to minimise risks of the epidemic outbreak there.