Dehradun : Chief minister Vijay Bahuguna on Monday refused to declare as dead the 5,748 persons missing after the June 16 calamity in Uttarakhand, saying the mission to find them will not be given up.
However, as the deadline for finding the missing ended, he said the process of paying monetary relief of Rs. 5 lakh each to the kin of those dead and missing will begin from tomorrow.
But if the missing persons are found, the family will have to return the relief money, he said.
Addressing a press conference along with Union minister of state for planning and parliamentary affairs, Rajiv Shukla, the chief minister said the search for finding the missing will go on.
“This is hoping against hope but we can not declare them dead.The mission to find them out will go on as we still hope that the missing surface and return to their homes,” he said.
The chief minister had said last week that those who are still missing will be presumed dead if they remain untraced till July 15.
“A total of 5748 persons are missing till date since the tragedy devastated large parts of the state about a month ago,” he said, adding 934 out of them are from Uttarakhand.
