Dehradun: Claiming there are bodies still lying beneath tonnes of debris near Kedarnath temple, BJP MP from Haridwar Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank has said he would resign from the Lok Sabha if human skeletal remains are not found under the huge quantity of rubble in the area.
Asking the state government to order clearance of rubble from areas close to the Himalayan shrine within 15 days, he said if nothing is done in the direction in the stipulated time frame he will himself launch an operation in the area along with his supporters in search of bodies.
However, he said if a single body or human remains are recovered from the rubble in Kedarnath, Chief Minister Harish Rawat should resign.
"I have been saying there are dozens of bodies still lying under the debris of dilapidated buildings close to the temple for the past two years but despite a request from the kin of those killed, the state government is not pulling out bodies from the debris.
This is extremely callous on part of the state government," Nishank said in a statement here.
Skeletal remains of a human foot were recently found in a structure near the Himalayan shrine when their caretakers were cleaning it, nearly two years after the June 2013 deluge.
Even officials are not ruling out the possibility of more skeletal remains being found in the fallen structures close to the temple which bore the brunt of the 2013 disaster.
There is nothing curious about skeletal remains still being found from the area despite several combing operations conducted in the area in search of bodies since the tragedy, Rudraprayag SP Barinderjit Singh said.
"The remains of over six hundred persons cremated in Kedar valley so far were the ones found on the surface. We are yet to remove 50-60 feet of rubble lying in the area not far from the shrine and it wouldn't be surprising if we come upon something lying underneath," Singh said.
"Entire floors of buildings are lying underneath the debris and the possibility of something or the other being found cannot be ruled out," he said.
