Jolly Grant Airport

Up to 10,000 trees could be chopped down for the expansion of Uttarakhand's main airport in Dehradun, news agency PTI reported on Friday, quoting forest department officials. The move to cut the trees in the Thano range of the Dehradun forest division could affect wildlife in the elephant corridors nearby, forest department sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dehradun on Saturday to inaugurate the Combined Commanders Conference, an official said. The Prime Minister earlier reached the Indian Military Academy (IMA) campus from the Jolly Grant airport in a special Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper.

As we set out for an aerial survey of the Uttarakhand forest fires, within 15 kilometres of the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, barely a few minutes flying time, our single engine helicopter flew right into a white patch. This wasn't a cloud. It was smoke. We were now flying blind, aided only by the helicopter's Global Positioning System.

A tyre of an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane burst while landing at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun on Saturday morning.

Just outside the back gate of the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, the anxiety for missing pilgrims caught in the Uttarakhand flash floods is now turning to anger. 11 days after disaster struck the Kedar Valley, thousands of people are still missing.

The sound of an approaching helicopter sparks a frenzy of activity at the Shastradhara helipad in Dehradun.

Rescue operations to evacuate around 9000 stranded people today picked up pace after rains and fog in the morning delayed the mission in Uttarakhand, where the death toll mounted to 822 with 127 more bodies recovered from Kedarnath.

The DNA of unidentified victims in Uttarakhand floods is being preserved, officials said, adding that many of the bodies have decomposed beyond recognition.

Early arrival of monsoon is usually good news. But the whole of north India, particularly Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the two Himalayan states, have been battered and ravaged by incessant showers, landslides and flash floods. Thousands are stranded in both these states.

Up to 10,000 trees could be chopped down for the expansion of Uttarakhand's main airport in Dehradun, news agency PTI reported on Friday, quoting forest department officials. The move to cut the trees in the Thano range of the Dehradun forest division could affect wildlife in the elephant corridors nearby, forest department sources said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Dehradun on Saturday to inaugurate the Combined Commanders Conference, an official said. The Prime Minister earlier reached the Indian Military Academy (IMA) campus from the Jolly Grant airport in a special Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper.

As we set out for an aerial survey of the Uttarakhand forest fires, within 15 kilometres of the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, barely a few minutes flying time, our single engine helicopter flew right into a white patch. This wasn't a cloud. It was smoke. We were now flying blind, aided only by the helicopter's Global Positioning System.

A tyre of an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane burst while landing at Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun on Saturday morning.

Just outside the back gate of the Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun, the anxiety for missing pilgrims caught in the Uttarakhand flash floods is now turning to anger. 11 days after disaster struck the Kedar Valley, thousands of people are still missing.

The sound of an approaching helicopter sparks a frenzy of activity at the Shastradhara helipad in Dehradun.

Rescue operations to evacuate around 9000 stranded people today picked up pace after rains and fog in the morning delayed the mission in Uttarakhand, where the death toll mounted to 822 with 127 more bodies recovered from Kedarnath.

The DNA of unidentified victims in Uttarakhand floods is being preserved, officials said, adding that many of the bodies have decomposed beyond recognition.

Early arrival of monsoon is usually good news. But the whole of north India, particularly Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, the two Himalayan states, have been battered and ravaged by incessant showers, landslides and flash floods. Thousands are stranded in both these states.