The Union Home Ministry has approved the issuance of death certificates for 67 people who went missing in the devastating Dharali flash floods of Uttarkashi on August 5. After 51 days of intensive search and rescue operations, no trace of the missing has been found, forcing authorities to formally recognise them as deceased.

The Registrar General of India has granted special permission for the registration of deaths, bypassing the standard seven-year waiting period required for declaring missing persons dead. District officials confirmed that each affected family will now be eligible for financial assistance of five lakh rupees under state disaster relief funds. The sub-divisional magistrate has been designated to handle the process, with the district magistrate acting as appellate author

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