A road connecting flash flood-hit Dharali village in Uttarkashi to Gangotri was opened to the public on Saturday in the middle of a search operation to retrieve at least 200 bodies that locals claim are buried deep under mud and rubble.

The official death toll from the flash flood set off by a cloudburst on August 5 in Dharali is six, based on the bodies found.

A road along the Kheer Ganga stream, which was closed immediately after the calamity, was reopened for pilgrims to proceed to Gangotri. The development cast doubts on the sincerity of the search operation as several bodies are still believed to be trapped under the debris in the area.

“At a time when there is no clarity on the bodies buried under the rubble, a portion of the road has been opened for use by vehicles. It is alarming!” resident Rajesh Semwal told reporters. An NDRF official said the road was the only route available to the Chardham tourists who wanted to go towards Gangotri.

“The bodies, if any, may be buried 10-20 feet below the surface. We can easily trace human presence up to 10-12 metres below the ground with the help of ground-penetrating radars and sniffer dogs. We have identified 20 such spots where digging will start soon,” the NDRF officer, who didn’t wish to be identified, added.

Arun Mohan Joshi, inspector-general of the SDRF, said they were doing everything to trace the missing people. “We are camping here because we are with the people of the area,” he said.

An expert on ground-penetrating radars, who is camping in Dharali with the rescuers, said the device’s tracking ability was heavily dependent on several factors, including soil composition. “In most cases, it can’t tell whether the object seen by it is part of a damaged house or a body,” he said.

Semwal said several people from Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat were coming to Dharali in search of their family members who were staying in hotels or homestays on August 5 when the flash flood tore through the area.

“We know that they are buried here in a radius of 100 metres. This includes the road that was opened. These rescue agencies have found the body of a mule in the last 12 days. We all know that over 200 people are buried in the mud, but the government puts the number of dead at six,” he said.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the kin of the six deceased.

Ashok Rawat, a resident of Mukhba, a village on a hill 1km from Dharali, said the flash flood had destroyed a bridge that was the only link between the two villages.

“The government has not rebuilt it yet. We are sending LPG cylinders and food items to Dharali with the help of some labourers who cross the Bhagirathi with the help of a rope,” Rawat said.