Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Monday refused to declare 5,748 missing people as dead; saying that they were only being ‘presumed to be dead’.

However, Mr. Bahuguna also declared that the government would continue with its scheme to provide ex-gratia relief of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the presumed to be dead.

He added that the ongoing search operations for finding the missing people would also keep running. According to the state government’s official list, a total of 5,748 people are still missing.

Speaking on topic, Mr. Bahuguna said, “This is hoping against hope, but we can’t declare them dead. The mission to find them will go on as we hope that the missing will surface and return home.”

Previously, Mr. Bahuguna had announced that the state government would declare the missing persons as dead if they didn’t return by July 15, a month after the disastrous floods and landslides.

The chief minister, however, also declared that if the missing a person is found, the family of the person will have to return the money.

Of the financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3.5 lakh will be paid by the union government and the remaining 1.5 lakh by the states. The compensation procedure has started on Tuesday, July 16.