India may never know exact death toll in monsoon floods in northern state

India may never know exactly how many people perished in the monsoon floods which devastated Uttarakhand more than two weeks ago, the northern state's Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said Sunday. "We will never know the exact number of those dead and the number of people who have been buried or washed away," the chief minister told the media in state capital Dehradun. His statement came a day after state Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal estimated the death toll over 10,000 contradicting the central government's official figure of 900. "After hearing accounts of the people coming down from the mountains and that of people calling me up and seeing the piles of bodies, I feel the toll could be well over 10,000," Kunjwal said. Meanwhile, the authorities said that they intended to wind up the rescue operations by Monday. "So far, over 100,000 people have been evacuated. We hope to air lift those who are still stranded in the difficult terrains of the hilly state in another day. The Indian Army and Indian Air Force are doing their best," an official said. Monsoon floods swept through Uttarakhand on June 16, triggering landslides and washing away towns and roads. The state, popular for its holy Hindu shrines and rivers, this year received the heaviest rainfall in the last 60 years.