One more body was recovered from the banks of the Alaknanda at Marwadi near Joshimath taking the toll in the recent avalanche in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district to 72.

The 72nd body was recovered late on Friday evening, Chamoli's Disaster Management Officer N K Joshi said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, rescue operations in the avalanche hit-areas continued for the 21st day on Saturday, he said.

So far 72 bodies and 30 human body parts have been recovered from different places in the avalanche-hit areas out of which 41 bodies have been identified, he said adding 132 persons are still missing.

Meanwhile, the NTPC whose Tapovan-Vishnugad hydel project was one of the worst-hit by the February 7 disaster, has deposited a sum of Rs 3.52 crore in the chief judicial magistrate's court to be paid as compensation to 25 affected families as per a list issued by the state government, a company spokesperson said.

The rest of the families will also be paid compensation after the state government issues death certificates of their missing kin, he said.