Heavy overnight rain leaves 12 people dead in Uttarakhand

Dehradun, Aug 1 (PTI) Twelve people, including three of a family, were killed and six injured in heavy overnight rains in various parts of Uttarakhand that triggered many incidents of house collapse, flooding and rise in water levels of several rivers, officials said on Thursday.

Most parts of the state did not receive fresh rains till Thursday afternoon.

Haridwar district reported six deaths, Tehri three, Dehradun two and Chamoli one. Two persons one each in Haldwani and Chamoli are still missing, the Disaster Control Room here said.

Two people were swept away by the waters of an overflowing seasonal canal near the Ordnance Factory in Raipur area of Dehradun, Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh said. Bodies of both of them have been recovered, he said.

They have been identified as Sundar Singh and Arjun Singh Rana, the SSP said.

Water gushed into many homes in Dehradun besides leaving the roads heavily waterlogged at various places in the city.

A seven-year-old child Rizwan was swept away by the swirling waters of a stream in Haldwani in Nainital district. He is yet to be found.

Body of a woman in Devchauli in Chamoli district, who was missing since Wednesday evening after a house collapse, has been found.

In Bharpur village in Bahadarabad area of Haridwar district, four people were killed and six injured after a house collapsed due to heavy rain on Wednesday night, police said.

In another incident reported from Haridwar district, two persons were electrocuted at Roorkee bus stand.

Three members of a family — Bhanu Prasad (50), his wife Neelam Devi (45) and son Vipin (28) — were killed in a landslide which damaged their roadside restaurant following a cloudburst in Jakhanyali village of Tehri district’s Ghansali area, the officials said.

Vipin was rescued but died while being taken to the AIIMS in Rishikesh, Tehri District Disaster Management Officer Brijesh Bhatt said.

Nearly a dozen four-wheelers parked along the riverbed of the Sukhi in Haridwar’s Kharkhari area were washed away following torrential rain on Wednesday evening.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the SDRF and the administration have been deployed in affected areas of the state, the officials said.

A total of 450 pilgrims bound for Kedarnath got stranded beyond Bhimbali along Gaurikund-Kedarnath trek route when 20-25 metres of the stretch were washed out by heavy rain on Wednesday night.

Disaster Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said 200 passengers stranded on the Kedarnath route due to falling stones and the washing away of the stretch near the Bhimbali Chowki have been moved to safer places.The process to rescue the rest with the help of helicopters is underway, he said.

The trek route to the Himalayan temple is blocked by boulders at Ghoraparav, Linchauli, Badi Linchauli and Bhimabali

Pilgrims stranded on the trek route to Kedarnath are being brought to the emergency helipad, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a post on Facebook.

An advisory has also been issued for Kedarnath-bound pilgrims asking them to wait in a safe place until the weather improves and the roads blocked here and there are restored.

Both Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers in Rudraprayag district are flowing close to the danger mark.

Fresh registrations for the Chardham yatra have been put on hold for the time being.

Dhami visited the disaster management centre here on Thursday morning to review the situation across the state and asked officials to remain alert.

“Due to heavy rains last night across the state, life was affected at many places. Rescue teams conducted operations throughout the night and took people to safer places. I am in constant touch with the local administration and have instructed the NDRF and SDRF teams to remain on alert mode in the affected areas,” Dhami said in a post on X.

“Relief and rescue operations are being conducted in Rambada, Bhimbali, Jakhaniyali and other more affected areas.

The safety of every resident of the state, the devotees and tourists coming from other states is our priority, for which our entire team is working with promptness. All of you are requested to travel only after getting an update on the weather situation,” he said.

The chief minister also said he will conduct an aerial and ground inspection of the disaster affected areas of Rudraprayag and Tehri Garhwal districts.

In Kharkhari, a truck carrying rations and essentials for a group of kanwariyas was among the vehicles washed away. No one was there in the truck when the incident took place on Wednesday.

Roads were submerged in many areas of Haridwar and the rainwater also entered the Kankhal police station.

Many colonies and markets of Bhupatwala, Haridwar, Naya Haridwar, Kankhal and Jwalapur also got flooded.

A house collapsed due to heavy rain in Talla village of Pithoragarh district. Three more houses in the village were damaged.

Schools up to class 12 and Anganwadi centres have been closed for Thursday in various districts, including Dehradun.