2 Killed In Rain-related Incidents In Uttarakhand, Several Highways Blocked

Two people were killed as heavy rains continued to lash various parts of Uttarakhand on Thursday, inundating homes and blocking highways to the Himalayan temples.

A 12-year-old girl died when a wall of her house collapsed in Majri in Doiwala area of Dehradun district late on Wednesday night and rainwater gushed into her room, the disaster control room here said. In Nainital district, a 15-year-old boy drowned on Thursday while crossing the Baur River in Kaladhungi area. Rainwater also inundated around 100 residential houses and huts in Muni ki Reti area near Rishikesh late on Wednesday night prompting the administration to shift the residents to safe locations. Landslides triggered by heavy rains also blocked the highways leading to the Himalayan temples including Kedarnath, Badrinath and Gangotri.

A landslide occurred near Phata on the Guptkashi-Gaurikund highway washing out a 60-metre stretch of the road. Pilgrims going to Kedarnath were stopped from proceeding further on their journey and advised to rest at safe locations till the restoration of the route.

Narendra Nagar Sub Divisional Magistrate DS Negi said rainwater entered nearly 100 houses and huts in Kharasrot, a low-lying area near Muni ki Reti at around 11.30 pm on Wednesday night.

SDRF personnel shifted the families living in the inundated houses to safe locations in a late-night rescue operation, he said.

Water is being pumped out of the houses while intermittent rains continue, the official said.

Cabinet minister and Narendra Nagar MLA Subodh Uniyal also visited the affected area and asked authorities to provide the affected people with essentials like food, drinking water and beds.

Tehri’s Disaster Management Officer Brijesh Bhatt said mounds of debris following landslides have blocked the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway at Malakunti, Timlapani, Atali and Shivpuri.

The Rishikesh-Gangotri highway is also blocked around three kilometres beyond Bhadrakali. Efforts are on to open the highways but continuing showers are a hindrance, Bhatt said.

Meanwhile, two bodies of Gaurikund landslide victims were also recovered on Thursday, seven days after the incident, taking the death toll in the tragedy to five.

Eighteen people who were washed away in the massive landslide triggered by a flash flood in a rain-fed waterfall on August 4 are still missing, Rudraprayag Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said.