Uttarakhand News: As severe rains continue to batter the northeastern state, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority has ordered to temporarily halt the ongoing Char Dham Yatra until Tuesday, according to officials. According to them, the choice was made with pilgrims’ safety in mind. In an order issued on Monday, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority said, “Char Dham Yatra stopped temporarily on the 14th and 15th August following disruption in the movement of traffic due to landslides after heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand.” On April 22, the auspicious day of Akshay Tritiya, the Kapat (door) of the Gangotri and Yamunotri opened for pilgrims. On April 25, Kedarnath Dham’s doors were opened, and on April 27, Badrinath Dham was accessible to pilgrims.
SDRF Saves Lives as Flooding Ravages Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh
In response to severe flooding in the area, members of the State Disaster Response Force acted quickly to rescue 20 persons who had become trapped in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand’s Ambagh neighbourhood. Six persons, including a pregnant woman, were rescued by SDRF from a house in the Raiwala neighbourhood of the Dehradun district that had been flooded by the overflowing Song river. The expectant mother was sent to a nearby hospital. Since Sunday, Uttarakhand has seen torrential rains that have impacted daily life in a number of districts, including Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pauri, and Dehradun. As rains wrecked havoc in the state, causing landslides that closed major roads and toppled homes, at least 29 people died in Himachal Pradesh, nine of them buried under the debris of a temple and after another landslip in Shimla, officials said on Monday. Under the rubble of the Shiv temple in Shimla’s Summer Hill neighbourhood, it is thought that up to 15 more persons are still buried. On a significant day during the Sawan era, a large number of devotees gathered at the shrine to offer prayers.
Cloudburst Claims 7 Lives, IMD Issues Red Alerts for Uttarakhand
On Monday morning, a cloudburst at Jadon village in the Kandaghat sub division of Himachal Pradesh’s Solan claimed at least seven lives. In the incident, a cowshed and two dwellings were destroyed. On Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued red alerts for a number of Uttarakhand districts and issued rainfall warnings for areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The IMD Uttarakhand said in a statement on Sunday, “Very heavy to extremely heavy rain/ thunderstorm accompanied with lightning and very intense to extremely intense spell is very likely to occur at isolated places in Dehradun, Pauri, Tehri, Nainital, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar in next 24 hours.”
Multiple Regions Bracing for Rainfall Impact
Parts of Bilaspur, Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi, Shimla, Sirmaur, Solan, Una, Kinnaur, Lahaul, and Spiti were predicted to experience heavy to very heavy rainfall, according to the IMD Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu tweeted on Monday, “Devastated to hear about the loss of 7 precious lives in the tragic cloud burst incident at Village Jadon, Dhawla Sub-Tehsil in Solan District. My heartfelt condolences go out to the grieving families. We share in your pain and sorrow during this difficult time. We have directed the authorities to ensure all possible assistance and support to the affected families during this trying period.” On Monday, the Dehradun Defence College building in Maldevta, Uttarakhand, collapsed due to heavy rain.
IMD Reports High Precipitation in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand
According to the IMD, Himachal Pradesh experienced a large amount of rain in the 24 hours leading up to Monday morning at 8:30am. Rainfall totals in Kangra were 273 mm, Shapur (AWS) was 231 mm, Mandi (AWS) was 124.5 mm, Shimla (AWS) was 108.5 mm, Mandi was 138 mm, and Sundernagar was 168 mm. In Uttarakhand, a red alert has been issued for six districts. Waterlogging problems were caused by a lot of rain in many areas of Uttarakhand, including Rishikesh. Over the past 24 hours, heavy rain in Himachal Pradesh has caused landslides and blocked multiple highways, including the Shimla-Chandigarh road, which was closed to buses and lorries. According to an official, the number of deaths in Uttarakhand attributable to the rain has risen to 52, and another 37 people have been hurt. In other locations, rain has also caused landslides and flash floods.
Hillslide Buries Vehicles in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli District
A hill in Mayapur on the Badrinath route has been the source of debris that has buried multiple automobiles in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district. Vehicles have been buried in the debris, but no casualties have yet been reported, DM Chamoli Himanshu Khurana told news agency ANI. The state of Uttarakhand has reportedly sustained damages totaling over 650 crore as a result of this year’s monsoon season, according to the state’s disaster management agency. Teams from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) have been sent to Uttarakhand’s severely flooded areas. In disaster-prone locations, two helicopters have also been maintained on standby. Flood-like conditions are still present in Balh Valley in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh as a result of the severe rainfall. Many tourists are currently trapped. In landslip and rockslide-prone areas and when rockslides are not apparent, the Himachal Pradesh police have issued a warning to the public advising people to avoid unnecessary travel as well as travel at night.
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER.
