Swollen by rain, Uttarakhand rivers flow near danger mark, Badrinath highway closed
UTTARAKHAND - Incessant rain since Saturday night has led to many rivers in Uttarakhand flowing near the danger mark while landslides and cave ins have been reported across the state on Tuesday, officials said.
The Ganga river was flowing near the danger mark in Haridwar and Rishikesh, while the Alaknanda was flowing near the danger mark in Srinagar. The Karnprayag-Badrinath national highway was blocked at many places including Maithana, Bajpur, Nirmal Palace,
Chhinka, Kshetrapal, Bhanerpani, Pagalnala, Lambagad, as heavy rain triggered landslides.
In Chamoli district, 32 rural motor roads were blocked till Tuesday afternoon as debris fell and the work was underway to reopen the routes. In Bairangna area of Chamoli district, a wall of the fisheries department caved in due to overnight rain leading to the death of about one quintal of fish.
Three cowsheds in Sirokhoma village of Chamoli district were damaged while electricity and drinking water supply were disrupted at many places in the district. Police kiosks near the Chamoli bus station, warehouse and electrical pole of a shop were also damaged in a minor landslide on Tuesday. After continuous rain on Monday, a 50-metre stretch of the Dehradun-Mussoorie highway caved in, blocking the movement of vehicles. However, small vehicles were allowed to move on Tuesday. Work was underway to open the vital road at the earliest.
Meanwhile chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat met a delegation from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Tuesday. The delegation included NMDA member Rajendra Singh, joint secretary Ramesh Kumar and joint advisor Naval Prakash. Discussing issues of natural disasters in the Himalayan state, Rawat said that in mountainous regions like Uttarakhand, natural disasters like forest fire and landslides cause more damage.
(Hindustani Times)