Death toll in Uttarakhand rains rises to 52; more showers in Bengal, Sikkim

As per the news agency, 17 people were injured and 16, including 11 members of a trekking team, went missing in rain-related incidents. The Kumaon region of the state, which has been worst affected by the rainfall, also reported cases of 46 houses being damaged.

With 28 deaths, Nainital alone has accounted for the highest number of fatalities.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami extended his tour of the affected areas of Udham Singh Nagar and Champawat districts in Kumaon to take stock of the situation.

Accompanied by Union minister of state for defence and Nainital MP Ajay Bhatt and state disaster management minister Dhan Singh Rawat, Dhami, on board a tractor, crossed vast stretches of marooned fields in Udham Singh Nagar district and assessed the damage to crops. 

He also trudged through the streets of Champawat to get a first-hand assessment of the damage inflicted by nearly three days of incessant rains.

He travelled by road as his helicopter could not take off from Haldwani due to technical reasons.

Home minister Amit Shah is also likely to arrive in the state late on Wednesday night to review the situation. He may also undertake an aerial survey of the affected areas on Thursday morning, officials said.

The weather cleared across Uttarakhand on Wednesday, giving momentum to rescue operations and leading to the partial resumption of the Chardham Yatra, with pilgrims allowed to proceed to Kedarnath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri. However, the yatra to Badrinath could not be resumed as the national highway leading to the temple was blocked by landslide at several points.

Meanwhile, eight trekkers and three cooks accompanying them on a trek to Chitkul in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh went missing. The team of eleven people was on a trek to Chitkul via Harsil in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.

An SDRF team is preparing to trace them in a helicopter and rescue them. There was another report of three porters going missing along the Indo-China border in Uttarkashi district. They had accompanied an ITBP team on a long-distance patrol. They apparently lost their way, while returning, and got separated from the team.

Rains in other states

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and areas of north Bengal were also pounded by torrential rainfall that caused landslides and led to the closure of National Highway 10, the main road linking Gangtok with the rest of the country.

Three people were killed and hundreds marooned as heavy rains lashed Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly and Pilibhit districts over the last two days.

Normal life in parts of north Bengal was affected due to heavy showers in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Jalpaiguri districts that triggered landslides, causing damages to roads and bridges, halting or constricting traffic in various places.

As the downpour continued, 3,800 cusec waster was released from Bengal’s Gajaoldoba Teesta Barrage, causing inundation in several parts of the low lying town of Jalpaiguri. 

Water from the overflowing Teesta also submerged National Highway 10 that connects Siliguri with Sikkim’s capital Gangtok at Teesta Bazar area, restricting traffic.

The Meteorological Department issued a ‘red’ alert for Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Alipurduar, forecasting “extremely heavy rain at one or two places” in these districts till Thursday morning. Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar are likely to receive heavy to very heavy rain during the period, it said.

Several low-lying areas in Jalpaiguri district have been flooded owing to a rise in the water level of Teesta and Jaldhaka rivers. People from these areas were being moved to safe places for shelter.

In Uttar Pradesh, around 500 villagers in Pilibhit are trapped in the flood water of the Sharda river. A couple in Bareilly’s Faridpur township and a nine-year-old boy in Ram Nagar area were killed after their houses collapsed because of heavy rains.

The IMD, which had sounded an orange alert (heavy to very heavy rain) for 11 districts of Kerela on Wednesday withdrew it and changed it to yellow predicting ‘moderate rain’ in these areas. 

With inputs from agencies.