Uttarakhand rain: Rescue operation continues amid landslide, road block

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The landslide took place in the Totaghati area of Tehri Garhwal district. In the wake of severe damage in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts, the state government has provided immediate assistance of over ₹11 crore to flood-hit people the area, said Uttarakhand cabinet minister Satpal Maharaj on Saturday.

Also Read: Weather update: IMD predicts heavy rains in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and These states till 22 August. See forecast

He also said that the extensive damage caused to human life and property in the state due to the excessive rains are being assesed. He also said that roads and bridges in hte state suffered huge damages due to rainfall.

“The extent of damage to roads and bridges across the state is being assessed and the process of rebuilding them would start after the monsoon,” Satpal Maharaj added.

Also Read: Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand reeling from devastating monsoon, massive damage and loss of life. 10 updates

Maharaj said 406 roads in Uttarakhand are blocked due to landslides, 100 have been reopened while most of the national highways are open. The latest incident is of the closure of Rishikesh-Badrinath National-Highway 58. 

Several districts facing the wrath of monsoon in Uttarakhand

Swollen rivers, landslides, and severe flooding has caused havoc in Chamoli, Haridwar, Rishikesh and other districts of the state. As per the Union Home Ministry data, seven districts in Uttarkhand were hit by the monsoon floods and landslides.

On Friday, the water level in the Pindar River in Chamoli district’s Tharali area surged after heavy rainfall in the state.

“There was heavy rain in the area late at night yesterday, after which the water level of the Pranmati River started flowing above the danger mark. Due to this the Pindar river also came in spate,” Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana told ANI on Saturday.

Also Read: Uttarakhand Rains: Landslide destroys 15 houses, 7 cowsheds in Dehradun

Surge in the water level of the river also created panic among local residents. Heavy downpour also affected lives of people in the Kaluwala area of  Dehradun on Friday. 

Broken roads due to landslides turning into a nightmare for elderly and women in Uttarakhand

As heavy rainfall left several roads and bridges broken in the state, situation is nothing less than a nightmare for people in Uttarakhand’s remote hill villages. Elderly people, pregnant women, and critically ill health patients are the worst hit. In some incidents, blocked roads have forced people to carry women having labour pain or the elderly in chairs mounted with the help of sticks on their shoulders to the nearest health facility. This has been the plight of the remote villages of Pokhri, Joshimath, Dasholi, Ghat and Dewal blocks of Chamoli district for nearly a month.

In one incident, people risked their lives to carry Kiran Devi and her newly born baby on their shoulders from the hospital crossing through breached roads and rain-fed streams to her home in Vaan – the last village of Dewal block. Similarly, Juthuli Devi of Gaadi village in Dasholi block was carried to the nearest medical facility in Birhi when she fell ill recently, reported ANI.

Updated: 19 Aug 2023, 04:58 PM IST