Heavy Rainfall Causes Flood In Uttarakhand, 9 Killed And Life Stands Still

A large part of Uttarakhand has plunged into disastrous situation due to heavy rains and cloudbursts, landslides triggered by unceasing rains has increased the death toll. Many districts known for religious pilgrimage has suffered immense blockage owing to the floods and have thus left the pilgrims helpless. Roads and several highways have been blocked, water has accumulated in the residential areas. In the wake of worst situations, a red alert has been issued in the state and efforts are being made on war-footing to control the havoc. The weather forecast predicts heavy rainfall for the next 48 hours as well.

Situation in different districts
Dehradun: A car got trapped in the debris crumbling from the mountain due to cloudbursts in Kumarkhera near Narendra Nagar killing all four people travelling inside the car. The saddening incident took place in the Chamba-Rishikesh way.
Haridwar: Four youngsters got caught in the speeding flow of water and only one made it alive .
Ramganga: landslide has created an artificial lake in the area. Districts like Pithoragarh and Bageshwar are carrying out the deportation of families due to the formation of artificial lakes in various parts.

Moreover many roads have fallen prey to severe traffic making it difficult for the pilgrims to proceed further for the sacred “Char-dham” yatra. A total of 250 and more pathways are choked and over 200 pathways crossing villages are obstructed.

The Delhi road connecting Roorkee and Haridwar is nonfunctional due to waterlogging. Not only roads but also the Delhi railway line passing through a tunnel constructed in Mansha Devi mountain was halted due to an assemblage of debris at the entry of tunnel falling from the mountain .

As a result of waterlogging the Jhirna and Dhela tourist spots in Ramnagar have been made unavailable and people are being evacuated from the lower regions, as told by Paritosh Verma,SDM Ramnagar.

In the Uttarkashi District, Barkot lives of three people were claimed due to fallen tree, one among them was a 15-year-old boy who died due to unavailability of medical facilities. Since all the roads were blocked hence it was impossible to take him to the hospital in time. A woman Salima Bano died and 2 others were injured as flood caught hold of their bus on Chargolia road. An individual was again killed due to excessive water in the Khakra channel of water .

River Bhagirathi in Gangotri is flowing above the danger mark and destroying bridges. Many pilgrims are trapped in Bhojbasa and are being rescued with help from SDF , as told by Pratap Pawar, a ranger in Gangotri National Park.

The Badrinath pathway was opened for a less interval making way for pilgrims to proceed in areas of Joshimath and Pandukeshwar. Owing to the increasing water levels in Tihari lake water was released which created flood like situations in Rishikesh. The Kedarnath yatra has been halted at lincholi. Four bridges have been flushed over the Mansarovar way and the flooding of the bridge near Kuti, the returning pilgrims are again occluded.

Continuous and heavy rainfall from the past 3 days has deteriorated roadways and transportation at a skyrocketing level rendering people helpless as the connectivity to any of the government offices is jammed. Tonnes of debris accumulation unleashed by landslides have congested more than half a dozen villages forcing the local people to evacuate and shift to safer places. Villages namely Naulda , Bastadi, Sikuniya, Sigali, Charma, Pipli in Pithoragarh district and Siro, Didihat, Jakli, Gortansan and Kotiyal areas in Chamoli district are on the list to name a few. Floods have affected the power supply in various villages in the state with more than 150 villages living in darkness.

Preventive and curative measures:
The disaster management teams are doing their all possible efforts to handle the situation. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand has announced a compensation of rupees 2 lakhs for the families of the victims.

Emergency ration has been made available at district headquarters. NDRF(National Disaster Response Force) teams along with SDRF(State disaster Response Force), SSB(Sashastra Seema Bal), ITBP(Indo-Tibetan Border Force) have been rushed into the affected areas to carry out the rescue operation.

Uttarakhand was disastrously hit by floods in the year 2013 by flooding and landslides claiming 6000 innocent lives and ruining numerous villages and temples experiencing its heaviest rainfall in 80 years approximately. Let’s hope the situation doesn’t get worse this time and the trapped people are helped in all possible ways .