Uttarakhand: 4 dead in torrential rains, many highways blocked due to landslides

Dehradun, Sep 14 (PTI) Four people died and two others were missing as heavy rains lashed Uttarakhand, especially the Kumaon region, while 478 roads, including national highways, were blocked due to landslides at various places.

According to the information received from the State Emergency Operations Centre, Haldwani in Kumaon region received 337 mm rainfall, Nainital 248 mm, Champawat 180 mm, Chorgalia 149 mm and Rudrapur 127 mm during the 24-hour period till 8.30 am Saturday.

A woman, identified as Devki Devi Upadhyaya (75), died when heavy rain caused a part of residential building to collapse, burying her under the debris near the Buddha temple in Gankot village on Friday.

In another incident in Pithoragarh's Gankot, 22-year-old Vipin Kumar was killed in a landslide.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) , a 45-year-old tourist from Jalandhar, Punjab, died of a lack of oxygen while visiting Jyolingkang village in the higher Himalayan region of Dharchula in Pithoragarh district.

Due to heavy rain in Dhorja village of Lohaghat, a woman died when the roof of a cowshed caved in. The victim was identified as 58-year-old Madhavi Devi.

Another incident took place in Matiani village of Lohaghat where a woman died due to a landslide. The deceased woman has been identified as 60-year-old Shanti Devi. A man named, Jagdish Singh, has gone missing in the incident.

Gurnam Singh, 38, who was cutting fodder in his field in Kondha Ashraf village of ​​Udhamsingh Nagar district, went missing following a sudden rise in the water level of the Kailash river located nearby.

According to the SEOC, incessant rains have led to waterlogging in many places and around 500 people have been evacuated to safer places.

Among them are 34 families of Khetalsandakham village in Udhamsingh Nagar and 14 families of Vichua and Tukdi villages of Nankamatta area were taken to Government Primary School.

Around 478 roads, including national highways, are blocked for traffic due to rain-induced landslides at several places, disrupting normal life.

Rudraprayag-Kedarnath National Highway is blocked between Sonprayag and Gaurikund while Rishikesh-Yamunotri National Highway is closed near Orchha Band in Uttarkashi.

Tanakpur-Champawat National Highway is closed in Swala, Santola and Chalathi. Apart from this, the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway is closed in Nandprayag and Chatwapeepal.

Officials said that efforts are being made to open these routes so that traffic can resume smoothly.

In the 24 hours till 8.30 am Saturday, Dhari received 105 mm rainfall, Kaladhungi 97 mm. mm, Pithoragarh recorded 93 mm, Jageshwar 89.50 mm, Kichcha 85 mm, Sitlakhet 75.5 mm, Kanalichina 75 mm, Banbasa 71 mm, Salt 66.5 mm, Sitarganj 66 mm and Almora 60 mm. PTI