Cloudbursts, landslides in Uttarakhand: 6 killed, 11 missing

Dehradun, Aug 29 (PTI) Six people were killed and 11 went missing as heavy rains and a series of cloudbursts wreaked havoc in various districts of Uttarakhand early Friday, triggering landslides that damaged houses and left people buried under mounds of rubble, officials said.

Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri, and Bageshwar districts bore the brunt of the natural calamity, which came close on the heels of the Tharali disaster on August 23.

Uttarakhand has been hit hard by natural calamities this monsoon season.

Before the tragedy in Tharali, Chamoli, Uttarakhand had already witnessed devastation on August 5 when a flash flood in the Kheer Ganga River swept through Uttarkashi district, razing nearly half of Dharali -- a key stopover on the Gangotri route dotted with hotels and homestays. The neighbouring Harsil area, where an Army camp bore the brunt of the flood, was also hit, leaving residents with barely any time to flee to safety.

The Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) here said excess overnight rainfall damaged nearly half a dozen houses in Pausari gram panchayat in Kapkot area of Bageshwar district, killing two people and leaving three missing and one injured.

Two bodies have been recovered, one person has been rescued in an injured condition in Begeshwar, while three others are still missing, the USDMA said. The deceased were identified as Basanti Devi and Bachuli Devi. The injured was Basanti Devi's son, Pawan, while her husband, Ramesh Chandra Joshi, is among the three missing. The other two missing are Girish and Puran Joshi, all residents of Pausari.

A house and a cowshed were buried under the landslide debris in Mopata village of Chamoli district, killing a couple and leaving another injured, Chief Development Officer Abhishek Tripathi said.

The deceased couple was identified as 62-year-old Tara Singh and his 60-year-old wife Kamla Devi, the USDMA said. Twenty-five livestock are also reported to be missing in Chamoli district, it said.

Incessant rain and landslides in the Basukedaar area of Rudraprayag district have caused heavy damage in more than half a dozen villages, the officials said.

Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said a woman identified as Sarita Devi died in a house collapse at Jakholi in Rudraprayag district. He said three cloudbursts occurred in the district.

Eight people went missing in the Chenagad area of Rudraprayag. Four of them were identified as Sate Singh Negi, Kuldip Singh Negi, Neeraj, and Raj, the USDMA said.

The body of a 10-year-old boy was found in the Bindal River in Dehradun on Friday. He had fallen into the river late Thursday.

A house was damaged in Syur village of the same area, and a car parked on the road was swept away by the debris. The ravines on both sides of Badeth, Bagaddhar and Taljaman villages are flooded.

SDRF Inspector General Arun Mohan Joshi stated that 70 people stranded in the Taljaman and Kund villages of Rudraprayag district have been relocated to safer areas. Videos on social media showed rescuers helping people precariously cross through raging streams using ropes.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to the district magistrates concerned through video conferencing and asked them to ensure that relief and rescue operations are carried out rapidly in the affected areas.

NDRF, SDRF, DDRF and revenue police teams have rushed to the disaster-hit districts but are facing difficulties in reaching the affected areas due to broken roads, the officials said.

Incessant rains and cloudbursts also caused heavy losses in the Budha Kedar area of Tehri district, where sheds built for livestock and temples were buried under the debris.

Locals said that a toilet and the courtyard of a house in Genwali village of Budha Kedar area of Ghansali were hit by the landslides.

The security wall built by the irrigation department after the disaster last year also got washed away due to debris and heavy rains. Due to continuous rains, the Balganga, Dharmganga and Bhilangana rivers are in spate, triggering panic among the locals.

Potato fields were also buried under the rubble, former village head of Genwali Kirti Singh Rana said. However, there is no report of any loss of life.

The Badrinath National Highway was blocked due to debris at many places in Chamoli-Nandprayag, Kameda, Bhanerpani, Pagalnala, Jilasoo, Gulabkoti and Chatwapipal.

In the Rudraprayag district too, the Badrinath national highway is closed at Sirobgadh, while the Kedarnath highway has been blocked at four different places between Banswara (Syalsaur) and Kund to Chopta.

Pilgrims have been requested to set out on the journey only after taking information about the road and to follow the updates issued from time to time by the police and administration.

The Met department has issued a red alert of heavy to very heavy rains for Bageshwar, Chamoli, Dehradun and Rudraprayag districts of Uttarakhand over the next 24 hours.

An orange alert of heavy to very heavy rains has also been issued for Champawat, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar and Uttarkashi districts during the period. PTI ALM RHL