As many as 16 people have died in Uttarakhand so far as incessant rain continued to lash various parts of the state, razing houses, damaging roads and several people were trapped in rubble following cloudbursts and landslides. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that 11 deaths were reported in the state on Tuesday as he asked people not to panic and assured them of all necessary steps to evacuate those stranded.
Dhami said three helicopters of the Indian Army will soon arrive to assist in relief and rescue operations underway in the state. Two of these helicopters will be sent to Nainital and one to the Garhwal region to rescue people stranded in different areas, he said. He also reiterated his appeal to Chardham pilgrims to stay put where they are and not to resume their journey until the weather improves.
“Due to heavy rains, the rescue team is facing difficulty but we will rescue everyone. The metrological department has also said that from today the rain will be less. We appeal to all the people to not travel till the situation is normal,” he added.
The Uttarakhand chief minister said that the damage caused by the rain is being assessed as he admitted that farmers have been hit hard by the incessant showers. He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to him on the phone to take stock of the situation and assured him of all help.
Several roads have been blocked due to landslides or washed away in the last two days in Uttarakhand. A bridge over the Gola River was washed away bringing the traffic completely to a standstill on the Haldwani-Sitarganj highway. Trains to Kathgodam were also cancelled after the shunting line of the station there was washed away.
Nainital was cut off from the rest of the state with three roads leading to the popular tourist spot blocked due to a series of landslides. The iconic Mall Road in Nainital and Naina Devi temple located along the banks of the Nainital Lake have been flooded, while a hostel building has been damaged due to landslides.
According to an official, at least 10 people were feared buried under debris following a cloudburst in Ramgarh block of the Nainital district. The cloudburst, which is a sudden and very heavy localised rainfall, was reported around 5am on Tuesday and led to a flash flood in Ramgarh and Okhladanda blocks.
“It resulted in heavy damage in Ramgarh as well as Okhladanda block… At least 10 people are suspected to be buried under muck in Ramgarh’s Khiladi village,” Nainital district magistrate Dheeraj Singh Garbiyal said. “However, exact information could be availed only after rescue and administrative teams reach the spot,” Garbiyal, who is was on his way to the spot, added.
After landslides blocked the exits in the Nainital town, around 100 people were stuck at Lemon Tree on the Ramnagar-Ranikhet route as water from the swollen Kosi river entered the resort. According to a report, the district administration is trying to help tourists stranded in the town and the police have been deployed to warn incoming and outgoing traffic.
The Indian Metrological Department has forecast that rainfall activity will reduce significantly in the state from Tuesday. “Isolated to scattered rain/snow over Himachal Pradesh on 22-23 October, and isolated to scattered rainfall over Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, northwest Rajasthan on 23 October,” the IMD said.