One person was killed and two seriously injured in a flash flood on Thursday night near Mata Shakumbhari Siddhapeeth temple in the Behat area, around 40 km from Saharanpur.
According to local sources, three shopkeepers were washed away by the floodwaters and were found on Friday morning near Nagal village. One of them, Rampal, 58, was found dead while the other two Sanjeev, 25, and Rishipal, 55, were severely injured. They have been admitted to a local hospital by the police.
Three shops and a temporary iron bridge that was constructed for the upcoming Navratri Mela were also washed away. Some vehicles of the devotees and a truck of the PAC were also mauled by the fury of the water coming from the Shivalik hills. Locals say such flash floods happen almost every year when it rains heavily in the hills.
The impact usually lasts for three-four hours.
Confirming the sequence of events, Behat Circle Officer Vijaypal Singh said the flash floods hit the unsuspecting shopkeepers when they were sleeping in their make-shift shops. “It was at 3 a.m. Perhaps, they didn’t feel any alarm because it was only drizzling here.”
Goods lost
Mr. Singh said the shopkeepers also lost their goods which they had stocked for the mela. “Some shopkeepers had built their shops in the course of the rainwater stream... they were caught unawares.”
Mr. Singh added that after the incident, the district administration had made an announcement advising locals against doing any activity in the course of the rainwater stream.
