Seventeen persons were killed in incidents of landslips as rains created havoc in the Uttarakhand, on Friday.
The incidents occurred in the wee hours on Friday in Pauri, Dehradun, and Pithoragarh districts.
Piyoosh Rautela, Executive Director, State Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre (DMMC), said, “Seventeen persons have been reported dead, so far. Amongst the casualties, 14 persons were from Pauri district, two from Dehradun district, and one from Pithoragarh district.”
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The rescue teams, which include the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the district police, were sent to the various places as the news of the incidents broke on Friday.
Pauri District Magistrate Chandrashekhar Bhatt said heavy rainfall triggered landslips at villages and hamlets in Yamkeshwar, Pauri, and Lansdowne Tehsils. Mr Bhatt said that of the 14 dead in the district, some got buried in their houses while others got swept away as the current in the local streams rose. Around ten to 12 houses in the district were damaged, he said.
Pauri Additional District Magistrate B.S. Chalal said that around 250 villagers were stranded in the Sinduri gram sabha. “The rescue teams are evacuating the stranded people,” Mr. Chalal said adding that the number of evacuated could not be ascertained as the rescue operations were in progress.
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Mr. Rautela said that two persons were killed after getting buried in a landslip in Dehradun, and one person was killed when a local stream in Pithoragarh district swelled due to heavy rainfall and swept him away.
Tehri District Magistrate Yugal Kishore Pant said ten houses were completely damaged in the district. “Dhanaulti, Tehri, and Narendra Nagar Tehsils have suffered loses. Around 10 houses have been damaged and some small bridges have been swept away,” Mr. Pant said.
Roads remained blocked at various places in the State after rainfall triggered landslips at several areas throughout the State.
In Haridwar, the Ganga crossed its danger mark of 294m and reached 294.65m, on Friday evening. The Sharda river in Champawat was nearing its danger mark of 221.70m.