Almora SDM swept away in Mandakini river

Almora Sub-Divisional Magistrate Ajay Arora who was on duty in Kedarnath in Rudraprayag district got swept away in the Mandakini river on Wednesday.

Dilip Jawalkar, District Magistrate, Rudraprayag, said, “At around 3:30 pm Mr. Arora was moving from Kedarnath towards the Garud Chatti camp when his leg slipped and he got swept away in the Mandakini river.”

However, Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna said search for Mr Arora is on.

Elsewhere, nine persons died as monsoon continued to ravage the State on Wednesday. Four Nepalese residents who worked as porters in Dehradun died as they got buried under landslide debris at around 1 am on Wednesday. Ramji Sharan Sharma, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Sadar, Dehradun, said, “We have contacted the family members of the deceased. Compensation will be provided once we have the proof of their identity.” Mr Sharma said around 12 families living in tents in that area have been shifted to safer places.

Also, water from the Rispana river was entering the houses in the Rishi Colony here. R Meenakshi Sundaram, District Magistrate, Dehradun on Wednesday ordered that bulldozers be used to divert the flow of the Rispana river to save houses from getting damaged. In Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand’s Kumaon region, four members of a family got swept away as water flow increased in a stream that passes through Khaaebagar area in the Kapkot tehsil of the district.

Kailash Singh Tolia, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Kapkot, said, “The bodies were not found even after searching for them for around five hours.” Mr Tolia said a cow and five goats also got buried under debris.

The house where the deceased lived is completely destroyed. Mr Tolia said two people from a nearby house were rescued on Tuesday night to save them from the disaster.

Few other houses in the area have also been damaged and people have been shifted to safer places, Mr Tolia said.

At present, 349 roads in the State are still blocked; as a consequence, 416 villages are still cut off.

Dehradun Meteorological Centre has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall for the coming days..