The heavy rainfall has wreaked havoc in the state with authorities halting the Badrinath Char Dham Yatra till the situation improves
A car pulled to safety by the Border Roads Organisation after it got stuck in a landslide in Uttarakhand. ANI
Incessant rainfall in Uttarakhand has made life hellish for the residents of the state. Tuesday is the third consecutive day that the state has been lashed with heavy rain and the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted moderate to severe thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds for the state today.
The Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand has been completely blocked due to debris at seven places following incessant rains over the past 48 hours, the district administration said on Tuesday.
Some parts of the state have also been plunged into darkness owing to a power cut that began on Monday.
As a precautionary measure, the Badrinath Char Dham Yatra has been halted and passengers en route to Badrinath Temple were stopped at safe places. On Monday, three labourers from Nepal died and two were injured when rubble flowing down from a field above due to the rains buried them alive.
In another incident, two people were killed when their house collapsed, following a landslide in Selkhola in Champawat district, the State Emergency Operation Centre said.
The water level in the Nadakini river has also risen significantly, raising an alarm.
As per the latest data, Chamoli received 19.8 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.
It was also reported that the State Disaster Response Force along with the Uttarakhand police rescued 22 devotees stuck at Jungle Chatti amid the rainfall, while returning from Kedarnath Temple.
SDRF Sonprayag had received the information late on Monday that some tourists had been stranded and they immediately left fot Jungle Chatti and rescued the tourists amid the torrential rain.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had visited the state’s disaster control room in Dehradun to take stock of the situation on Monday.
It has been reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Dhami and took stock of the situation arising due to heavy rains.
On Monday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to Dhami on the phone to get an update on precautionary steps being taken by the state government in view of the heavy rain alert and assured him of all possible help.
The rain in Uttarakhand has triggered memories of the deadly 2013 floods and landslides, which had become the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
The unusual high rain had caused floods that had killed over 5,000 people.
With inputs from agencies