Due to heavy rains, flood-like situation prevails in 71 villages. (Representative)
Dehradun:
Rain lashed several places in Uttarakhand on Sunday, triggering landslides that blocked several roads, while the Ganga crossed the danger mark in Devprayag and the warning level in Haridwar due to heavy water release from the dam on the Alaknanda river. .
According to officials, Ganga was flowing at 463.20 meters after which Sangam Ghat, Ramkund, Dhaneshwar Ghat and Fuladi Ghat were inundated. After the release of 2,000-3,000 cusecs of water from the dam of the GVK hydroelectric project on the Alaknanda river, there was a tremendous jump in the water level of the Ganges.
Tehri District Disaster Management Officer Brijesh Bhatt said that the district administration has been making frequent calls to warn people to stay away from the river banks. He told that the water level of Ganga has also increased to 339.60 meters in Muni ki Reti area of Tehri near Rishikesh, which is 0.10 meters more than the warning level of 339.50 metres.
The Ganga crossed the warning level of 293 meters in Haridwar on Sunday evening to reach 293.15 metres, officials said, adding that an alert has been issued in low-lying areas due to the increased level of the river.
The State Disaster Operation Center has directed Haridwar District Magistrate Dhiraj Singh to repair Gate No. 10 of Bhimgoda barrage at the earliest to prevent any major damage due to high-speed water flowing through the breached gate.
Due to incessant rains for the last few days, a flood-like situation prevailed in 71 villages of Laksar, Khanpur, Roorkee, Bhagwanpur and Haridwar tehsils.
Rescue and relief operations are being carried out with the help of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Army and State Police.
The abutment of a bridge on the Joshimath-Malari road was damaged due to debris and excess water in the Girthi Ganga river in Niti Valley at Joshimath in Chamoli district, he said.
According to the Disaster Management Department, the bridge was used only by the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.
The Dehradun Meteorological Center has issued an ‘Orange’ alert on Monday warning of heavy rains in all 13 districts of Uttarakhand.
An ‘Orange’ alert is issued in the form of a warning of extreme weather, which is likely to cause disruption of movement along with road and drain closures and disruption of power supply.
Meanwhile, the water level of Kali river in Pithoragarh’s Dharchula area is also flowing above the warning level of 889 metres.
3,756 families have been affected in 71 villages of Roorkee, Bhagwanpur, Laksar and Haridwar tehsils. He informed that 81 of these families have been shifted to relief camps.
Five people have died due to floods in these areas. Seven houses have been completely damaged and 201 have suffered partial damage. Seventeen roads and nine bridges have also been damaged due to heavy rains in Haridwar, he added.
According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, Kapkot received 70 mm of rain in the last 24 hours.
Mussoorie received 61 mm of rainfall, Karnprayag 57 mm, Chamoli 54.4 mm, Nagthat 53 mm, Mohkampur 48 mm, Vikasnagar 41 mm and Uttarkashi 39 mm.
Officials said 2,000-3,000 cusecs of water was released from the Srinagar Hydroelectric Project dam in Pauri district as the Alaknanda river was flowing above the warning level.
He informed that the State Emergency Operation Center has instructed the District Magistrates of Tehri, Pauri, Dehradun and Haridwar to take necessary precautions.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV Staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)