Heavy rains and flash floods have thrown life out of gear in parts of Uttarakhand, with Tehri and Rudraprayag districts being the worst-affected.
According to the state disaster and mitigation control centre, at least 10 people have been killed due to landslides and rain-related accidents since Wednesday evening.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the affected areas — Kedarnath trek and Ghansali area in Tehri. The SDRF, since Thursday morning, has evacuated nearly 1,000 pilgrims who were stranded in different parts of the Kedarnath trek owing to rains and landslides.
The foot road to Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag district starts from Gaurikund and, as per local authorities, the route has been severely damaged in at least nine places.
“The rescue work is going on in full swing. Our priority is to evacuate stranded pilgrims. The authorities have made arrangements for food and shelter for the pilgrims,” Anil Shukla, SDM, Ukhimath (Rudraprayag) said. Choppers have also been pressed into service to ferry pilgrims.
The Met department has predicted rains in five districts for Thursday as well.
Around 20-25 meters of the national highway connecting Rudraprayag and Rishikesh has been washed away, making vehicular movement difficult. Similarly, about 30 meters of the highway between Sonprayag and Gaurikund has been either washed away or affected due to debris that came with the landslide. Former Congress president Ganesh Godiyal, who is part of the party’s Kedarnath march that started last week, posted a video on social media from the landslide-affected area that showed the scale of destruction.
Earlier, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took stock of the situation in a high-level meeting with officials. Later, he visited the landslide-affected Ghansali area in Tehri, where three residents lost their lives. Dhami will also visit affected areas in Rudraprayag.
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