Uttarakhand rains: Child swept away, man killed by lightning; Char Dham Yatra halted
Heavy rain continued to batter Uttarakhand on Monday, with an eight-year-old child going missing after being swept away by the swollen Saryu River and a
Heavy rain continued to batter Uttarakhand on Monday, with an eight-year-old child going missing after being swept away by the swollen Saryu River and a 52-year-old man dying after being struck by lightning, officials said. Landslides triggered by the rain also shut 149 roads across the state, including four national highways, and forced the administration to temporarily suspend the Char Dham Yatra as a precaution. Read Full Story Officials said the pilgrimage will resume only after the routes are declared safe and conditions return to normal. Garhwal Commissioner Anand Swarup directed all District Magistrates and other officials concerned to ensure that pilgrims already on the yatra routes are accommodated at safe locations and that no pilgrim is allowed to move ahead until the routes are completely safe. The Meteorological Department issued a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Dehradun, Tehri and Haridwar districts for Monday, and an orange alert for the remaining districts.
The administration has been asked to remain on alert round the clock. In view of the warning and to ensure student safety, a holiday was declared for schools from Classes 1 to 12 across all districts of the state. In Bageshwar district, the child, identified as Rakesh, was swept away in the Saryu River in the Kapkot area on Monday. Praveen Goswami, in-charge District Disaster Management Officer for Bageshwar, said the boy had gone to the river with his mother to fetch water for a Shivling offering at a temple when the swollen river swept him away. Teams of the NDRF, SDRF and Water Police were carrying out a search operation, but he had not been found till the latest reports. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, Diwan Singh, 52, died after lightning struck him on Sunday evening while he was grazing goats in a forest near Phu village in the Dharchula area of Pithoragarh district.
In Chamoli district, water and debris entered six to seven shops in Narayanbagar market during heavy rain early on Monday, and debris-clearing work was under way. Rainfall during this period included 220 mm in Shama; 109 mm each in Pokhari and Didihat; 108 mm in Kichha; 103.5 mm in Maldevta; 99 mm in Rudrapur; 97 mm in Kapkot; 95 mm each in Hathibadkala and Gauchar; 92 mm in Bangapani; 91 mm in Loharkhet; 82.5 mm in Narendra Nagar; 81 mm in Tejam; 77.2 mm in Dharchula; 77 mm in Ukhimath; 75 mm in Khatima; 73 mm in Dangoli; 72 mm in Dhanolti; and 70 mm in Kirtinagar. Officials said the Tawaghat-Gunji and Dharchula-Tawaghat national highways in Pithoragarh district, and the Herbertpur-Barkot and Dehradun-Tyuni-Chakrata-Mussoorie national highways in Dehradun district, were closed due to landslides and debris accumulation.
The BriefWire