30 dead in Uttarakhand, as rains continue to play havoc in India

Lucknow: Heavy rains continue to affect various parts in India. In Uttarakhand, at least 30 people have died due to the ongoing flood situation in the state. The hill state has been experiencing heavy, incessant showers with 850 mm of rain being recorded in the last 72 hours. Rail and road transport have also been badly affected in the state.

The national highway connecting Chardham has been blocked because of landslides in Kumaon and Garhwal areas. Trains from Kathgodam have been stopped because the railway tracks have been washed away. The government has ordered all schools to be closed today.

In Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of villages across the western and central part of the state, have been hit by floods. The village of Nakhara in the Gonda district was ravaged by the force of the Ghagra river. The river swallowed a kilometre-long embankment in which 55 villages of Gonda and 12 villages of the Barabanki district have been inundated. In this hour of crisis, food and drinking water are in short supply and those marooned by the floods have moved into these makeshift tents along the embankment.

The situation has been made worse by the fact that more than four lakh cusecs of water has been released from the Bandbasa barrage. This is expected to shoot up the water levels among the Ganga, Yamuna, Ramganga, Sharda, and Ghagra rivers. The devastation is only likely to increase in the days ahead.

In Bijnor, the Ganga is flowing above the danger mark. The National Highway connecting Delhi to Pauri and Nainital has been shut and more than 22 villages have also been evacuated.

In Assam the situation remains grim. The Brahmaputra and its tributaries have hit low lying areas of the districts of Lakhimpur and Dhemaji. These districts still remained submerged and relief and rescue operations for the marooned people in these areas, are on. The situation has come to such a pass that agitated villagers and members of All Assam Tribals Union, All Ahom and Tai Student Community have held demonstrations in Lakhimpur, demanding more effective action by the state government.


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The pilgrimage to the Himalayan shrines of Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri was suspended after the roads leading to them were hit by fresh landslides following heavy rains on Monday, leaving hundreds of pilgrims stranded.

Landslides struck the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway at several places including Govindghat, blocking vehicular traffic. The Rishikesh-Yamunotri National Highway has also been hit by landslides at Chhatanga area, official sources said here.

The yatra to Gangotri temple remained suspended for the second consecutive day as the landslides that hit the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway at Sainj in Uttarkashi district on Sunday have not been cleared so far.

Fresh landslides have also hit the highway at Helkugad and Netala, the sources said.

PWD, BRO and police personnel are working round-the-clock to clear the debris and reopen the road for vehicular traffic.

Meanwhile, administrative teams have been sent to the affected areas to take care of the stranded pilgrims, they said.

Meanwhile, light to moderate rains continued to lash most parts of Uttarakhand with Uttarkashi receiving the heaviest rainfall at 84 mm, followed by Bhatwari (72 mm) on way to Gangotri temple during the past 24 hours, Met Director Anand Sharma said.

Chamoli recorded a rainfall of 58 mm, Purola 40 mm and Kausani 30 mm, he said.

The Met department has predicted light to moderate rains at many places in the state and heavy rains at isolated places in Uttarkashi and Chamoli districts during the next 24 hours.

Ten killed in rain-related incidents in Uttarakhand

Hundreds of pilgrims to three Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri have been stranded following closure of roads due to landslides even as ten persons died in several rain-related incidents across Uttarakhand in the last fortnight.

Ten persons have so far died in various rain-related incidents like flashfloods, landslides and boulders during the past fortnight, officials today said.

Landslides triggered by heavy rains continued to hit several places, blocking vehicular traffic on various roads including national highways leading to the three shrines.

However, Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway, which was blocked after a glacier hit the road just two kms away from Badrinath shrine, has been reopened for vehicular traffic.

Rishikesh-Kedarnath national highway has also been blocked at Sirobagad due to intermittent landslides. Long queues of vehicles are seen on both sides of the road and efforts are on to clear the debris to reopen it for traffic.

The vehicular traffic on Rishikesh-Gangotri national highway between Dharasu and Nalupani could not be resumed on the fourth consecutive day today as landslides continued to hit the area.

Rishikesh-Yamunotri national highway was also closed at Feri in Uttarkashi district due to landslides. BRO personnel along with police personnel are trying to clear the debris and reopen the road for vehicular traffic.

Meanwhile, several areas of the hill state received moderate to heavy rains during the past 24 hours. Chamoli experienced 84.0 mm of rainfall followed by Nainital 64.6 mm, Rudraprayag 59.0 mm, Uttarkashi 55.0 mm, Lansedowne 54 mm, Rishikesh 50.0 mm and Dehra Dun 38.8 mm.

The Met office has predicted that several areas of the hill state will continue to receive rains for another day and some areas like Nainital, Almora and Champawat might receive rather heavy to heavy rains.

Ten killed in rain-related incidents in Uttarakhand

Hundreds of pilgrims to three Himalayan shrines of Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri have been stranded following closure of roads due to landslides even as ten persons died in several rain-related incidents across Uttarakhand in the last fortnight.

Ten persons have so far died in various rain-related incidents like flashfloods, landslides and boulders during the past fortnight, officials today said.

Landslides triggered by heavy rains continued to hit several places, blocking vehicular traffic on various roads including national highways leading to the three shrines.

However, Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway, which was blocked after a glacier hit the road just two kms away from Badrinath shrine, has been reopened for vehicular traffic.

Rishikesh-Kedarnath national highway has also been blocked at Sirobagad due to intermittent landslides. Long queues of vehicles are seen on both sides of the road and efforts are on to clear the debris to reopen it for traffic.

The vehicular traffic on Rishikesh-Gangotri national highway between Dharasu and Nalupani could not be resumed on the fourth consecutive day today as landslides continued to hit the area.

Rishikesh-Yamunotri national highway was also closed at Feri in Uttarkashi district due to landslides. BRO personnel along with police personnel are trying to clear the debris and reopen the road for vehicular traffic.

Meanwhile, several areas of the hill state received moderate to heavy rains during the past 24 hours. Chamoli experienced 84.0 mm of rainfall followed by Nainital 64.6 mm, Rudraprayag 59.0 mm, Uttarkashi 55.0 mm, Lansedowne 54 mm, Rishikesh 50.0 mm and Dehra Dun 38.8 mm.

The Met office has predicted that several areas of the hill state will continue to receive rains for another day and some areas like Nainital, Almora and Champawat might receive rather heavy to heavy rains.

Warm weather in most parts of north, snowfall in Uttarakhand

New Delhi, Feb 13 : A foggy but warmer day welcomed people in most parts of north India today even as heavy rains and snowfall lashed Uttarakhand and aircraft operations were disrupted in Delhi.

A warmer morning greeted Delhiites as the minimum temperature hovered around 11.3 degrees Celsius. However dense fog disrupted normal operations at the IGIA with about 17 flights being delayed and another three cancelled.

Heavy rains and snowfall in Uttarkhand threw the normal life out of gear as many places remained cut off from roads and power lines were damaged.

Vehicular traffic was also disrupted due to a landslide at Karan Prayag-Deval road while heavy snow in the higher-altitude of the district has damaged the crops.

In Jammu and Kashmir, minimum temperatures showed an upward trend but the danger of avalanche persisted in higher reaches of the valley and frontier region of Ladakh.

The cold wave eased a bit in Himachal Pradesh with an increase in temperature and absence of rain or snow in any part of the state. There was bright sunshine in Shimla which recorded a low of 7 degrees.

Meanwhile, cold conditions prevailed in Punjab and Haryana with the mercury levels remaining one to three degrees below normal in the region which remained engulfed in fog.

Weather remained within normal range in most parts of Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow recorded a low of 11 degrees.

Source: http://www.samaylive.com/news/warm-weather-in-most-parts-of-north-snowfall-in-uttarakhand/608554.html