Srinagar: In a worrying development, several low-lying areas in Uttarakhand's Srinagar and Pauri Garhwal have been submerged due to heavy rainfall. The concerning situation is caused by the water level rising in the Alaknanda river after incessant rains.


In this video, the low-lying area appears to be completely inundated by the river water.



Earlier, locals in Chamoli's Raini village had reported that due to the sudden rise of the water level in Rishiganga, several houses in their area have ended up with big cracks in their walls. This caused an imminent fear among locals that their houses might collapse.


Because of the incessant rains over the past few days, river Rishiganga has swollen, causing soil erosion from underneath the village.


ALSO READ | Coronavirus Cases Today: India Reports 60,753 New Infections; Active Cases Lowest After 74 Days


The villagers urged authorities to evacuate them to safer places as there is a danger of landslides due to the erosion by river Rishiganga which has swollen due to incessant rains over the past few days.


"No one from the government, be it our MLA or the ministers, are visiting us. I do not know why they are not doing so. We now sleep in our fields at night. Where else can we go? We sleep with anxieties. There are sounds, the whole village has caved in, the walls have suffered big cracks, we should have been evacuated right away," one villager said.


"We do not know where the government is sleeping. They must be doing some paperwork in Joshimath, but no officials have come to see our condition," he added.


An elderly woman in the area said that the village had once shown the world the path forward through 'Chipko Andolan' and in the same village, residents are now "shedding tears of blood".


"Women and men of our village are very troubled. We are weeping for the last three days. Women carry their children and go to jungles to sleep at night. The village that showed the world the way for Chipko Andolan is shedding tears of blood. The walls are sustaining cracks but the government is nowhere to be seen," she said.


(With Agency Inputs)