Five people died in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag district after being buried under the debris of a landslide on the Kedarnath Yatra route as the weather department warned of heavy rains in six districts of the state for the next few days, reported PTI. The deceased include three pilgrims from Gujarat. All victims were travelling in a car and were buried under the debris of a landslide at Tarsali in the Phata area on the Kedarnath Yatra route in Rudraprayag district Thursday night.
Police said that their bodies were recovered on Friday as there was a let-up in incessant rains. According to PTI, the dead included three devotees from Gujarat and one from Haridwar. Police said they were trying to identify the fifth victim.
"A 60-meter portion of the Kedarnathgya highway collapsed due to heavy debris falling from the hill with boulders in Tarsali. During this, a vehicle was buried in the debris here," officials said, as quoted by ANI.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took stock of the ground inspection of the rain-hit Kotdwar area where a man had gone missing in a landslide a few days ago. Several bridges were damaged here cutting off a large population from the rest of the state. Assembly Speaker and local MLA Ritu Khanduri was also present during the ground inspection.
The CM has asked Pauri District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan to work on the repair of the damaged bridge in Gadighati. He also checked the alternative bridge over the Malan River connecting Kotdwar and Bhabar, stated PTI.
Dhami said that the state government's first endeavour was to restore normalcy which was disrupted by the monsoon rains and to provide quick aid and relief to the affected people. Talking to reporters, he said that after this, the damage caused by the calamity would be assessed and the deficiencies in the arrangements would be rectified.
The MeT Department has issued an “orange” alert for heavy rain in six districts of the state for Friday and a “red” alert for the next three days.
"Red and orange alerts have been issued by the Meteorological Department in many districts of the state. All the residents and tourists are requested to avoid unnecessary travel," Dhami said in a tweet.
The CM said he has directed the district administration and SDRF to remain alert for 24 hours, adding that he is also monitoring every situation closely.
Dehradun Meteorological Center has issued an “orange” alert for Tehri, Dehradun, Pauri, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar districts for Friday and a “red” alert from August 12 to 14.
According to PTI, as per the information received from the State Emergency Operation Center, 58 people have died and 37 people have been injured so far in various incidents during this monsoon while 19 others are missing.