3 days of record rains causes losses worth Rs 2,000 crore in Kumaon

Pithoragarh: Three days of record rains between October 17 to 19 in Kumaon caused losses worth Rs 2,000 crore to the region, Divisional Commissioner Sushil Kumar said on Friday.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had said on Thursday that the incessant rains in Uttarakhand caused damages worth Rs 7,000 crore across the state.

”Kumaon division bore the brunt of the unseasonal spell of rains which damaged crops and property worth Rs 2,000 crore besides accounting for the highest number of deaths and large scale destruction of houses,” the Kumaon Divisional Commissioner said.

Out of a total of 65 rain-related deaths in Uttarakhand, 59 were reported from the Kumaon region alone with Nainital reporting the maximum of 35 deaths followed by 11 in Champawat, six in Almora, one in Bageshwar, three in Pithoragarh, and one in Udham Singh Nagar district.

Seven IAF helicopters and one private helicopter rescued 100 tourists from remote trekking routes of Gunji, Jolingkong, Tidang, and Pindari in the region over the past few days, the Kumaon Commissioner said.

”Besides rescuing tourists stranded in these high altitude regions, our 22 NDRF, SDRF teams, and 1,500 police jawans rescued 816 people trapped in different areas and evacuated over 7,880 tourists from different tourist spots and sent them to their destination,” the commissioner said.

According to the commissioner, the state government agencies have distributed over 1,500 food packets and set up langars (free kitchens) wherever required.

”We have released a sum of Rs 10 crore to each district magistrate in the region to carry out relief work. Additional funds will be released if the DMs require more,” Kumar said.