Incessant rain throws life out of gear in Uttarakhand

Dehradun: Incessant rain for the third consecutive day threw normal life out of gear in Uttarakhand, today. Rivers, including Ganga in Haridwar, Song and Suswa rivers in Dehradun district and Kali river in Pithoragarh district, were flowing close to the danger mark.

Fifteen families living along the bank of Song river in Gauri Mafi village had to be evacuated as overlapping waters moved towards residential areas, said the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) here, adding that efforts have been initiated to change the direction of Song and Suswa rivers.

With the meteorological department predicting more rain in the next 24 hours, all schools in the state were closed for the day. A total of 117 rural and motor roads were blocked by rubble from landslides in 10 districts, the emergency centre said.

The Rishikesh-Yamunotri highway has been blocked for the last several days in Ojri-Dabarkot area with boulders and rocks. Efforts are underway to clear the roads with earth movers and hydraulic machines, the emergency centre said.

The MeT department has predicted rain in Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri, Tehri, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Nainital and Pithoragarh districts in the next 24 hours, prompting the administration to sound an alert to persons living in both high and low altitude regions.

In the last 24 hours, Dehradun received 108 mm of rain followed by Bhagwanpur in Haridwar district with 105 mm. Ganga in Haridwar was flowing at 293.30 metres while the danger mark is 294 metres. Kali river in Pithoragarh district was flowing at 888.80 metres, which is two notches below the danger level.