Incessant rainfall triggers floods in Uttarakhand, claims lives of 45

Incessant rainfall in Uttarakhand has triggered heavy floods in the state in which 45 people lost their lives and leaving many more homeless. State Chief Minister announced an ex gratia of Rs four lakhs to the family of the deceased.

New Delhi/Dehradun: Heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand has claimed the lives of 45 people so far including 30 in Nainital, six in Almora, four in Champawat, three in Pauri and one each in Pithoragarh and Bageshwar.

State Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has announced an Ex gratia of Rs four lakhs to the family of the deceased and a financial aid of Rs one lakh nine thousand to people whose house has been washed away in the rain.

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister Ajay Bhatt, to assess the situation in the state hit hard by the incessant rains.

CM Dhami briefed the PM about the situation adding that the administration is fully alert. PM Modi assured Dhami of all the necessary help to deal with the situation. It is also learnt that the PM had a word with Union Minister Bhatt, who hails from the state in this regard.

Meanwhile, Dhami also conducted an aerial survey of areas affected due to heavy rainfall. During the survey, the CM was accompanied by the state's Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar.

Later, the CM also reviewed the assessment of losses caused by incessant rainfall after reaching Rudraprayag in the state.

The state government has issued helpline number 0135-2710334, toll-free-1070 as well as mobile numbers 8218867005, 9557444486 to get information about the disaster in the state.

In Almora district, due to continuous rains for the last 36 hours, three children were killed in a house collapse. The deceased have been identified as Tanuj (12), Kiran (16) and Roma Singh (14). Whereas one woman is said to be injured and another person missing.

According to the District Disaster Control Room - 1 National Highway, 7 state and 9 rural roads have been closed in the district.

On Monday, five people, including three labourers from Nepal, were killed and two others were injured in rain-related incidents in the state.

Following the heavy rains, officials advised Chardham pilgrims not to proceed to the Himalayan temples till the weather improves.

Read:Watch! Dramatic visuals of car stuck between rocks being pulled to safety

Heavy rainfall in the region also led to the Badrinath National Highway in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand being completely blocked with the accumulation of debris at seven places in the last 48 hours, the district administration said on Tuesday.

However, the rain continues to lash the state and the water level in the Nandakini River has also risen significantly raising an alarm.

As per Meteorological Centre Dehradun, Chamoli district received 19.8 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours.

While the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state and heavy rainfall has been predicted for the next few days.

Uttarakhand CM on Monday took stock of the situation in the state from the disaster control room of the state's secretariat.

Meanwhile, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) rescued occupants of a car that got trapped near the swollen Lambagad drain on Badrinath National Highway, with the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) having rescued around 22 devotees stuck at Jungle Chatti who were returning from Kedarnath Temple on Monday.

Read:Religion and politics were never separate: Uttarakhand CM

An under-construction bridge in Champawat also got washed away due to the spate of the Chalthi River.