Heavy rains batter U'khand, 60 die

At least 60 people were killed and hundreds of others rendered homeless in heavy rains in Uttarakhand during the past 48 hours. The rains triggered cloudbursts, landslides and floods.

With water in major rivers like Ganga, Yamuna, Kosi and Ramganga crossing danger levels, floods pose fresh threats to states like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. Most of the reservoirs are overflowing with the level in the mega Tehri hydel project reaching an alarming 827.3 metres.

All the schools in the state have been closed for three days from tomorrow. A worried Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank sought the immediate help from the Centre and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare Uttarakhand disaster-affected. Nearly 1,200 roads have been damaged due to the heavy rains with vast agriculture land also washing away.

The Chief Minister was monitoring situation constantly and has asked the administration to quicken rescue process and relief operations despite the heavy rainfall.

Officials here said the rescue and relief works were being hampered due to heavy rains. The state government has sought the help of army, ITBP and other para military forces for relief and rescue operation.

The Ganga was flowing two meter above the danger mark at Haridwar inundating several areas of the district with Har-Ki-Pairi submerging completely into the gushing waters. Similarly, Yamuna, Kosi, Ramganga and other major rivers in the state were flowing above the danger mark with authorities issuing warning to people living close to these rivers to move to safer areas.

The Meteorological department also issued fresh warning of landslides and cloudbursts in the next 48 hours in the state.

The worst affected district was Almora in the state where several villages were struck by heavy landslides killing 32 people, Disaster Management Secretary Rakesh Kumar said. The administration has evacuated scores of villages as the landslides struck terror in the state.

A total of 175 people have been killed so far in the state during this monsoon season with Dehra Dun registering 3,018.3 mm rainfall breaking the all time previous record of 2,930 mm of 1966.