24-hour heavy rain alert for U'khand; authorities keep vigil

The Meteorological (MeT) department today issued a 24-hour heavy rain alert for a number of places in Uttarakhand, especially those located in the Kumaon region, prompting authorities to put the entire administrative machinery on vigil.

Heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places especially in Pithoragarh, Nainital, Champawat, Udham Singh Nagar, Dehradun, Haridwar and Pauri districts during the next 24 hours, the MeT office said.

Secretary Disaster Management Amit Negi said officials all over the state have been alerted in view of the MeT department warning but the situation is normal so far.

State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been deployed at 31 locations and there is a ban on any employee on field duty taking leave till September 15, he said.

JCBs and Pokland machines have been stationed at spots vulnerable to landslides so that roads could soon be opened in case they are blocked by landslides.

Pilgrims on the Mansarovar yatra are safe and efforts are on to ensure that flow of information and communication lines under any circumstances are maintained, the official said.

Seventy four satellite phones have been made available to the district magistrates and two helicopters are being arranged one each for the Kumaon and Garhwal regions to deal with emergencies, Negi said.

A woman, identified as Narayani Devi, was killed after being hit by boulders falling from a hillside following a landlside at Madkot in the Munsiyari area of Pithoragarh district yesterday, Kishan Ram (35) was swept away by the swirling waters of the Gonmuni river at Harkot in the same area, the State Emergency Operations Centre here said.

There is also information about a man being injured in the area, it said.

Two hydel power projects, a number ofroads and bridgeshave been damaged and several homes inundated by rubble brought by rains in Pithoragarh district.

The five megawatt Himalaya Hydro Pvt Ltd has been partially damaged while Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut NigamLtd's under-construction Surnigad small hydroelectricity project has suffered damages worth over Rs 2.51 crore.