Central team visits U'khand to assess damage caused by rains

An inter-ministerial team of officials from the Centre Friday visited Uttarakhand's Chamoli district to assess the damage caused by cloudbursts, landslides and other rain-related incidents since June.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens of livestock buried alive in separate incidents of cloudbursts and landslips which struck villages near Gairsain and Joshimath besides those located in Dewal and Ghat blocks of the district during monsoon.

Lambagad, Faldiya, Lakhi, Banjabgad and Fali villages of the district were devastated by these incidents.

According to a report submitted by the district administration to the central team, losses worth around Rs 40 crore were caused due to such incidents, District Disaster Management officer N K Joshi said.

The seven-member inter-ministerial team was led by Joint Secretary of the disaster management ministry Sanjiv Kumar Jindal.