Incessant rains disrupt normal life in Uttarakhand

Normal life was affected across Uttarakhand today as incessant rains lashed the state for over 24 hours while the higher reaches of of Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh and Uttarkashi districts receiving snowfall, bringing the state under cold conditions.
With CBSE Class 10 Board examinations beginning today school children faced difficulty in reaching their examination centres with continuing downpour affecting traffic on heavily waterlogged roads.
Even officegoers in Dehradun were seen stranded at different points waiting for autorickshaws which plied in fewer numbers.
"It has been raining for the past over 24 hours in most parts of the state including Dehradun where the downpour began at 3 am yesterday and is still continuing. In the higher reaches of hill districts like Uttarkashi, showers began on February 28 itself and are still on," head of the MeT office here Anand Sharma told PTI.

In places located 3,500 metres and above, 35-40 cm of snowfall was recorded, he said quoting ITBP sources.
Higher reaches of Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag and Pithoragarh districts are all in the grip of a cold wave.

Devprayag registered 72.2 mm of rainfall since yesterday followed by Dehradun 71.6 mm, Barkot 62.5 mm, Mukteshwar 60 mm, Uttarkashi 41.5 mm and Nainital 59.5 mm, he said.
Overcast conditions and incessant rains led to a sharp drop in day temperatures by about 9 degrees.
The minimum temperature is also likely to plummet by about 3-4 degrees in the next 36 hours if the weather clears up by tomorrow, Sharma said.

Snowfall in the higher reaches and continuous rains have also affected reconstruction work at Kedarnath where personnel of the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering are busy removing the debris brought in the wake of 2013 flashfloods.