U'khand: Five washed away in rain; landslides in state

Five persons including two children were killed today in rain-related incidents in Uttarakhand which received light to medium rainfall in its various parts, resulting in landslides that also obstructed national highways in the hill state.
Four persons including two children and a woman were washed away while crossing a seasonal drain in Rishikesh, police said.
The incident took place in afternoon at Rani Pokhri area, when the four persons were crossing the drain, but were swept away in the stream, after the water level in it suddenly rose, police said.
One of the victims has been identified as Mahendra Singh, 75, a resident of Bhogpur village.

In a separate incident, a 19-year-old youth was washed away in an overflowing drain in Pratapnagar tehsil in Tehri district, police said.
The victim has been identified as Gaurav Singh Panwar, a resident of Kholgadh village, according to the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority.

The rain today also obstructed vehicular traffic on several roads including national highways on the Char Dham routes in the state.
According to Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, there were reports of light to medium rain in parts of the state including in capital Dehradun.
In last 24 hours, Dehradun received 46 mm of rain, Bageshwar 40.5 mm, Nainital 30 mm, Champawat 28 mm, Rishikesh 24 mm, Kichcha 22 mm and Haldwani registered 21 mm.

The roadways affected due to landslides include Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway, which is obstructed in Chamoli district. Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway is obstructed due to landslides at Netala, Malla, Laldang and Sukhitap, while Rishikesh-Yamunotri National Highway is obstructed at Silaiband due to debris, the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority said.
A team of Border Road Organisation (BRO) is clearing away the debris to restore traffic on the roads.