Weather clears up in Uttarakhand, rivers receding

After a prolonged spell of intermittent rains, weather in Uttarakhand cleared up today, allowing water level of many swollen rivers to start receding.
Although still flowing close to the danger mark, the Ganga at Haridwar receded to 292.70 metres, a notch below the level it was flowing at a few days back, an official said.
It was flowing at above 293 metres, just a few centimetres below the danger mark of 294 metres, a couple of days back.
Light to moderate rainfall was recorded at many places in the state till this morning but after that, the weather remained largely clear throughout the day, the State Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre said.

Haldwani in Nainital district received 100 mm rainfall, whereas Nainital town was lashed by 55 mm of showers, after which the weather got cleared.
The MeT department has predicted light to moderate rains in the state during the next 24 hours, they added.

Meanwhile, major national highways of the state including Rishikesh-Kedarnath, Rishikesh-Badrinath, Rishikesh-Gangotri and Rishikesh-Yamunotri are still closed, the DMMC said.
In Kedarnath, a 40-member team today began work on building a bridge over Mandakini to substitute the older one washed away in the June calamity.
With the proposed date for resumption of prayers at the shrine drawing near, the team of 30 PWD and 10 revenue department personnel has started work on building the bridge, Rudraprayag Disaster Management Officer Meera Kaintura said.

The team was dispatched yesterday to expedite work on the bridge for ensuring that all arrangements are in place before resumption of regular prayers on September 11, she said.
The PWD personnel will construct the bridge, while the revenue department will assess the damage caused by the calamity.