Red alert for most of Uttarakhand; CM asks officials to maintain 24X7 vigil

Predicting extremely heavy rains to very heavy rain for the next two days, the meteorological centre has issued red and orange alerts for most of Uttarakhand. Following the warning, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday directed the officials to remain alert round the clock.

Red alert has been issued for Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and Haridwar for Monday, predicting extremely heavy rain at some places and heavy to very heavy rain at some places. For September 2, the Met office circulated an orange alert for very heavy to heavy rain at some places in Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Bageshwar districts.

Amid the forecast, schools have been closed in many districts, including Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and Champawat.

The CM, in a meeting with senior officials, said that the coming few days will be challenging, and appropriate steps should be taken to ensure the safety of common people.

Dhami asked the State Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman to monitor the situation from the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), given the high possibility of landslides and waterlogging in many areas.

He also took stock of the ongoing relief and rescue operations in the disaster-hit areas and directed the commissioners of both Garhwal and Kumaon divisions to work expeditiously for the rehabilitation of the affected people.

The CM also instructed officials to keep a close watch on the water level of the rivers in the next few days and said that this monitoring should be continued even at night.

Meanwhile, two youths, including a woman, died on Sunday due to heavy rains in Tehri district. The incident occurred when they, on a two-wheeler, were hit by stones on the Rishikesh-Gangotri National Highway in the Narendranagar area, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Ankit Jain (25) of Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh and Rajni Rawat, a resident of Kotdwar in Pauri district.

According to the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), in another incident, the body of a person missing since Saturday evening in the Munsiyari area of ??Pithoragarh district was found lying near Leti Chalthi Barsaati Nala in Kotalgaon. The deceased has been identified as Ramesh Ram.

Another body was recovered on Sunday from the debris of houses damaged by a landslide in Pausari village of Bageshwar district on Friday. Two people are still missing in the incident.