U'khand rains: Resorts in Lakshman Jhula area ordered to cancel bookings

Days after five members of a family from Haryana were killed at a resort in Lakshman Jhula area after it was hit by a landslide, the Pauri district administration on Friday asked resort owners and camp operators in the popular tourist spot to cancel the bookings till further orders in view of heavy rains.

Debris of a landslide fell on Monday on a resort named Night Paradise Camp in Lakshman Jhula area burying a family of six from Haryana's Kurukshetra and Panipat districts inside.

The lone survivor, a 10-year-old girl, was rescued alive hours after the tragedy but the bodies of the rest of them were pulled out of the debris one after another over the past few days.

The order asking resort owners to cancel the bookings till further orders has been issued for the safety of tourists, Lakhshman Jhula Station House Officer (SHO) Vinod Gusain said.

"Saving lives is the administration's top priority. An order like this has been issued for the safety of tourists," he said.

Strict legal action will be taken against anyone who violates the order, the SHO said.

Torrential rains in Uttarakhand flooded Pranmati River, a tributary of Pindar River, in Chamoli district causing the inundation of the low-lying areas near it, an official said on Friday.

Chamoli's disaster management officer NK Joshi said the sudden rise in the water level mixed with debris at the confluence of Pranmati and Pindar rivers on Thursday night briefly interrupted the river's flow, causing the inundation of the low-lying areas near it.

The death toll stemming from Monday's rain-related incidents in Uttarakhand stands at 10. Three people, including a mother-son duo, are missing in rain-related incidents in Pauri and Rudrapryag districts.