Uttarakhand rains: One killed in landslide in Pauri, normal life disrupted

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One person died in a landslide in Pauri district on Wednesday while water levels of the Pindar river and its tributary Pranmati in Chamoli district rose again following heavy rains in Uttarakhand, threatening to flood places located along their banks.

The meteorological department has issued red or orange alerts for Wednesday in all the districts of the state.

Due to continuous rains in most parts of the state, rivers and streams are in spate and many roads including national highways are blocked for traffic, affecting normal life.

According to information received from the District Disaster Management Office of Pauri, debris suddenly fell from a hill near Ufrankhal on Jagatpuri-Ufrankhal-Ramnagar motorway in Thalisain tehsil at around 4 pm, hitting two labourers.

One of the workers identified as Heera Singh (55) died in the accident while another named Shyam Singh (35) was injured. Both the labourers were residents of Paptoli.

In Haridwar, the walls of three shops built near the Chandidevi temple caved in. However, there was no loss of life in the incident, but the administration has deployed police on the spot for security reasons, officials said.

Meanwhile, in Chamoli district, both Pindar and Pranmati are in spate following which a flood-like situation has arisen in Tharali town located on the banks of Pindar, additional information officer Ravindra Negi said.

Intermittent heavy rains have been lashing areas close to the banks of Pindar and Pranmati since August 13, he said.

Landslides also blocked several roads in the hill district.

The Badrinath national highway is blocked due to landslide debris at Chhinka and Maithana near Chamoli. The road is also blocked in Nandprayag, Pagalnala and Belakuchi, Negi said.

Schools in Dasholi and Nandnagar blocks of the district have been closed in view of heavy rains.

Heavy rains and inclement weather over the past few days in Rudraprayag district have also hit the helicopter services to Kedarnath, nodal officer Rahul Chaubey said.

Trans Bharat Aviation and Himalaya Heli - the two private aviation companies which provide helicopter services to the Himalayan temple from Guptkashi and Sirsi have had to drastically reduce the number of sorties to and from the shrine due to continuing bad weather, Chaubey said.