Red Alert Issued as Water Levels Rise in Uttarakhand after Rains, Landslides, and Six Lives Lost
Authorities in Uttarakhand have issued a red warning after torrential rains and landslides there on Sunday resulted in the deaths of six people. The water level has risen in all major rivers, including the Ganga, and additional rain is expected over the next two days.
The state’s chief minister, Pushkar Singh Dhami, asked residents to refrain from needless travel and urged pilgrims to arrange their journeys only after receiving the most recent weather reports in order to minimize disruption. He claimed in a tweet that he had ordered the government to stay in “red alert” status to handle any crisis.
Landslides closed many routes, disrupting daily life and the Char Dham pilgrimage, for which thousands of pilgrims go to the state. According to authorities, the water level of the state’s main rivers, including the Ganga, was increasing.
In the Muni ki Reti region of the Tehri Garhwal district, a vehicle carrying 11 Kedarnath pilgrims overturned into the Ganga. Five persons were saved and the corpses of three pilgrims were found with the assistance of divers, according to State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) Inspector Kavindra Sajwan. The remaining three missing persons are the subject of a search effort.
The travelers were citizens of Hyderabad, Bihar, and Delhi. According to Inspector in-charge of Muni Ki Reti police station Ritesh Sah, the accident happened on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway between Malkunti bridge and Hotel Anand Kashi close to Gular.
Five rescued people, according to Sah, have been taken into the Rishikesh government hospital. In the Udham Singh Nagar district’s Kashipur region, several trees were uprooted. Two homes in Missarwala village, in the Kashipur region of the district, fell as a result of heavy rains, killing a couple and hurting their granddaughter.
The fatalities have been named as Naseer Ahmed, 65, and his wife Mohammadi, 60, by the Uttarakhand State Emergency Operation Center. Mantasa, the 18-year-old granddaughter of the couple, suffered injuries in the event and was taken to the hospital. Another incidence occurred in the town of Barkot in the Uttarkashi district, when a police officer who was on duty died after being struck by a stone in a landslide.
Another house guard stationed nearby who narrowly avoided the stone fall. On Yamunotri National Highway, where Head Constable Chaman Lal Tomar, 45, was assigned to ensure commuter safety, the event occurred. He was taken to a nearby hospital in a hurry, where medical staff pronounced him dead.
Ranjit Kumar Sinha, the secretary for disaster management, has directed the district magistrates to exercise care and take the necessary safety measures in light of the increasing river levels. They have requested that the authorities regularly check the rivers’ water levels, advise people not to turn off their cell phones, and let visitors to travel around in higher Himalayan areas during heavy rain warnings.
In a tweet, the Uttarakhand Police urged the Kanwariyas to exercise caution in light of the Ganga’s rising water level in Haridwar. Meanwhile, eight of the state’s 13 districts—Chamoli, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar—were expected to see significant rainfall on July 11 and 12.
