3 Killed In Flood-Related Incidents in Uttarakhand's Haridwar

 Three people, including a seven-year-old child, died in flood-related incidents caused by incessant rains in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, officials said on Friday.

According to information received by the State Emergency Operation Center, Satpal (47) in Habibpur Kundi village of Laksar and Ajay Kumar (27) in Basedi Khadar drowned after being swept away in flood waters.

In Roorkee, seven-year-old Aliusa died after a wall collapsed on her following heavy rains in the area.

State Disaster Management Department (SDMD) Additional Secretary Savin Bansal said due to heavy rains across the state for the last few days, a waterlogging situation has arisen in many areas, especially in Haridwar.

He informed that the State Disaster Management Authority has prepared a flood map after analysing the area through 'Microwave Satellite Data'.

The flood map has been made available to the Haridwar district administration, which would help them in planning and implementing relief and rescue operations on time, he said.

Mr Bansal said that analysis of satellite images has revealed that 511 villages in the district have been affected by waterlogging and the district administration has been instructed to carry out relief work in these villages on a priority basis.

The State Emergency Operation Center said people in the affected villages of Laksar, Bhagwanpur, Haridwar and Roorkee were being shifted to safer places and food packets, drinking water and relief kits were being distributed to them.

Apart from this, assistance is also being given to the affected families, it said.

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Police and Army have been deployed at sensitive places in the flood-affected areas of Haridwar.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday inspected the flood-affected areas in Haridwar and directed the officials to provide immediate assistance to the affected.

Many roads in the state have been closed due to landslides. The Rishikesh-Kedarnath National Highway is blocked for traffic due to landslides near Khakra and Naogaon, efforts are on to clear the routes.

In Pithoragarh district, the wall of a suspension bridge connecting India to Nepal was damaged on Thursday night. Keeping in view the safety of the people, the movement on the bridge has been stopped.

The Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Central Air Command, Air Marshal Ravi Gopal Krishna Kapoor met Mr Dhami on Friday and expressed his concern over the load capacity of new bridges being built in the state.

During a meeting at the Chief Minister's residence here, Air Marshal Kapoor said that the load capacity of the new bridges should be proposed to be at least 24 tonnes so that heavy vehicles of the Indian Air Force and the Army can move easily

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