Dehradun: Incessant rains and landslides in Uttarakhand claimed five lives on Sunday and authorities in the hill state have sounded a red alert as water level was rising in all major rivers, including the Ganga, amid a forecast of more heavy showers in the next two days.
In view of the inclement weather, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami urged the people to avoid unnecessary movement and has requested pilgrims coming to the state to plan their journey only after getting the latest weather information to avoid inconvenience.
In a tweet, he said he has directed the administration to remain on 'red alert' mode to deal with any kind of situation.
Several roads were blocked due to landslides, affecting normal life as well as hindering the Char Dham pilgrimage for which lakhs of people visit the state. The water level of major rivers of the state including Ganga was rising, officials said.
A jeep carrying 11 pilgrims from Kedarnath fell into the river Ganga in the Muni ki Reti area of Tehri Garhwal district . State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) Inspector Kavindra Sajwan said that with the help of divers, five people wee rescued and the bodies of three pilgrims were recovered. A search operation is on for the other three missing people.
The passengers were residents of Delhi, Bihar and Hyderabad.
The accident occurred between Malkunti bridge and Hotel Anand Kashi near Gular on Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway, Inspector in-charge of Muni Ki Reti police station Ritesh Sah said.
Sah said that five rescued passengers have been admitted to the government hospital in Rishikesh.
A large number of trees were uprooted in the Kashipur area of Udham Singh Nagar district. Due to heavy rains, two houses in Missarwala village of Kashipur area of the district collapsed, killing a couple and injuring their granddaughter.
According to the Uttarakhand State Emergency Operation Centre, the deceased have been identified as Naseer Ahmed (65) and his wife Mohammadi (60). The couple's granddaughter Mantasa (18) was injured in the incident and has been admitted to the hospital.
Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha has instructed the district magistrates to be vigilant and take adequate precautions in view of the rising water level of the rivers.
They have asked to continuously monitor the water level of the rivers, not to switch off their mobile phones and not to allow any movement of tourists in higher Himalayan regions during heavy rain warnings.
The Uttarakhand Police has also tweeted and asked the Kanwariyas to be vigilant in view of the rise in the water level of the Ganga in Haridwar.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department here predicted heavy rains on Sunday in Uttarkashi, Tehri and Dehradun districts and on July 11 and 12 in eight of the state's 13 districts- Chamoli, Pauri, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar.
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