New Delhi, Oct 19: Uttarakhand reported at least 42 rain-related deaths on Tuesday with many people still trapped under the rubble after landslides, while Uttar Pradesh witnessed four fatalities, even as heavy downpour in Kerala filled several dams to the brim and multiple districts were on alert.
In view of the incessant rains, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reiterated his appeal to Chardham yatris to stay where they are and not to resume their journeys before the weather improved
“The number of casualties in Kumaon region alone has crossed 40,” DIG Nilesh Anand Bharne said.
The hill state had reported five deaths on Monday.
Of the 42 fresh deaths, 28 people were killed in Nainital district, six each in Almora and Champawat and one each in Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar districts, the official said.
Chief Minister Dhami undertook an aerial survey of the rain-hit areas and later interacted with the affected people on ground zero to make an assessment of the damages caused.
He announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the next of kin of those killed in rain-related incidents across the state over the last two days.
Director General of Uttarakhand Police Ashok Kumar, who accompanied Chief Minister Dhami on a visit to the rain-hit areas of the Kumaon region, said roads, bridges and railway tracks have been damaged in Kathgodam and Lalkuan in Nainital and Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar.
It will take at least four-five days to repair the damaged tracks, Kumar said.
Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters have arrived in the state and are assisting in relief and rescue operations. Two of them have been deployed in Nainital district, which has suffered extensive damage due to cloudbursts and landslides, Dhami said.
Nainital was cut off from the rest of the state with three roads leading to the popular tourist spot blocked due to a series of landslides. Dozens of tourists were stranded in some parts of the state.
According to a rough estimate, around 100 pilgrims from different parts of Gujarat who had gone to Uttarakhand for the Chardham Yatra were stranded following heavy rains and landslides, Gujarat Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi said.
The National Disaster Response Force has rescued over 300 people from flood-affected areas of Uttarakhand, the federal force said on Tuesday.
The NDRF has deployed 15 teams in the state.
Rainfall was reported from other parts of the country as well including Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, according to the IMD, which forecast an intense spell of rain over east and northeast till Wednesday, and south peninsular region during next four-five days.
Authorities in the national capital said Prof Joginder Singh Marg in the western part of the city had been closed after the road caved in.
A 35-year-old woman and her mother-in-law died in Uttar Pradesh’s Fathepur after a wall of their house collapsed following heavy rains.
In Bareilly, also in UP, two labourers died of electrocution in Bisalpur road after coming in contact with a solar panel following heavy rains, police said.
In West Bengal, the Met department said heavy rainfall is very likely to continue till Thursday morning even as the low-pressure system that developed over the Gangetic Basin in the southern part of the state moved to Bihar, parts of which received heavy rains during the day. (PTI)
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