Current affairs

Uttarakhand rains: Over 40 died and the death toll is feared to rise as the state is inundated with misery!

By alagu, 20 October, 2021
Uttarakhand, Heavy rains, BJP

The hilly state of Uttarakhand has been inundated with tears and misery as an unprecedented rainfall has lashed out its territory and has caused massive disruption to normal lives. The four days of incessant rainfall has pushed the state to brace up heavy floods, landslides, and lack of proper connectivity and amid the rescue works being deployed by the government, the people in the state fear that the death toll will increase as dozens of people are still trapped under debris. 

Uttarakhand has reported at least 46 deaths as the sequel of the heavy rains and several regions in the state have been cut off due to heavy landslides, pouring more whammies to the relief teams. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has appealed to the people who are at Chardham yatra to stay where they are and instructed that they can resume their journeys after the weather is improved.

The most number of casualties was reported in Nainital of the Kumaon region. An official said that at least 28 people were killed in Nainital while the districts like Almora, Champawat, Pithoragarh, and Udham Singh Nagar had also reported casualties. On Tuesday, the Chief Minister took an aerial survey of the inundated areas and he then interacted with the affected people to make an assessment of the damages caused. He had announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the kin of those killed in rain-related incidents and Rs 1.9 lakh for those whose houses have been destroyed. 

Speaking to PTI, Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar has said that roads, bridges, and railway tracks have been damaged in Kathgodam and Lalkuan in Nainital and Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar. He added that it will four to five days to fix the damaged tracks. It has been reported that several pilgrims from Gujarat are being stranded in the hilly state after getting caught in the middle of the heavy rains. Gurajat Revenue Minister Rajendra Trivedi has said that around 100 pilgrims of Gujarat, who had gone for the Chardham Yatra, are trapped in Uttarakhand.

Several regions in the state had reported the lack of connectivity after the fibre optic cables were cut while some areas had reported electricity outages and the state government has been working to resurrect the electricity and connectivity. As dozens of people are still trapped under the debris, it is feared that the death toll could increase in the coming days and there have been episodes of disruption to relief efforts due to bad weather and destroyed road lines.

The National Disaster Response Force, which has deployed 15 teams to the state, has on Tuesday said it has rescued over 300 people from the flood-affected areas. Three Indian Air Force helicopters have also joined to assist the rescue operations. Chief Minister Dhami has said that he remains in contact with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and added that the Union government has assured all possible assistance to the state. 

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister took to social media and wrote, "I am anguished by the loss of lives due to heavy rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand. May the injured recover soon. Rescue operations are underway to help those affected. I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being." According to reports, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting Uttarakhand on Wednesday and taking stock of the situation and rescue operations. He will be holding review meetings with the state government and the relief teams. He will conduct an aerial survey in the state on Thursday. 

 

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