Uttarakhand: Landslides triggered by rains; Ganga breaches danger mark

Rains lashed many places in Uttarakhand on Sunday triggering landslides that blocked several roads even as the Ganga crossed the danger mark in Devprayag and the warning level in Haridwar due to heavy release of water from the dam on the Alaknanda riverAccording to officials the Ganga was flowing at 46320 metres following which water filled up in Sangam Ghat Ramkund Dhaneshwar Ghat and Fuladi Ghat There was also a tremendous jump in the water level of the Ganga after 20003000 cusecs of water was released from the dam of the GVK hydroelectric project built on the Alaknanda riverTehri District Disaster Management officer Brijesh Bhatt said the district administration is making frequent calls to warn people to stay away from the banks of the river He said the water level of the Ganga in Muni ki Reti area of Tehri near Rishikesh also increased to 33960 metres which is 010 metre above the warning level of 33950 metresOfficials said the Ganga crossed the warning level of 293 metres and reached 29315 metres in Haridwar Sunday evening adding that an alert has been issued in the lowlying areas due to the increased level of the river The State Disaster Operation Centre has directed Haridwar District Magistrate Dheeraj Singh to repair Gate No 10 of the Bhimgoda barrage at the earliest to avert any heavy losses due to the highspeed water flowing through the breached gateA floodlike situation is prevailing in 71 villages of Laksar Khanpur Roorkee Bhagwanpur and Haridwar tehsils due to incessant rains in the past few days The rescue and relief operations are being carried out with the help of the National Disaster Response Force NDRF State Disaster Response Force SDRF army and state policeThe abutment of a bridge on the JoshimathMalari road was damaged due to debris and excess water flowing into the Girthi Ganga river at Niti Ghati in Chamoli districts Joshimath they said According to the disaster management department this bridge was only used by the Army and the IndoTibetan Border Police The Dehradun Meteorological Centre has issued an orange alert warning of heavy rain in all 13 districts of Uttarakhand on MondayAn orange alert is issued as a warning for extremely bad weather with the potential for disruption in commuting with road and drain closures and interruption of power supply Meanwhile the water level of the Kali river in Pithoragarhs Dharchula area is also flowing above the warning level of 889 metres In Roorkee Bhagwanpur Laksar and Haridwar tehsils 3756 families have been affected in 71 villages Of these families 81 have been shifted to relief camps they saidFive people have died in these areas due to the floods Seven houses have been completely damaged and 201 suffered partial damage Seventeen roads and nine bridges have also been damaged due to the heavy rains in Haridwar they added At 70 mm Kapkot received the maximum rainfall in the state in the last 24 hours according to the State Emergency Operation CentreMussoorie received 61 mm rainfall Karnprayag 57 mm Chamoli 544 mm Nagthat 53 mm Mohkampur 48 mm Vikasnagar 41 mm and Uttarkashi 39 mm The officials said 20003000 cusecs of water was released from the Srinagar Hydro Electric Project dam in Pauri district as the Alaknanda river was flowing above the warning level the officials said The State Emergency Operation Center has instructed the district magistrates of Tehri Pauri Dehradun and Haridwar to take necessary precautions they saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever