DEHRADUN/CHANDIGARH/BHOPAL: Heavy rain, cloudbursts and flash floods have disrupted Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, damaging roads, bridges, power and water systems, raising river and reservoir levels and forcing large rescue operations.
In Chamoli’s Niti Valley, a Border Roads Organisation employee remained missing after the Tamak stream surged on Monday evening, washing away a bridge, while Himachal reported 259 blocked roads and reports from Madhya Pradesh said 527 people had been rescued in three days.
In Chamoli, debris buried the area and vehicles were trapped in sludge. Chamoli Police, SDRF and NDRF teams began searching around 6.30 am Tuesday, joined by locals. Reduced water flow helped, but unstable terrain and heavy rubble slowed the operation. Search teams continued into Tuesday evening without a breakthrough. Dehradun, Nainital, Bageshwar
and Champawat were under orange alert, while Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Pauri, Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar were under yellow alert. Officials warned of renewed flooding, landslides and slope failures.
In Himachal, 259 roads were blocked: 120 in Mandi, 42 in Chamba, 40 in Kullu, 30 in Shimla, 15 in Sirmour, five in Kangra, four in Una, two in Lahaul and Spiti and one in Kinnaur. The Kiratpur-Manali National Highway was blocked near Jhalogi by shooting stones; the Mandi-Kullu stretch via Pandoh was affected, while the alternative Kataula route was blocked by a landslide near Kandi.
The Mandi-Pathankot Highway was blocked near Urla. About 161 transformers and 54 water-supply schemes were disrupted. Orange alerts covered Shimla, Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur and Sirmour; Kullu, Solan, Bilaspur and Chamba were under yellow alert.
Parbati Power Station-2, an 800 MW project, warned of rising reservoir levels and planned two 30-cumec releases from Pulga Dam into the Parbati River; total flow could reach about 90 cumec, with further radial-gate releases possible. AD Hydro Power Limited scheduled controlled flushing at the Allen drain on August 12, beginning with 16 cumec. Hooters, sirens and announcement vehicles were to warn people. Kullu closed schools, and colleges, except board examinations, on August 11.
In Madhya Pradesh, over 380 people were rescued in Soyat, Agar-Malwa: 250 from Bijli Officers Colony, 70 from Madhav Chowk and 60 from the Indore-Kota Highway. Three pilgrims were rescued at Ujjain’s Ramghat, while earlier rescues covered Bhopal, Vidisha, Sehore, Raisen and Khandwa. CM Mohan Yadav reviewed operations and praised rescuers.