DEHRADUN: The floods that hit Uttarakhand this monsoon has caused damage worth nearly Rs 1,000 crore to roads, private buildings and agricultural land in the state.
The devastating floods have so far claimed 70 lives while 37 people were injured and 19 were reported missing.
State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) PRO Lalita Negi told The New Indian Express that most of the 250 pilgrims stranded on the Second Kedar Madmaheshwar pedestrian route have been rescued by the teams of SDRF and local police. The state government has arranged a helicopter to rescue the stranded pilgrims.
On Wednesday, 103 people trapped following the collapse of a bridge in Madmaheshwar have been rescued by the SDRF team. The rescue operation lasted for several hours on Tuesday and Wednesday. Many of the rescued passengers are also from Delhi, Punjab, Chandigarh and Nepal.
In the last 5 days, Khoh River and Behera Spring have caused havoc in Kotdwar and surrounding areas. As many as 19 buildings were damaged in Kashirampur Talla and Bahera rivulet due to the rains. Local residents could not even recover from the incident that on the night of August 13, both the rivers again swelled and 33 buildings were submerged in the river.