DEHRADUN: At least 15 people are feared dead in three separate cloudbursts in Uttarakhand on Saturday. Rescuers have recovered four bodies, the authorities said, adding the state government has sought Army’s help in the rescue work. Officials said more than a dozen people are either trapped under debris or missing. The injured are admitted at Jollygrant and Max hospitals.
Three separate cloudbursts triggered a flood-like situation across the state, including Rishikesh, early Saturday morning. Five people were killed and two bridges were washed away. Dozens of people have been injured and many more are missing after a house collapsed in Pauri district. A woman was also killed in a cloudburst in Kirti Nagar in Tehri district and seven members of a family are buried under the house debris.
State Disaster Management Department’s Additional Secretary Anand Shrivastava told TNIE that 13 people are still missing, four bodies have been recovered and 13 people are admitted in various hospitals.
The authorities have suspended Char Dham Yatra.
Before the cloudburst on Saturday, tremors were felt in Munsiyari area of Pithoragarh on Friday. People came out of their homes in panic. The tremors were felt in Thal, Tejam, Nachni, Bangpani, Askot areas of the district. According to the Disaster Management Department, the epicentre of the earthquake was in Tezam tehsil.
Meanwhile, state Congress Committee president Karan Mahra said the BJP government, which took credit for the all-weather road, has been exposed. He demanded proper compensation for the disaster-hit people and said they should be shifted to safer places.
“The bridge may be very old but due to the connivance of officials and contractors, such accidents are happening every day,” he said. “Had the administration and the government taken cognizance earlier, the disaster could have been avoided,” he added.