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No respite in sight: Fresh rains leave trail of destruction in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand

Dehradun/Shimla, Sep 16 (PTI) Fresh heavy showers overnight ravaged the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, already bruised by a string of deadly natural calamities over the past couple of months. Three members of a family were killed as rains triggered massive landslides and flash floods in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, while five people were washed away and hundreds were stranded by cloudbursts and intense showers in Dehradun district of neighbouring Uttarakhand. Torrential waters running through the hilly slopes swept away cars, damaged houses, and commercial establishments, while in Uttarakhand, a bridge was also washed away. The downpour swelled most of the snowfed rivers and streams in these states. In Uttarakhand, the Ganga and the Yamuna were flowing close to the warning level, while the water level of the Tamsa river reached tantalisingly close to the danger mark. The Tamsa swelled rapidly in the morning, inundating the famous Tapkeshwar temple on its banks and submerging the gigantic Hanuman statue near its entrance up to the shoulders. The temple's priest, Bipin Joshi, said he has not seen the river waters rise so high in the past 25 to 30 years. Luckily, there were few devotees within the temple premises in the early morning hours when the inundation occurred, he said, adding that the priests staying at the temple are safe. The Song river, flowing at spate, flooded nearby areas in Uttarakhand, putting a bridge on the river in Maldevta in danger. The local administration responded quickly and was coordinating with each other to restore normalcy. Sahastradhara, Maldevta, Santla Devi and Dalanwala in Uttarakhand were the worst-hit by the disaster, according to the district disaster management office in Dehradun. Sahastradhara received 192 mm of rain, followed by Maldevta (141.5 mm), Hathi Barkala and Jolly Grant (92.5mm each) and Kalsi (83.5 mm) in just a few hours. The state's Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said teams have been engaged in relief and rescue operations in the affected areas, while 300 to 400 people have already been moved to safety. About 200 children trapped by waterlogging at the Devbhoomi Institute campus in Paundha area of Dehradun were rescued by an SDRF team, said Banshidhar Tiwari, Director General, Information. Residents of Majhara village were on the road, having survived what they called a landslide that hit their dwellings early in the morning. They claimed that some people have gone missing. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the rain-affected areas of Dehradun district to review the situation on the ground. Local MLAs and senior officials accompanied him. Interacting with reporters in the rain-hit Maldevta area, he said, "All rivers are in spate following heavy rains. Roads have been breached at 25 to 30 places. Approach roads are cut off. Houses and government properties have been damaged. Normal life is severely affected. Rescue teams are working on a war footing to restore normalcy." "The state government stands with every affected family. The administration is already on alert mode, and the NDRF, SDRF, police and local administration are active," he said. The chief minister's office, in a social media post in Hindi, said Dhami has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the situation in Uttarakhand following heavy showers. They assured the state of all possible help and asserted that the Union government stands firmly with the people of Uttarakhand in this hour of crisis, according to the CMO. Dhami inspected the Maldevta and Kesarwala areas of Dehradun district, hit hard by heavy rains, and took stock of the situation. He directed officials to speed up relief and rescue operations and assured the locals of all assistance. For neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the situation was equally bad. State capital Shimla received 141 mm of rain in 12 hours since Monday evening, followed by Nagrota Suriyan 135.2, Bhattiyat 80 mm, Sundernagar 60.5 mm, Brahmani 54.4 mm, Guler 54.2 mm, Mandi 52.6 mm, and Kangra 50.5 mm. The state has witnessed 46 cloudbursts, 97 flash floods and 140 landslides so far this year. With 650 roads, including stretches of three national highways closed, 1,250 power transformers and 160 water supply schemes already disrupted, the latest bout of showers exacerbated the situation. A flash flood triggered by the downpour submerged the main bus stand in the Dharampur area of Mandi district, washing away several vehicles. Two women and a child died when their house collapsed on them in Bragta village of the district following a landslide. Shopkeepers and residents faced severe losses as floodwaters gushed into shops, damaging goods and infrastructure. Preliminary estimates suggest losses amounting to several crores. Officials said the rains led to floods in the Son and Bharand streams in Dharampur. Himachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri, who also holds charge of the transport department, took to Facebook to report that two dozen state transport buses, shops, a pump house and a workshop in and around the Dharampur area have been damaged. In Shimla, several vehicles were buried following a landslide near Himland in the heart of the city, and the main circular road was blocked. Reports of rains triggering landslides and uprooting trees in BCS-Vikas Nagar area, PMT colony, Jhanjheri and some other areas of the town have also poured in. Restoration works are underway, officials said. Thunderstorms were witnessed in Shimla, Jubbarhatti, Kangra, Bhuntar, Jot, Murari Devi and Sundernagar while winds gusting up to 37 kmph lashed Bilaspur, Bajaura and Kufri. A total of 412 people have died in rain-related incidents and road accidents since the onset of the monsoon over the state on June 20 to date, while 41 are still missing. A total of 232 people died in rain-related incidents, while 180 were killed in road accidents. PTI ALM BPL NSD NSD

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