Major rivers in spate following heavy rain

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, August 3

Water level in most rivers has witnessed an increase following incessant rain in the state. More than 100 rural roads are still blocked while several rivers are flowing near the danger mark.  

The rain lashed most parts of the state on Friday. The Rishikesh-Yamunotri national highway continued to be blocked in the Ojri and Dabrakot areas. The Tanakpur-Champwat highway is also blocked at Swala Mandir. 

The Rishikesh-Gangotri road is blocked at Junglechatti. The authorities are working round the clock to clear the debris and open these roads for traffic at the earliest.

Connectivity, particularly in rural areas, has also suffered due to rains. As many as 20 rural roads in Dehradun district, 19 in Chamoli district, 25 in Pauri district, 14 rural roads each in Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Tehri districts, nine rural roads in Rudraprayag district and five rural roads in Uttarkashi district are  blocked due to rain-triggered landslides.

Major rivers are in spate at various places in the state.  The Ganga in Haridwar has touched 292-m mark. The water level in the Kali river in Pithoragarh has reached 888.90-m mark. The Met office in Dehradun had on Thursday issued an alert for heavy rain at isolated places up to August 5. The alert has now been extended up to August 6. 

Life in various parts of Dehradun also came to a standstill following heavy rain. In the early hours of  Friday, embankment of the Song river caved in following which water entered several villages.  In Dehradun city, most of the roads were inundated as rain continued throughout the day. Several low-lying localities such as Manjra and Bharuwala were flooded. The Mokhampur area falling on the Dehradun-Haridwar highway was submerged. Two seasonal rivers, Bindal and Rispana, were carrying large volumes of waters  putting the administration on caution note.