Moderate to heavy rains on Monday continued to lash most parts of Uttarakhand disrupting the ongoing Chardham yatra and paralysing normal life with major rivers flowing near danger level in the state. Haldwani received the maximum rainfall (65 mm) followed by Rishikesh (58 mm), Pantnagar (43 mm), Nainital (38 mm) and Banbasa (36 mm), the Met office said here. It has predicted that present weather conditions would prevail for the next twenty-four hours with many places expecting to get moderate to rather heavy rainfall while heavy rains at isolated places in the state. Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre, the state government's nodal agency for disaster management, had yesterday issued a red-alert in the state and asked district magistrates to put their staff on high alert.
Due to the heavy rains, around 75 people have lost their lives while 150 houses have so far been flattened in different areas during this monsoon season.
The Chardham yatra comprising pilgrimage to four hill shrines — Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri — continued to be affected by heavy rains.
Rain-triggered landslides occurred at number of places in Garhwal Hills. Apart from the yatra routes, several other roads in the state have also been blocked due to the landslides.
Disaster management teams comprising of police, ITBP and BRO personnel are working round the clock to clear the debris and repair the roads, officials said.
Due to the heavy rains especially in the hilly areas, the water-level of Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries have reached danger level in the state. While the Ganga is flowing near danger level in Rishikesh, it has crossed the red mark in Haridwar prompting authorities to issue an alert in the area. Pilgrims have also being advised not to bath in rivers.
Rain-fed rivers like Sukhi, Kailash, Gola and Pili were also overflowing due to heavy rains inundating several low-lying areas.