DEHRADUN: In Uttarakhand, eight people were killed in three separate incidents amid heavy rains in several areas of the state due to continuous bad weather. Relief teams have recovered five bodies, search is on for the remaining three. Six people are feared dead when an SUV jeep carrying passengers from Sonprayag fell into the river. In Kashipur, a couple died when the roof of a house collapsed, while in Jwalapur, the roof of two houses collapsed.
Inspector Kavinder Sajwan of the SDRF rescue team told The New Indian Express, "At around 3 am on Sunday, the SUV Max vehicle coming from Sonprayag to Rishikesh went out of control and fell into a ditch on the banks of the Ganga river under the national highway between Malkunthi bridge to Hotel Anand Kashi."
"Amid adverse conditions, deep divers of SDRF carried out intensive search operations at possible locations and recovered 03 bodies and handed them over to civilian police," said Inspector Kavinder, adding, "The search operation has been suspended due to bad weather and rising water level of the river." A search will be conducted at the spot again tomorrow morning."
In Kashipur, according to police sources, two houses were damaged by rain in the wee hours at Missarwala village of Udham Singh Nagar district, killing Naseer Ahmad Shah (65) and his wife Mohammadi (60) from being buried under the debris. While one child was seriously injured, he has been admitted to a government hospital. The open gym near the ground was completely damaged due to the collapse of the temple wall in Shantipuri.
According to the information received, Sikander lives with his family in Mohalla Ghosiyan in Jwalapur, Haridwar, his house is an old construction. Sikander and his wife Bano, who were sleeping inside, were injured when the roof of the house suddenly collapsed on Saturday morning due to rain for the past several days. Both were pulled out and taken to hospital for treatment in critical condition by the police. At the same time, the roof of a house in Kaithwara mohalla has also collapsed.
Due to rains, landslides and road blockades, the state government has banned tourists coming from outside the state and going towards the mountains for the time being. As many as 195 roads, including inter-district and main roads, are still blocked in the state. The state meteorological department has predicted a repeat of the weather till July 12. The district administration of Nainital has announced the closure of all educational institutions till July 13.
The State Disaster Management has issued instructions to the District Magistrates of 6 districts to remain on alert mode. Nainital District Magistrate Vandana has declared a three-day holiday from Monday to Wednesday in all educational institutions and Anganwadi centres operating from class 1 to 12 in all government, semi-government and private schools of the district.
Rudraprayag District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar told The New Indian Express, "Even today, 3500 pilgrims have gone to visit Kedarnath. Except for one or two places, the route is completely smooth."
Details of bodies recovered
Ravi, 35 S/o Korma Rao, Resident Bodhan Rajan Mandalam Vijayanagar, Andhra Pradesh
Saurabh, 25, son of unknown resident Shivpura, Bihar
Abhijeet, 25, son of Devakram resident of Maujpur Shahdara, Delhi
List of missing passengers
Ankit Singh Rana S/o Mangal Singh Rana, Resident of Badasu Phata, Ukhimath Rudraprayag, Driver
Atul, 24, S/o Vinod, resident Sarna District Shivpura, Bihar
Akshay, 28, son of Manoj, resident of Varvidya Darshani district Shivpura, Bihar
