DEHRADUN: With the recovery of two more bodies in the Gaurikund landslide on Thursday, nine people have died in the past 24 hours in persistent rains and landslides in Uttarakhand, officials said.
Panic gripped New Tehri villages as the water level of the Tehri Lake, spread over 42 sq km, reached 816 meters.
The Tehri district disaster management office said: “There is also a danger of floods in New Tehri. Though the water level of Tehri Lake is 14 metres less than its total capacity height of 830 meters, the potential risk of landslides has increased in many villages located on the banks of the lake.
Sources in the state police said a car carrying four youths to their home from Gumkhal Market in Pauri area fell into a deep ditch due to bad roads and rain. SDRF personnel entered a deep gorge at night to reach the crashed vehicle.
Three people in the vehicle died on the spot, while a search is on for the fourth person.
In Rishikesh’s Khara Spring area, most of the houses were flooded due to the rise in the water level following excessive rains. An SDRF team evacuated about 50 people from the submerged houses and shifted them to a safe place by a raft.
“Due to incessant rains, a wall collapsed near Chaurasi Kutia in Laxman Jhula area in which two persons were buried, following which the body of an 84-year-old man named Gajanan, a resident of Rajasthan, was recovered after a search by the SDRF,” said Inspector Kavinder Sajwan.
A 12-year-old girl died after water entered her house in Majrigrant, a gram panchayat of Doiwala in Dehradun district on Wednesday night, police said. Ajay Kohli, the girl’s father, said the sudden inflow of water at night resulted in the cave-in of an adjacent house.
“Since June 1, the SDRF has rescued 1,226 people in various incidents,” said SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra. Meanwhile, the outbreak of land submergence in the disaster-hit Joshimath town does not seem to end.
Now, a 500-metre landslide has occurred below Selang in Marwari Helang bypass in the foothills of the town, while it does not pose any threat to Selang yet. Land submergence in Joshimath’s Sunil ward has threatened buildings, affecting 16 families, prompting the administration to direct five affected families to stay in relief camps.
