By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun/Rudraprayag, 9 Aug: Rains continue to wreak havoc in Uttarakhand. Yet another case of massive landslide occurred in Gaurikund early this morning and, as a result, 3 children were buried in the debris. The entire picture turned gloomy with people crying in grief of losing their loved ones. In another incident, a huge boulder fell on a vehicle carrying passengers on the Yamunotri Highway, killing one passenger and injuring others.
In Gauri village of Gaurikund, three children of Nepalese origin were buried under the debris after being hit by a landslide. NDRF, SDRF and the local police teams pulled out the three children from the debris with the help of local people. Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said that these children were brought to Gaurikund Hospital for treatment, where doctors declared two children dead, while the third one is undergoing treatment.
Meanwhile, stones and boulders started falling near Ozri Dabarkot along with Yamunotri Highway and suddenly a heavy boulder fell on one vehicle passing below. The boulder broke through the window of the car and entered inside, killing one passenger and injuring several others. Continuous rains are resulting in boulders and debris falling in several places along the Yamunotri Highway making the traffic movement very difficult during past few days. In Kotdwar, another bridge collapsed and due to heavy rains, several houses were buried under debris in Chuna Maheda village of Kotdwar. At least one person is reported to have died as a result.
On the other hand, a BRO JCB operator died after being hit by a stone that fell from a hill in Pithoragarh and another person lost his life in Mongoli area near Nainital after being swept away in a drain due to strong currents during the rains. In yet another incident, a delivery boy riding a bike died after a tree fell on him during rain late last night in Rudrapur’s Dineshpur.
The rains have caused great destruction in Kotdwar. In Chuna Maheda of Dugadda block, houses have been reported buried due to a massive landslide. District administration officials have left for the spot. Here a bus also got trapped in the debris. Police-administration teams are busy in rescuing people from the bus
It may be recalled that yesterday, too, a massive landslide occurred on the Rudraprayag-Gaurikund highway due to which a hotel in Rampur on the highway collapsed. At the same time, the highway between Agastyamuni to Sonprayag remains blocked at many places. It is being said that this hotel was the oldest hotel in the city. It had already been evacuated before it collapsed.
More than 40 metres of road including a culvert on Rudraprayag-Gaurikund Highway has also collapsed due to heavy landslide at Devidhar near Khumera in Kedarghati. Direct connectivity to Sonprayag, Gaurikund and Kedarnath has also been cut off due to the blockade of the highway. The Badrinath highway remained closed for seven hours due to a massive landslide near the Agastyamuni police station. The highway was reopened by NHAI at 3 pm.
