High alert sounded for heavy rains in hills over next 3 days

By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 18 Aug: A high alert has been sounded regarding very heavy rains over the next twenty-four hours in three districts of Uttarakhand, namely Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Chamoli, while heavy rains and lightning-strikes are likely in districts Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and parts of Rudraprayag on 20 August. Though, no alert was sounded about Dehradun, there were reports of heavy rains in the city and other parts of the district this evening. Intermittent rains are likely to continue over the next twenty four hours in Doon.
According to the State Weather Centre, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar and Chamoli districts are likely to receive very heavy rains at many places. Intermittent showers are expected at most places, stated the report released by the Disaster Management Department of the state government this evening. As per the report, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Pauri, Almora, Udham Singh Nagar and Nainital are also likely to receive heavy rains at some places.
Director of the State Weather Centre, Bikram Singh said that almost all the regions of the state were expected to receive medium to very heavy rains. Rains would continue over the next three days in most areas.
On the other hand, there are reports of road blockages and landslides along the Char Dham Yatra routes and other parts of the hills. The Rishikesh-Gangotri Highway has not opened for traffic near Nagani even after two days. The closure of the highway due to falling of big boulders led to long queues of heavy vehicles on both sides of the highway. Small vehicles were diverted to Chamba via Gaja, while dozens of trucks carrying goods from Rishikesh remained stranded. The main pumping lines of Chamba and Ranichauri were also damaged by the debris due to construction work related to the All Weather Road project. The Rishikesh-Gangotri highway was closed at 11.30 a.m. on Sunday due to heavy debris and boulders falling from the hill near Nagani. Debris removal has started since then, but the continuous slide has hampered the debris removal work. At the same time, 20 motorways in Chamoli district are closed due to debris and landslides. The Badrinath Highway is also closed.