As reported by the news agency PTI, severe rains struck numerous areas of Uttarakhand on Sunday, causing landslides that closed multiple highways and caused the Ganga to cross both the danger and alert levels in Devprayag and Haridwar, respectively. According to officials, the Ganga reached a flow of 463.20 metres before Sangam Ghat, Ramkund, Dhaneshwar Ghat, and Fuladi Ghat began to fill with water.
Following the release of 2,000–3,000 cusecs of water from the dam of the GVK hydropower plant erected on the Alaknanda river, a significant increase in the Ganga’s water level was observed.
According to Brijesh Bhatt, the disaster management officer for the Tehri District, once the water level rose, the district government frequently called residents to warn them to avoid the riverbanks. In addition, he noted that the Ganga’s water level in the Muni ki Reti neighbourhood of Tehri, close to Rishikesh, rose to 339.60 metres, which is 0.10 metre above the alert threshold of 339.50 metres.
The Ganga surpassed the 293-meter alert threshold and reached 293.15 metres at Haridwar on Sunday night, according to the officials. They added that the elevated river level has prompted the issuance of an alert for low-lying areas, according to PTI.
To prevent any severe losses brought on by the high-speed water streaming through the breached gate, the State Disaster Operation Centre has given the Haridwar District Magistrate Dheeraj Singh instructions to fix Gate No. 10 of the Bhimgoda barrage as soon as possible.
According to PTI, 71 villages in the Laksar, Khanpur, Roorkee, Bhagwanpur, and Haridwar tehsils are experiencing conditions similar to flooding as a result of the recent nonstop rain.
Along with the army and state police, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force are conducting rescue and relief operations. They said that debris and extra water flowing into the Girthi Ganga river at Niti Ghati in Joshimath’s Chamoli district caused damage to the abutment of a bridge on the Joshimath-Malari road.
Only the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police used this bridge, according to the disaster management division.
Issued is an orange alert Uttarakhand’s 13 districts
All 13 districts of Uttarakhand have received a “orange” signal from the Dehradun Meteorological Centre on Monday, warning of heavy rain. When the weather is exceptionally poor and there is a chance that there will be power outages, road closures, and drain closures, a “orange” alert is issued as a warning.
The water level of the Kali River is also rising above the 889-meter alert level in Pithoragarh’s Dharchula region.
3,756 families in 71 villages within the Roorkee, Bhagwanpur, Laksar, and Haridwar tehsils have been impacted. According to the meteorological office, 81 of these families have been relocated to relief camps, according to PTI. Due to the flooding, at least five individuals have perished in these places. Seven homes sustained total damage, and 201 others sustained partial damage. According to them, Haridwar’s severe rains have also caused damage to nine bridges and seventeen roadways.
