Amidst the torrential downpour in Uttarakhand, the Doon Defence College building in Dehradun’s Maldevta collapsed and was washed away by strong water currents on Monday morning. Due to the incessant rainfall in the state for the last 24 hours, rivers have been overflowing. The defence training academy is located on the banks of River Song, near Lalpul.
VIDEO | Dehradun Defence College building in Uttarakhand’s Maldevta collapses amid incessant rainfall. More details are awaited.(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/YUZJozBkGz
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 14, 2023
A red alert has been issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in six districts of Uttarakhand, which includes Dehradun and Nainital.
Several people have been feared to be buried in landslides triggered by the heavy rains in the state. The disaster control room in Uttarakhand said that the Alaknanda, Mandakini and Ganga rivers were flowing above the danger level at Rudraprayag, Shrinagar and Devprayag.
A number of places in the Badrinath National highway have been blocked due to landslide debris and as per information received, one person has been reported to be buried under the debris near Pipalkoti.
A flood-like situation has developed along the banks of a dozen rivers, including Alaknanda and its tributaries Pindar, Nandakini and Birhi in the Chamoli district. Pranmati, a tributary of the Pindar River was also flooded due to landslide.
Heavy rains triggered a landslide in the Laxmanjhula area of Pauri district. Senior Superintendent of Police, Pauri, Shweta Choubey told PTI that following the landslide, the debris fell on a resort in the area trapping four to five people under it.
Amidst the disaster struck state, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami conducted a meeting with senior officials to review the rain situation in the state. Following the meeting, it was decided to suspend the Chardham yatra for two days.
Several low lying areas in Rishikesh, including Chandreshwar Nagar and Sheesham Jhari have been inundated due to the heavy rains.
The rural areas near Rishikesh have been flooded and the State Disaster Response Force have been evacuating people to safer places.
(As per PTI inputs)