U'khand cloudburst aftermath: Water flow damages roads in Dehradun

DEHRADUN: The aftermath of the cloudburst in Uttarakhand on Saturday had intense repercussions as reports of heavy water flow damaging various roads came to the fore.

"We have received reports of water entering various premises and damage to roads in many areas. SDRF and NDRF carrying out relief and rescue and restoration operations," Commandant of SDRF Dehradun, Manikant Mishra said. Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inspected the affected areas in Sarkhet village in Dehradun's Raipur where a cloudburst incident was reported on Saturday.

The water washed out multiple properties and entered several buildings disrupting the everyday lives of the commoners. Dhami ordered the State Disaster Management Department and other administration officials to be on the alert mode in a view of the devastation following heavy rainfall in the Garhwal division including Dehradun.

"Our disaster management team, SDRF teams and other administration officials have reached the areas where heavy rains wreaked havoc overnight. I am also trying to reach the spot to inspect the rescue operations," Dhami said.

A cloudburst occurred in Raipur block in the Dehradun district of Uttarakhand in the early hours of Saturday. The cloudburst was reported by locals at 2.45 am on Saturday in Sarkhet village in Raipur block. State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team rushed to the spot after getting information.

The Chief Minister also directed all the concerned departments to reach the affected areas. "All the people stuck in the village were rescued while some took shelter in a resort nearby," said SDRF.

"Due to the continuous torrential rains since yesterday, the Tamasa river flowing near the famous Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple in Dehradun has taken a formidable form. Due to this the contact of Mata Vaishno Devi Cave Yoga Temple and Tapkeshwar Mahadev has been lost, and the pool has also been damaged.

By the grace of God, there has been no loss of life or property," said Acharya Bipin Joshi, the founder of the temple. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall triggered flash floods near Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Katra town in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

In view of the heavy rains and flash floods, the upward movement of devotees in Mata Vaishno Devi temple was stopped for some time. "In the wake of heavy rainfall, upward movement of pilgrims to Vaishno Devi temple has been stopped from Katra.

Priority is given to pilgrims coming downwards. Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have already been deployed, The situation is being monitored. No untoward incident reported so far," said Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board.

However, the movement to the shrine has been resumed now. Earlier in July, a cloudburst struck the holy cave area of Amarnath which resulted in a heavy discharge of water in the 'Nallah', adjoining the holy cave, following which the route to Amarnath was damaged, it the yatra was on halt for some time.

Four Mi-17V5 and four Cheetal helicopters of the Indian Air Force were also deployed for rescue and relief efforts at the Amarnath shrine. The Yatra began on June 29, from Jammu amid tight security arrangements made by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) along with the army and the local police.

The Amarnath shrine pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, is held from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.