Landslides triggered by rains; Ganga breaches danger mark, alert issued in Haridwar

Rains lash Uttk, trigger landslides, Ganga crosses danger mark in Devprayag & warning level in Haridwar. 71 villages in Laksar, Khanpur, Roorkee, Bhagwanpur & Haridwar affected.

Rains lashed many places in Uttarakhand on Sunday, triggering landslides that blocked several roads, even as the Ganga crossed the danger mark in Devprayag and the warning level in Haridwar due to heavy release of water from the dam on the Alaknanda river.

According to officials, the Ganga was flowing at 463.20 metres following which water filled up in Sangam Ghat, Ramkund, Dhaneshwar Ghat and Fuladi Ghat. There was also a tremendous jump in the water level of the Ganga after 2,000-3,000 cusecs of water was released from the dam of the GVK hydroelectric project built on the Alaknanda river.

Tehri District Disaster Management officer Brijesh Bhatt said the district administration is making frequent calls to warn people to stay away from the banks of the river. He said the water level of the Ganga in Muni ki Reti area of ​​Tehri near Rishikesh also increased to 339.60 metres, which is 0.10 metre above the warning level of 339.50 metres.

Officials said the Ganga crossed the warning level of 293 metres and reached 293.15 metres in Haridwar Sunday evening, adding that an alert has been issued in the low-lying areas due to the increased level of the river.

The State Disaster Operation Centre has directed Haridwar District Magistrate Dheeraj Singh to repair Gate No. 10 of the Bhimgoda barrage at the earliest to avert any heavy losses due to the high-speed water flowing through the breached gate.

Rain toll points to man-made disaster in Himachal Pradesh 

A flood-like situation is prevailing in 71 villages of Laksar, Khanpur, Roorkee, Bhagwanpur and Haridwar tehsils due to incessant rains in the past few days.