The India Meteorological Department has issued red and orange alerts for most parts of Uttarakhand, warning of extremely heavy to very heavy rain over the next two days.
A red alert has been sounded for Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and Haridwar on Monday, with predictions of extremely heavy rain in some places. An orange alert has been issued for September 2 for very heavy to heavy rain in Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Bageshwar.
Schools have been closed in several districts, including Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri and Champawat, as a precaution.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reviewed the situation on Sunday with senior officials. He said the coming days would be challenging and directed the administration to remain on high alert round-the-clock. He asked the State Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Secretary, Vinod Kumar Suman, to monitor the situation from the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC). He also told commissioners of Garhwal and Kumaon to speed up rehabilitation work for the affected people.
The CM stressed that river water levels must be closely tracked in the coming days, even during night hours. He also reviewed ongoing relief and rescue efforts in areas already hit by disasters.
Meanwhile, heavy rains claimed two lives in Tehri district on Sunday. A man and a woman riding a two-wheeler died after being hit by falling stones on the Rishikesh-Gangotri highway in Narendranagar. They were identified as Ankit Jain, 25, from Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, and Rajni Rawat from Kotdwar in Pauri district.
In Pithoragarh district, the body of a man missing since Saturday evening was found near Leti Chalthi Barsaati Nala in Kotalgaon. He was identified as Ramesh Ram.
Another body was recovered on Sunday from the debris of houses damaged by a landslide in Bageshwar’s Pausari village. The incident took place on Friday. Two more people are still missing in the same tragedy.
ALso read: Uttarakhand braces for heavy rain, rescue teams on alert
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