Heavy to very heavy rain lash parts of India; doctor killed in Uttarakhand

NEW DELHI, July 11: Heavy to very heavy rain lashed parts of India on Saturday, with Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh among the worst-hit as landslides blocked roads and disrupted public life.
According to the India Meteorological Department, very heavy rainfall was recorded over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, East Uttar Pradesh and Meghalaya, while heavy rainfall was recorded over West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, West Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
In Uttarakhand, heavy rainfall triggered landslides, blocking 120 roads, including three national highways, while around 100 pilgrims were escorted to safety across a washed-out stretch of the Yamunotri National Highway after the route remained cut off for two days.
According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), a massive accumulation of debris completely blocked the highway at Syanachatti in Uttarkashi district on Thursday after incessant rain triggered a landslide that washed away nearly 100 metres of the road.
Rescue personnel secured a rope along an alternative path and carefully guided the stranded travellers across one by one.
The national highway had been blocked for two days, the officials said, adding that repair work is underway but is being hampered by continuous rain and fresh debris and stones falling from the hillside.
In Chamoli distirct, a doctor was killed when he was inspecting construction work of a health centre, which was damaged by a landslide and flash floods on June 28.
Dr. Naveen Dimri (45), a resident of Devaldhar village in Chamoli’s Gopeshwar, was posted as the in-charge of the Narayanbagad Primary Health Centre.According to police, the accident occurred in the afternoon on the premises of the health centre when Dr. Dimri was inspecting construction work undertaken to repair damage caused by a landslide and flash floods on June 28.
In landslide-hit Kerala, search operations continued for the fifth day at the tunnel project site in Kalladi to locate the remaining missing person, a Himachal Pradesh native. Officials said that search operation will continue on July 12. (PTI)