Nature's fury: 200 vehicles washed away, rescue ops hit

Dehradun, June 17: Sixthy people were killed while several went missing after record spells of shower and floods severely affected various parts of north India over the last two days. More than 12 people were killed in Rudrapayag district of Uttarakhand while 15 were killed in various districts of Uttar Pradesh. Over 100 houses were destroyed while fields were submerged.

Two hundred vehicles were washed away in the nature's fury, including a bus which was buried in a landslide in Almora district. Three people were killed in the incident. The state capital also witnessed flood conditions as well as Rudrapayag and Udham Singh Nagar.

More than 24,000 pilgrims were stranded along a mountain route to Kedarnath, a religious site. The Indian Air Force sent helicopters to evacuate the pilgrims as roads were blocked and destroyed in the adverse weather conditions.

Army and paramilitary personnel were rescuing scores of people stranded at their rooftops. The state government was preparing to provide food parcels and drinking water pouches to be airdropped among the stranded people. Rescue operations were, however, hindered by the adverse conditions.

The Ganga is flowing above the danger mark in Haridwar and Hrishikesh. To make matters worse, the Met office has predicted that rain will continue for at least three more days.

In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, 10 persons were killed while nearly 1,000 tourists were left stranded in the Sangla Valley. Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh was also stuck in Sangla since Saturday night.

The situation was bad in Haryana also where the water level rose alarmingly, killing 22. Over 1,000 were left stranded here as well.

Heavy rain lashed New Delhi where the airport was badly affected by waterlogging. Large traffic jams were reported from the capital and also areas like Noida. Trees were uprooted in the national capital, causing extensive damage.

Showers were comparatively lighter in Mumbai than predicted. The city's municipal corporation has asked people not to leave home unless it is urgent as rain was predicted ovr the next couple of days.

OneIndia News