Heavy rainfall alert in Uttarakhand

New Delhi, Sep 24: The India Meteorological Department on Monday has issued heavy rainfall alert for Pauri, Nainital, Dehradun and Haridwar districts in Uttarakhand.

Most of the places in the state including Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Tehri, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar received showers with around 45 rural roads blocked in these districts, the state emergency operation centre said.

The Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway was blocked at Lambagad in Chamoli district while the Rishikesh-Kedarnath Highway was blocked near Doliya Devi temple in Rudraprayag district by boulders falling in landslides, it said. The Rishikesh-Yamunotri highway was also blocked in Ojri-Dabarkot area of Uttarkashi district.

Apart from these major highways, 45 rural roads remained blocked in different districts. The MeT department has predicted heavy to very heavy showers in isolated places across Uttarakhand, especially Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts over the next 24 hours.

Heavy rains lashed parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh killing 13 people and blocking roads, officials said on Monday. At least five people were killed in a landslide in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, Army has been asked to remain on alert to help the state deal with any eventuality arising out of the situation.

The Indian Air Force rescued 21 people stranded on islets in the swollen Beas river in Himachal Pradesh over the last two days