Uttarakhand: Cloudburst in Nainital; several people feared trapped under debris

Dehradun, Oct 19: Several people are feared trapped after cloudburst incident was reported at a village in Ramgarh of Nainital district in Uttarakhand.

"Some injured have been rescued from the spot where cloudburst occurred in a village of Ramgarh in Nainital district, their actual number is yet to be ascertained," said Nainital SSP Preeti Priyadarshini.

Rain has wreaked havoc in Uttarakhand where 16 people have been killed so far, while the entire the entire area of Ramgarh's Talla has been submerged in rain water.

Kedarnath and Badrinath-bound pilgrims have also been requested not to proceed on their journey till the weather clears. Most of the pilgrims on way to Badrinath are staying in Joshimath and Chamoli, Chamoli district disaster management officer N K Joshi said. Around 4,000 yatris out of a total of 6,000 in Kedarnath on Sunday have returned while the rest are lodged in safe locations.

Many of them have been stopped in Linchauli and Bhimbali as a precautionary measure, Rudraprayag disaster management officer N S Singh said. The Chardham Devasthanam Board said the yatra has been temporarily halted for the sake of safety of pilgrims in view of the heavy rain alert issued by the Uttarakhand meteorological department for October 17-19.

It has been raining in Kedarnath since Sunday night but the Mandakini river is flowing at its normal level. A Devasthanam Board official said regular prayers at the four Himalayan temples are continuing and pilgrims staying there are safe.

Pilgrims headed for Yamunotri have been asked to stay in Badkot and Jankichatti, whereas those en route to Gangotri have been asked to stay in Harsil, Bhatwari and Maneri, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Mayur Dikshit.