Houses damaged due to cloudburst

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

Cloudburst at two places in Chamoli district led to extensive damage to property and blockade of 32 internal roads early on Monday. The cloudburst that occurred in Kundi (Ghat Tehsil) village and Ratgaon (Tharali tehsil) between 1.30 am and 2.30 am extensively damaged more than a dozen houses and vehicles. No casualty has been reported, though two buffaloes were also swept away in Mokhmalla village in Ghat tehsil.

District officials in Chamoli said efforts were on to remove debris and rocks that had blocked the roads. “Pokeland machine and JCBs have been pressed into service in these places. In some places the rescue teams are manually removing the boulders,” said MS Barniya, Additional District Magistrate, Chamoli.
He said the relief work was on since morning. Rescue teams had been sent to assist the villagers in the relief work.

In Kundi village, five houses and in Mokhmalla around 10 houses were damaged as gushing water entered the houses. In Ratgaon village around 15 shops are said to have been submerged in water. The gushing water also swept away three motorcycles, one car, six Mahindra jeeps that were parked nearby.
The Rishikesh-Badrinath highway has been opened for small and light vehicles. Earlier at Karnprayag the road was blocked for some time due to the falling debris. According to the District Disaster Management Centre, Chamoli, received 73 mm of rainfall, Ghat 51mm and Tharali 16.1 mm of rainfall. In Karnprayag river Pindar and Alaknanda river are in spate.

Meanwhile, the seventh batch of pilgrims for the Kailash Mansarovar yatra was sent to Gunji through a helicopter. As many as 57 pilgrims had been waiting for the past seven days and were unable to move to Gunji due to inclement weather. The pilgrims, who had completed the Mansarovar yatra and were stranded at Gunji, were also sent to Pithoragarh through a helicopter.