PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/ Haldwani
At least six people have died in rain-triggered incidents across the Kumaon division in the last two days. As per the administration, five people lost their lives in Almora, while a three-year-old child died in Nainital. Amidst this rain-caused devastation, the Meteorological department has issued a yellow alert, warning of heavy rain in many areas of Kumaon, particularly in Bageshwar, Champawat, Pithoragarh and Nainital districts on Thursday.
Meanwhile, 88 roads have been closed in six districts under the division till Wednesday afternoon due to landslides and debris. Nainital district is the worst affected with traffic being disrupted on many main roads as well as interior and rural roads.
Informing this, the Kumaon commissioner Deepak Rawat said on Wednesday that teams from the departments concerned had been working to reopen the blocked roads despite incessant rains and fresh landslide threat. He further stated that the Terai region considered the most vulnerable, many people in Khatima had been evacuated from the flooded places to safer locations. “The administrations in all the districts under the division are on the alert mode, prepared for any eventuality. Disaster management and relief teams have been stationed in the vulnerable areas,” Rawat said.
With no let-up in the rains, the water levels in rivers and streams continued to rise, deepening concerns of soil erosion. Things are particularly worrisome in the areas located near the rain-swollen Gaula; land is eroding rapidly in Bindukhatta. The district administration sources said that with Gaula on spate, soil erosion has deepened in Indira Nagar, Rawat Nagar, Teen Mandir, Chaura Ghat and Khuriyakhatta as well as in Lanka Tapu.
The villagers looked deeply concerned. “The fertile land and standing crops are being destroyed by the expanding river. We fear that things will worsen further in the coming days,” said a worried villager.
