Uttarakhand / Naini lake overflows, floods streets, enters houses in Nainital amid heavy rain

Nainital: As incessant rain continued to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday, the Nainital Lake in Nainital overflowed flooding the iconic Mall Road and water entered buildings and houses with people seen wading in knee-deep waters. A video tweeted by news agency ANI showed water gushing through roads and alleyways as people tried to reach safety.

Meanwhile, an incident of cloudburst was reported in a village of Ramgarh in the Nainital district as teams of police and administration rushed to the spot. “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,” Nainital senior superintendent of police (SSP) Preeti Priyadarshini told ANI.

ANI also reported that an under-construction bridge over the Chalthi River in Champawat was washed away after the water level rose.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday to take stock of the situation in the state hit hard by incessant rain. PM Modi assured Dhami of all help to deal with the situation as the chief minister briefed him about the situation and said the administration is fully alert.

On Monday, at least four people, including three labourers from Nepal, were killed and two others were injured in rain-related incidents in Uttarakhand.

The news agency also reported citing officials from the Chamoli district that the Badrinath National Highway has been completely blocked due to debris at seven places. A power cut was also reported since Monday night in several areas in Chamoli, including the district headquarters.

The Badrinath Char Dham Yatra has been halted as a precautionary measure and passengers en route to Badrinath Temple were stopped in safe places. According to the district administration, 2,500 devotees, who went to Badrinath, are still at the Badrinath Temple waiting for the highway to re-open.

However, the rain continues to lash the state and Badrinath received fresh snowfall this morning. The Meteorological Centre in Dehradun said that Chamoli received 19.8mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. The water level in the Nandakini River has also risen significantly raising an alarm.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the hill state and has predicted heavy rainfall for the next few days.