Uttarakhand lashed by intermittent rains

Intermittent rains continued across Uttarakhand on Sunday, causing landslips that blocked around 100 roads, including national highways leading to the famous Himalayan temples of Kedarnath and Badrinath.

Rains and overcast conditions in Dehradun led to cancellation of Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat's tour of the rain-ravaged villages of Pithoragarh district.

Rubble containing rocks and boulders tumbling down the hills in the wake of landslides blocked around 100 highways and roads at a number of points, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) here said.

The Rishikesh-Kedarnath national highway in Rudraprayag district is blocked near Gaurikund and the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway in Chamoli district is blocked at the Baba Ashram and near Joshimath, it added.

The Tanakpur-Champawat national highway in Champawat district is also blocked by landslip debris near Belkhet and Swal, besides two border roads in Pithoragarh district, the SEOC said.

There is going to be no respite from rains in Uttarakhand for the next few days.

The MeT department has forecast isolated heavy rains over the next two days in Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Chamoli, Nainital, Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Rudraprayag and Champawat districts.