Dehradun: As many as 40 people, including 19 laborers at a project, are missing after flash floods and cloud bursts ravaged Uttarakhand. The government Sunday asked the ITBP, police and army for help.
Twelve people have already died in the calamity, said officials.
The government asked the army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and state police to search for the 19 laborers who went missing at a hydro-project in Assi Ganga in Uttarkashi, about 180 km from here, late Saturday, officials said.
The government also confirmed the death of 12 people, including three children, in the flash floods, cloud bursts and incessant rains that have ravaged the sub-Himalayan state.
Officials told IANS that as many as 40 people were missing across the state, including in Garhwal, Uttarkashi and Chamoli.
With rains continuing in many parts of the state, rescue operations are getting affected, officials said.
Also, due to landslides and washing away of roads, the annual Char Dham yatra has been halted, said officials.
A cluster of homes was washed away in the Gangotri after a bridge collapsed due to rain.
The water levels in Bhagirathi, Alkananda and Yamuna rivers are running at danger levels, officials said.
Also, all major hydro-projects have been shut down following torrential rains. Three small state-run hydro-projects in Uttarkashi district have also been damaged.
Producing an average of 18-20 million units a day during the monsoon, the hydro-projects have been stopped due to fear of silting and fears of damage.
Earlier, incessant rains and cloudburst inflicted heavy damage in the Manali region of Himachal Pradesh. Roads remained blocked in many regions and hundreds of tourists were stranded on the famous Leh-Manali National Highway -21.
– with inputs from IANS
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