After disrupting normal life for nearly four days, Uttara-khand today heaved a sigh of relief from heavy rains that adversely affected power and tourism in the state and also left over 15 people dead.
The overall damage, vis-a-vis last year, when over 200 people were killed, was far less in the state this time, said Payush Rautela, executive director of the Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre.
Reports from different parts of the state said only scattered rains occurred in some pockets today with floods in major rivers like the Ganga, Kosi and the Ramganga receding considerably. The power generation during the past two days came to a halt due to excessive floods and silt.
However, the government-owned UJVN, the main power generation company, said it was expecting the power generation to normalise by tomorrow. “In the morning, our power generation was around 3.3 million units but we are hoping to bring it to the level of 15-16 million units by tomorrow,” said K B K Mishra, UJVN’s director of operation. The company, on an average produces 20 million units per day during the monsoon season.
A red alert has already been sounded in the state where heavy rains triggered landslides and floods, forcing the government to suspend the ‘chardham yatra’ for a week and close schools for two days.
Thousands of tourists have already left the state due to the heavy downpour.
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Chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said the blockades along the roads led the government to suspended the chardham yatra for a week. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been asked to increase its efforts in terms of machinery and labour to rapidly clear the debris.
Nearly 15 people have been killed at various areas of Almora, Uttarkashi and Rudraprayag districts during the past 3-4 days. Education minister Khajan Das had earlier announced a two-day holiday in all government and non-government schools in the state.
The heavy rains have badly affected industrial activities like transportation of raw material and finished goods. Significantly, the damage to agriculture and horticulture crops was also less this time. “We have not received any complaint so far,” said Vinod Fonia, secretary, Horticulture.