Uttarakhand / Video shows car stuck in U'khand landslide rescued by earthmover in gushing water

New Delhi: A car & its occupants were rescued by the BRO (Border Roads Organisation) on Monday after it got stuck in a landslide near Lambagad drain near Badrinath National Highway because of incessant rainfall.

According to ANI, debris has blocked Uttarakhand's Rishikesh-Badrinath highway and has damaged dozens of vehicles in Sirobagad. The link road of Khankhra-Khedakhal-Khirsu has also been blocked due to landslides.

For the past four days, the area has been lashed with incessant rains which triggered the landslides.

Precautionary measures

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Uttarakhand. "Heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls very likely at isolated places over Uttarakhand and West Uttar Pradesh," IMD said in its daily weather bulletin issued on Monday morning

As a precautionary measure, the Badrinath Yatra has been halted and passengers en route to Badrinath were stopped in safe places.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed the disaster management department, police administration, and all-district magistrates to remain on alert.

Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority, Department of Disaster Management has appealed to all local residents and travellers to maintain vigil, distance from river drains and stay in safe places following the warning. Passengers travelling to and from Uttarakhand are also requested to plan their journey in view of the weather warning and have been appealed to avoid travelling during this period.

Five people, including three labourers from Nepal, died and two others were injured with incessant rains lashing Uttarakhand for the second consecutive day on Monday. The labourers were staying in a tent at Samkhal near Lansdowne in Pauri district when rubble flowing down from a field above due to the rains buried them alive, District Magistrate Vijay Kumar Jogdande was quoted by PTI.

In another incident, two people were killed when their house collapsed, following a landslide in Selkhola in Champawat district, the State Emergency Operation Centre here said. All schools across Uttarakhand from class 1 to 12 remained closed on Monday, while a ban was imposed on trekking, mountaineering and camping activities in the high altitude areas of the state, including the Nanda Devi biosphere reserve and various forest divisions, till Tuesday as a precautionary measure the report further stated.