23 die in Uttarakhand rains

Dehradun/ Nainital: Twenty-three more persons were reported killed in Uttarakhand on Tuesday as houses collapsed due to incessant rain in various parts of the State, leaving many trapped under the debris.

The death toll now stands at 28 with the Kumaon region being the worst hit. Five deaths were reported on Monday, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC). Eighteen deaths were reported from Nainital, three from Almora and one each from Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar districts on Tuesday, the SEOC said. In Nainital, five persons went missing after three houses, including a hut, collapsed following landslides in Kainchi Dham, Chaukhuta and Ramgarh villages. One person went missing in Almora and two in Champawat district, it said. Director-General of Police Ashok Kumar, who accompanied Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on a visit to the rain-hit areas of the Kumaon region, said roads, bridges and railway tracks have been damaged in Kathgodam and Lalkuan in Nainital and Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar. It will take at least four-five days to repair the damaged tracks, Kumar said. Nainital remained cut off from the rest of the state for the second day as landslides blocked three roads leading to the district. The district's Mall Road and the Naina Devi temple located along the banks of the Naini lake were flooded, while a hostel building was damaged due to landslides.

Around 100 people were stranded at the Lemon Tree resort on the Ramnagar- Ranikhet route after water from a swollen Kosi river entered the resort. Electricity, telecom and internet connectivity in Nainital have also been hit badly. Three Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters have arrived in the state and are assisting in relief and rescue operations. Two of them have been deployed in Nainital district, which has suffered extensive damage due to cloudbursts and landslides, Dhami said.