Uttarakhand: One killed as cloudbursts bury houses in Tehri district

One person was killed as heavy rains triggered a series of cloudbursts in Ghansali area of Tehri district on Saturday damaging a number of houses in Balganga valley and disrupting Char Dhaam Yatra leaving hundreds of pilgrims stranded along Lambgaon, Kotalgaon and Chamiala en-route to Kedarnath. 

Fifteen-year-old Vipul was swept away by a flood of mud and slush brought on by the cloudburst in Sarna Raunsal village, neighbouring Kemra, Ghansali SHO Pawan Kumar said. District Magistrate in-charge Ahmed Iqbal said, "Ghansali SDM Vinod Kumar alongwith a team of police personnel has been sent to the affected area to take stock of the situation. "The cloudbursts took place at about 3 pm today over Kothiara village bringing around 50 residential houses under loads of debris. About a 100 animals were also buried alive under the debris. People ran for their lives as the cloudbursts took place."

Iqbal said, As the cloudbursts took place during daytime, people were alert enough to run to safety. Similar cloudbursts took place at Kemra and Siliara villages washing away the Siliara motor bridge. 

A number of two wheelers and cars were also buried under tonnes of debris that inundated the villages. Two storeys of Ambedkar Hostel were buried under the rubble. Twenty residential houses in Kemra and fifty in Siliara came under rubble. A flash flood razed the Brightlands Public School building in Gir village, Iqbal said. 

A large number of residential houses at Gangar village were buried under the debris but so far there have been no reports of human casualties. SDM Vinod Kumar said, "The Ghansali-Akhori motor road has also been blocked because of heavy rains and the stranded char dhaam pilgrims are being evacuated to safety.