Cloudbursts, landslides in Uttarakhand: 5 killed, 11 missing
Dehradun (PTI): Five people were killed and eleven others went missing as heavy rains and a series of cloudbursts wreaked havoc in various districts of Uttarakhand early Friday, triggering landslides that damaged houses and left people buried under mounds of rubble, officials said.
Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Bageshwar districts bore the brunt of the natural calamity which came close on the heels of the Tharali disaster on August 23.
Uttarakhand has been hit hard by natural calamities this monsoon season. Before the disaster in Tharali in Chamoli, a devastating flash flood in the Kheer Ganga river in Uttarkashi district on August 5 demolished nearly half of Dharali -- the key stopover en route to Gangotri with many hotels and homestays, and neighbouring Harsil, where an Army camp bore the brunt of the flood fury, barely giving time to the victims to run to safety.
A total of 69 people went missing, including nine Army personnel, 25 Nepali nationals, 13 from Bihar, six from Uttar Pradesh, eight from Dharali, five from areas close to Uttarkashi, two from Tehri and one from Rajasthan.
The Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) here said excess overnight rainfall damaged nearly half-a-dozen houses in Pausari gram panchayat in Kapkot area of Bageshwar district, killing two persons and leaving three missing and one injured.
Two bodies have been recovered, one person has been rescued in an injured condition in Begeshwar while three others are still missing, the USDMA said.
A house and a cowshed were buried under the landslide debris in Mopata village of Chamoli district, killing a couple and leaving another injured, Chief Development Officer Abhishek Tripathi said.
Twenty-five livestock are also reported to be missing in Chamoli district, the USDMA said.
Incessant rain and landslides in Basukedaar area of Rudraprayag district have caused heavy damage in more than half-a-dozen villages, the officials said.
Disaster Management Secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said a woman died in a house collapse at Jakholi in Rudraprayag district, adding three cloudbursts occurred in the district.
Rudraprayag Superintendent of Police (SP) Akshay Prahlad Konde said there is information about four locals and as many Nepalis getting trapped under debris in Chenagad area. With the road broken at seven-eight places, rescue teams are facing difficulties in reaching the place, he said.
A house has been damaged in Syur village of the same area and a car parked on the road has been swept away by the debris. The ravines on both sides of Badeth, Bagaddhar and Taljaman villages are flooded.
SDRF IG Arun Mohan Joshi said 70 people left stranded in Taljaman and Kund villages of Rudraprayag district have been moved to safer places.
Videos on social media showed rescuers helping stranded people precariously cross through raging streams using ropes.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to the district magistrates concerned through video conferencing and asked them to ensure that relief and rescue operations are carried out rapidly in the affected areas.
NDRF, SDRF, DDRF and revenue police teams have rushed to the disaster-hit districts but are facing difficulties in reaching the affected areas due to broken roads, the officials said.
Incessant rains and cloudbursts also caused heavy losses in Budha Kedar area of Tehri district where sheds built for livestock and temples were buried under the debris.
Locals said that a toilet and the courtyard of a house in Genwali village of Budha Kedar area of Ghansali were hit by the landslides.
The security wall built by the irrigation department after the disaster last year also got washed away due to debris and heavy rains. Due to continuous rains, the Balganga, Dharmganga and Bhilangana rivers are in spate, triggering panic among the locals.
Potato fields were also buried under the rubble, former village head of Genwali Kirti Singh Rana said. However, there is no report of any loss of life in this.
The water level of Alaknanda and its tributaries and Mandakini river is continuously rising due to continuous rain. Police are alerting the people living on the banks of the river by making announcements.
The Badrinath national highway was blocked due to debris at many places in Chamoli-Nandprayag, Kameda, Bhanerpani, Pagalnala, Jilasoo, Gulabkoti and Chatwapipal.
In Rudraprayag district too, the Badrinath national highway is closed at Sirobgadh while the Kedarnath highway has been blocked at four different places between Banswara (Syalsaur) and Kund to Chopta.
According to the administration, teams are working on the spot to open the route.
Pilgrims have been requested to set out on the journey only after taking information about the road and to follow the updates issued from time to time by the police and administration.
The MeT department has issued a red alert of heavy to very heavy rains for Bageshwar, Chamoli, Dehradun and Rudraprayag districts of Uttarakhand over the next 24 hours.
An orange alert of heavy to very heavy rains has also been issued for Champawat, Haridwar, Pithoragarh, Udham Singh Nagar and Uttarkashi districts during the period.
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2nd phase of Bengal poll: 39.97 per cent polling till 11 am amid sporadic violence
Kolkata (PTI): Nearly 40 per cent of the 3.21 crore electors voted till 11 am of the second phase of polling in West Bengal amid sporadic violence, while tension gripped the Bhabanipur seat briefly as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari took swipes at one another in the same booth area.
Voters queued up from 7 am outside booths in Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas and Purba Bardhaman districts, which form Bengal's electoral and political core.
Of the total electorate eligible to vote in this phase, 1.57 crore are women, and 792 are third-gender.
Till 11 am, West Bengal recorded 39.97 per cent polling with Purba Bardhaman registering the highest turnout at 44.50 per cent, followed by Hooghly at 43.12 per cent and Nadia at 40.34 per cent.
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Howrah recorded 39.45 per cent polling, while North 24 Parganas registered 38.43 per cent. Kolkata North and Kolkata South recorded 38.39 per cent and 36.78 per cent turnout, respectively.
South 24 Parganas, a politically crucial district witnessing several high-profile contests, recorded 37.9 per cent voting.
The first phase of polls in 152 Assembly seats of West Bengal on April 23 also recorded more than 41 per cent polling till 11 am.
"Polling is underway peacefully, barring some minor incidents in certain areas. We have sought reports from the officials concerned," a poll panel official said.
The early-morning convergence of Banerjee and Adhikari at the same booth area in Chakraberia turned Bhabanipur -- the chief minister's electoral bastion -- into the centrepiece of the day, reinforcing the symbolic weight of their prestige battle seen as a rematch of Nandigram, where the BJP leader had defeated her in 2021.
Banerjee was already seated outside the booth after receiving complaints of alleged intimidation of local TMC leaders when Adhikari arrived there amid heavy deployment of central forces.
Stepping out of his car, Adhikari declared, "I will not allow any hooliganism", while Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to "rig" the election using central forces, police observers and election officials.
"BJP wants to rig this election. Polls in Bengal are usually peaceful. Is there goonda raj here?" Banerjee told reporters, alleging CRPF personnel had visited the homes of TMC leaders late Tuesday night and unleashed terror in the area.
She alleged that election observers were acting at the BJP's behest and claimed TMC workers were being selectively targeted across districts.
Adhikari dismissed the charges as signs of "frustration", claiming Banerjee had realised that "not a single vote" was coming her way.
Banerjee, who usually steps out of her Kalighat residence late in the day to cast her vote at Mitra Institution School, broke convention and hit the ground before 8 am, moving through Chetla, Padmapukur and Chakraberia, underlining the stakes attached to Bhabanipur and the wider battle for south Bengal.
Reports of violence, vandalism and tension surfaced from several districts.
In Nadia district's Chapra, a BJP polling agent was allegedly assaulted inside a booth during a mock poll. The BJP accused TMC supporters of attacking its agent, while the ruling party denied the charge. In Shantipur, a BJP camp office was found vandalised.
In South 24 Pargana's Bhangar, the ISF alleged that its polling agents were prevented from entering booths.
Howrah's Bally constituency saw tension at a booth in Liluah after an EVM malfunction delayed voting, prompting central forces to lathi-charge agitated voters. Two people were arrested in the matter.
Police and RAF personnel were also seen chasing away crowds near a booth in Amdanga following complaints of unlawful gathering by bike-borne supporters.
In Panihati, BJP candidate Ratna Debnath, the mother of the RG Kar victim, faced protests and her car was allegedly stopped by TMC workers, while in Jagaddal, the recovery of a firearm near a polling booth triggered tension before police and central forces restored order.
BJP candidate from Basanti assembly constituency in South 24 Parganas, Bikash Sardar, on Wednesday, alleged that "200-250 TMC goons" attacked his car and assaulted his driver when he was visiting polling booths in the constituency.
The TMC did not immediately respond to the allegations.
Unlike the first phase, where the BJP sought to defend its north Bengal gains, the final round has shifted the battle squarely to the TMC's strongest belt.
In 2021, the ruling party had won 123 of these 142 seats, leaving just 18 for the BJP and one for the ISF. For the BJP, breaching this southern fortress remains critical if it hopes to mount a serious challenge for power in the state.
