Uttarakhand: Rainwater inundates homes near Rishikesh

New Tehri: Incessant rains lashed Uttarakhand's Tehri district on Thursday with rainwater inundating homes in Muni ki Reti area near Rishikesh and landslips blocking the national highways to Badrinath and Gangotri, a senior official said.

Rainwater gushed into nearly 100 houses and huts in Kharasrot, a low lying area near Muni ki Reti at around 11.30 pm on Wednesday night, Narendra Nagar Sub Divisional Magistrate DS Negi said.

SDRF personnel shifted the families living in the inundated houses to safe locations in a late night rescue operation, he said.

Water is being pumped out of the houses while intermittent rains continue, the official said. Cabinet minister and Narendra Nagar MLA Subodh Uniyal also visited the affected area and asked authorities to provide the affected people with essentials like food, drinking water and beds.

Tehri's Disaster Management Officer Brijesh Bhatt said mounds of debris following landslides have blocked the Rishikesh-Badrinath highway at Malakunti, Timlapani, Atali and Shivpuri.

The Rishikesh-Gangotri highway is also blocked around three kilometres beyond Bhadrakali. Efforts are on to open the highways but continuing showers are a hindrance, Bhatt said.