An Indian Air Force chopper flew several sorties in Nainital district sprinkling water lifted from a lake to douse the raging forest fires across Uttarakhand.
Arora slipped off the makeshift bridge and fell into the Mandakini river which was is spate following heavy rains in Rudraprayag district, officials said.
Three members of a family were on Monday killed in a house collapse as a fresh spell of rains stalled relief operations in flood-ravanged Uttarakhand, where the authorities said that the number of people missing has mounted to over 4,700.
An overcast sky and low visibility at places on Wednesday did not come in the way of air rescue operations in rain-hit Uttarakhand, even though a thin veil of early morning fog briefly delayed flight of choppers from Sahasradhara helipad and Jollygrant airport.
Flash floods and landslips triggered by the monsoon fury left eight more persons dead, taking the number of people killed in calamity-hit Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to 138 even as 2700 pilgrims and locals were rescued from Rudraprayag and Chamoli districts.
This is the first time after 25 years, that Himachal received snowfall on Christmas day, officials said.
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With no information coming from the administration about their missing kin, they are preparing to visit Kedarnath and Rambada and scour tonnes of debris lying in these areas in search of the bodies of their relatives so that they can perform their last rites.
The Garhwal region collectively has deposits worth Rs 2,100 crore and advances worth Rs 1,000 crore.
This classification of districts is to be followed by states and union terrotories till a week post May 3, when the second phase of lockdown will end, for containment operations.
Inclement weather badly hampered cremation of bodies and removal of debris at Kedarnath on Friday besides affecting distribution of relief in over 200 segregated villages where people have lost their homes and are faced with acute foodgrain shortage.
With the majority of pilgrims evacuated from Badrinath, disposal of bodies lying in affected areas and transportation of relief material to locals in flooded villages on Sunday posed a fresh challenge to authorities in Uttarakhand.
Two major hydel projects being built by construction majors GVK and L&T have suffered severe damages in the floods which hit Uttarakhand last week.
Rain water gushed into the town from the summit behind the famous shrine carrying rocks and boulders, destroying everything on its path.
Nine Congress MLAs, most of them Bahuguna loyalists, rebelled against Harish Rawat and supported BJP's claim to form a government.
The recent tragedy confirms the view of humanitarian aid as a political weapon
The temples committee has already posted a request to devotees on its website to contribute towards the rebuilding.
Imposing a blanket ban on construction of houses and commercial establishments along the banks of rivers, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Monday announced setting up of a statutory body to look into planning and development of the flood-hit areas of the state.
Fires are blazing across Jammu and Kashmir, the state of Uttarakhand and have reached the doorstep of Himachal Pradesh's capital city Shimla.
'For lakhs of people in the flood-afflicted state, battling against the elements is taking a huge toll. This is the time of the year that apples ripen, rice starts being harvested and preparations start in full swing to put aside some of the food stocks for the long winter months ahead. At this moment, though, people there believe if they can succeed in coming out of this calamity in one piece they will have won the war,' says Rashme Sehgal.
To avert another Uttarakhand-type catastrophe, we must change course. We should stop pandering to the Indian elite's insatiable appetite for electricity, which is driving reckless dam construction, says Praful Bidwai
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