Groups of tourists on trekking expeditions, people crowding at eating joints, devotees flocking shrines -- life in cloudburst devastated Leh district is gradually limping back to normal. As you enter the Changspa village, the scenes are a contrast to the death and devastation visible a week ago after cloudburst and flashfloods hit the region on August 5.
Based on detailed analysis of weather data of last five years in Leh, Ladakh, scientists have attributed the recent cloudburst in the region to prolonged winters, which may be due to climate change.
Fresh incidents of cloudburst, landslides and house collapses were reported in Uttarakhand after moderate to heavy rains lashed the state.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in Uttarakhand and noted that rescue operations are underway to help the affected.
All educational institutions in Shimla and Kullu districts will remain closed on Monday as heavy to extremely heavy rains continue to lash the state, district officials said.
Arora slipped off the makeshift bridge and fell into the Mandakini river which was is spate following heavy rains in Rudraprayag district, officials said.
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The famous Kedarnath shrine and the surrounding valley have been severely damaged and submerged in mud and slush after unprecedented flash floods hit the area and other parts of Uttarakhand.
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Over 20,000 people were evacuated to safer places in these three districts. State capital Mumbai too witnessed water-logging in many areas after overnight rains on Thursday.
They were working for Parvati Hydel Power Project site in Manikarna area of Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.
On the morning of the first anniversary of the disastrous cloudburst in Kedarnath, I found myself walking amid the rubble, recalling the beauteous meadows I'd seen when I'd last visited years ago.
The MeT department forecast very heavy rains over the next 48 hours in the mountainous areas of the state especially the disaster-prone Pithoragarh, Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts where torrential rains may trigger flash floods, cloudbursts and landslides asking people as well as authorities to be alert.
Devotees were not allowed to enter inside the temple premises when Modi was offering prayers.
Rescue operations are in full swing in Uttarakhand where the death toll in the rain and floods has gone up to 150 as thousands of pilgrims still remained stranded.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday spoke to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Chief Ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand seeking "timely and prompt" relief measures for flood-affected people in the two states.
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The suspension of the Char Dham Yatra this year and its cancellation the next will be a huge blow to Uttarakhand's unorganised sector
A group of tourists, who have just come back from deluge-hit regions of Uttarakhand, on Friday recounted tales of horror from their unforgettable trip. "An entire road on which our vehicle was travelling caved in due to pressure of the gushing flood waters," recounts a woman tourist from Pune who survived the Uttarakhand deluge.
India cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who was stranded in Joshimath due to incessant rains while on a pilgrimage, was rescued and taken to safety by the Indian Air Force.
Rains continued to lash most parts of north India on Tuesday, affecting normal life in the region.
There's nothing like a trip in the hills, is there? Rediff reader Niranjan Vaidya took one and returned enriched.
Security in Meghalaya's Garo Hills region has been beefed up ahead the visit of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of state for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju tomorrow, an official said on Tuesday. Security beefed up in Garo Hills for Rajnath's visit.
An old couple, who survived the massive Uttarakhand flash floods triggered by incessant rains, said it was as if a "second life had been granted to them".
'It was a tragedy, but I think you cannot change your fate. Whatever is going to happen, will happen. It was a kind of natural calamity'
Large tracts of land in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district was washed away in flash floods which occurred due to a cloudburst even as several parts of the state received moderate to heavy rainfall on Friday.
'When we talk of disaster, it is a combination of hazard and vulnerability.' 'If we reduce vulnerability, it will remain a hazard.'
Fresh incidents of landslides, cloudbursts and house collapses were triggered by moderate to heavy rains in most places in Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
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Heavy rains lashed the northern region on Thursday inundating low-lying areas, throwing vehicular traffic out of gear and disrupting power supply.
The flood situation worsened further in the western districts of Uttar Pradesh with the death of four more persons in rain related incidents even as around 177 villages of Bareilly, Badaun, Pilibhit and Shahajanpur were inundated.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' speaks to Shishir Prashant on the situation after the recent cloudburst and floods in the state.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, along with senior Cabinet ministers, arrived in Leh on Tuesday on a day-long visit to take stock of the relief and rehabilitation work undertaken in the aftermath of the recent flash floods. He is expected to announce a Rs 250-crore package for the victims. The prime minister is accompanied by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Minister for New and Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh will go on a daylong visit on Tuesday to Leh, which has been hit by cloudburst and flash floods that claimed around 200 lives and left over 400 injured
Members in the Lok Sabha, including from ruling Congress, on Friday questioned the government's silence over reports that 33 soldiers had drifted away to Pakistan during last week's flash floods in Leh in Jammu and Kashmir.
Six Indian Air Force aircraft carrying relief material, rescue workers and doctors landed in Leh on Saturday to provide succour to the people of the region affected by cloudburst and flash floods.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah directed the Border Roads Organisation to clear the Manali-Leh highway within next three days and asked the officials engaged in relief work to ensure that procedural formalities do not delay the operation. The highway which got swept away by flash floods triggered by a cloudburst on Friday is one of the two road links between the 'cold desert' and other parts of the country.
The fury of nature which was unleashed on the villages in Leh in the form of cloudburst and flash floods has been etched in the minds of locals who are reluctant to stay in makeshift hospitals set up by relief agencies in the night and feel safer in higher reaches.
Almost all the persons rescued from the flash floods that hit Leh town and nearby areas had a common injury while escaping the mud fury--deep abrasions and cuts on faces.
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