Pithoragarh reels under rain fury: One goes missing, 41 villages cut off

A 35-year-old man was washed away by flash flood triggered by heavy rain in Pithoragarh, one of the worst-hit districts due in the state, besides connectivity to 41 villages was affected due to landslides, mudflow and damaged roads, said officials on Tuesday.

A 8-member team was sent to the spot for rescue and search of the missing person.

KN Goswami, sub-divisional magistrate of Munsiyari, said Krisham Ram along with two others had gone to market for shopping on Monday evening.

“While the three people were returning to their village, they had to cross Golmundi nallah. Two of them crossed the nallah (drain), but Krishan Ram was washed away. We were informed about the incident at 10.30 am on Monday,” he said.

“Till (Tuesday) afternoon, there is no news about the missing man,” he said.

Munsiyari and Dharchula are the worst affected areas of the district, where officials are trying to restore the road connectivity on a war footing.

Ten bridges and many road stretches were completely washed away in Pithoragarh district. Officials have been directed to remain on high alert to meet any eventuality that may arise due to extreme weather conditions.

Connectivity to scores of villages was affected in the district. Two main roads in Munsiyari were damaged due to landslides and mudflow, affecting traffic movement in the area.

Sub-divisional magistrate Goswami said traffic movement was likely to be restored by Wednesday evening.

Pithoragarh district magistrate C Ravi Shankar said connectivity has been affected to 41 villages in the district.

“Ten bridges and many road stretches like in Ratighat and Banga Pani areas have been completely washed away. It will take some days to over a month to restore connectivity on such stretches,” he said.

Shankar said six teams of the state disaster response force and one company of national disaster response force have been deployed in various parts of the district to deal with the emergency situations.

RK Pandey, sub-divisional magistrate of Dharchula, said around 28 villages were still cut from the rest of the state in Darma and Byas valleys.

“It is still raining in higher reaches of the district. More villages may get cut from the rest of the world due to these rains,” he said.

Meanwhile in Nainital district, there was some relief from the heavy rains on Tuesday. However, over half a dozen villages still remain cut from the rest of the state.

Nainital district magistrate Vinod Kumar Suman said due to heavy rains, 16 villages had got cut off from the rest of the state.

“On Monday we restored connectivity to 9 villages, while by Tuesday evening we are hoping to restore the road connectivity to the rest of the seven villages,” he said.