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Rains trigger flood alert in areas along Doon streams
The Dehradun administration has asked people to vacate areas along Rispana and Bindal streams, which are in spate following heavy rainfall
The Dehradun administration has asked people to vacate areas along Rispana and Bindal streams, which are in spate following heavy rainfall.
“We have sounded an alert in the habitations along the streams and asked residents to shift to safer places in view of the heavy rainfall warning (by the Met department),” Dehradun district magistrate SA Murugesan told Hindustan Times on Tuesday.
The Dehradun Meteorological Centre has issued a red alert regarding “heavy rainfall at a few places with very heavy rainfall at isolated places” in Uttarakhand on July 12, besides warning of inundation in low-lying areas in the plains of Uttarakhand.
“If required, we will carry out forced eviction of people from the areas if a river breaches its danger level or flooding takes place. In that case, we will move them to temporary shelters that have been identified by the administration,” Murugesan said.
Thirty-two flood chowkis (posts) have been set up in Dehradun district to keep an eye on the flooding situation, the DM said.
During the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, police teams visited various localities along the swelling streams and made announcements through loudspeakers, urging people to shift to shelters identified by the administration.
More than 3,000 families are said to be living dangerously close to the streams that swell every year during monsoons, making locals vulnerable to life and property loss. A large number of slum dwellers living along the river banks have made illegal encroachments, putting their security to risk.
At least 37% of the 582 slum areas in the state are located next to streams or rivers, according the Uttarakhand slum reforms committee report released last year. The slums house over 7.7 lakh people, of which at least 2.5 lakh stay along rivers or seasonal streams, the report said.
Even light showers instil a sense of fear among people living too close to the streams. “We couldn’t sleep even for a moment last night due to fear of getting washed away. It is only during election time that netas think of us,” said Babli Devi of Patel Nagar slum area.
Successive governments have promised land ownership rights to the slum dwellers, but permanent rehabilitation in safer areas has eluded them.
Rain damage
Reviewing the damages caused by heavy rain, Murugesan directed irrigation department officials to put red marks at points along rivers or local streams where there was a possibility of flooding.
District disaster management officer Deepshikha Rawat said people were being shifted Silla, Gohrimaafi and Sahabnagar, among others, to safer places. A patch of land was washed away at Kyara village due to a cloudburst; a bridge and electricity and water supply lines were damaged at Karligad village because of heavy rain.
Body of missing youth found from Rispana
The Dehradun police found on Tuesday the body of a youth from Rispana stream in the Nehru Colony area. The youth was identified as Akshay who was staying in Old Dalanwala area. His parents had filed a missing report on Monday night at Dalanwala police station.
