Uttarakhand Congress MLA Harish Dhami had a narrow escape on Thursday in Dharchula area of Pithoragarh district when he slipped into a flooded rivulet due to a sudden rise in its water level. The water was filled with debris, due to which the MLA from Dharchula received minor injuries. Those accompanying him managed to get him out of the flowing rivulet.
When contacted over phone, Dhami said he had gone to Lumti and Mori village affected by heavy rainfall. “While I was returning and crossing a rivulet, there was a sudden rise in the water level. The water was filled with heavy muck and flowing debris. I lost control and fell. I got carried away for some distance, but over a dozen people who were accompanying me, managed to save me and get me out of the rivulet,” he said.
Dhami said he was given first aid by army personnel deputed nearby. “I have injured my leg. Now I am moving to Dharchula town where I will get myself checked by doctors,” he said.
“The situation in these affected areas is very serious. Water and muck is flowing down the hillside in huge quantities. The villagers have taken shelter in a nearby area and want to be shifted. I have been demanding chopper service for the last three years to help people in this affected area,” he said.
Due to heavy rainfall in some areas and higher reaches of the state, the water level has risen and connectivity to many villages has been affected. In hilly areas, the mountain rivulets are flowing with more water along with muck and debris like rocks and branches of trees, making it dangerous for locals to cross them.
{{/usCountry}}Due to heavy rainfall in some areas and higher reaches of the state, the water level has risen and connectivity to many villages has been affected. In hilly areas, the mountain rivulets are flowing with more water along with muck and debris like rocks and branches of trees, making it dangerous for locals to cross them.
{{/usCountry}}State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) media in-charge Praveen Alok said SDRF teams shifted 50 people from Pithoragarh’s Byula village, a landslide prone area to a safer area six km away.
The SDRF personnel also built a temporary bridge in Lumti village in Pithoragarh and helped around 40 villagers to cross the swollen rivulet, he said.
In Chamoli district’s Trikhola village, five cows were buried under the debris after a landslide. On getting information about the incident, a SDRF team left for the area
One vehicle also fell into a river in Dehradun district near Laldhang. There were two people in the vehicle. One swam back to the bank on his own while the other person got washed away. His body was fished out by a SDRF team. He has been identified as Ajay Kumta, 24 from Shimla, Alok said.