Uttarakhand rains: Boy swept away by river, landslides block roads

A boy was swept away in Gola river in Haldwani on Saturday after rains lashed various parts of Uttarakhand, triggering landslides and rivers flowing in spate.

A boy was swept away in Gola river in Haldwani on Saturday after rains lashed various parts of Uttarakhand, triggering landslides and rivers flowing in spate.

The boy had gone to swim in the river with his friends when the incident took place. However, his friends hid his shoes and cycle in the bushes due to which his parents came to know of the incident several hours later. (Representative)

The boy, identified as Vivek Belwal (15), son of a street vendor, had gone to swim in the river with his friends when the incident took place. However, his friends hid his shoes and cycle in the bushes due to which his parents came to know of the incident several hours later.

Sixteen pilgrims of the 12th batch of Kailash Mansarovar are currently stranded in Gunji while the other pilgrims have returned to New Delhi after completing the yatra.

“The pilgrims are in a camp as the helicopters could not take off from Gunji due to incessant rain. We are waiting for the weather to clear so that pilgrims can safely return to Pithoragarh,” said TS Martoliya, general manager of Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam, the nodal agency for Kailash Mansarovar yatra.

In another incident, a funeral pyre was swept away in the Gola river at Chitrashila ghat. The family of the deceased tried to catch the floating pyre but failed due to the raging torrent.

A culvert collapsed in Najibabad, forcing the roadways buses to take longer route to reach Dehradun from Haldwani. The buses are now plying via Muzaffarnagar and travelling an extra 70km.

The Rishikesh-Badrinath highway at Lambagad in Chamoli district was also blocked due to landslides, the disaster management office said. Rains continued in the Kumaon region on Sunday but no major incident was reported from any part.