Ten days after heavy rains pounded Uttarakhand, the meteorological department on Monday warned of another round of incessant heavy rains in the next 48-hours while five people were found dead due to landslides a day earlier.
Landslides also triggered suspension of the Char Dham pilgrimage on Monday. The Kedarnath pilgrimage, meanwhile, was called off within 10 hours of its resumption on Sunday evening.
The rain alert has been sounded for most areas of the state including Nainital, Chamoli, Champawat, Uttarkashi and the state capital Dehradun.
Following the warning, disaster management teams have been asked to be on standby. Officials have been asked to be "extra vigilant" in areas adjacent to the rivers, many of whom are in spate owing to the rains that lashed the state July 16-17.
At least six people were killed and two others injured in a landslide on Sunday in Pangla village of Pithoragarh district.
Eight people were buried under the debris from a mountain in Tawaghat area of Pangla village of Dharchula tehsil, district magistrate H C Semwal said.
A team of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were rushed to the spot for rescue operations.
{{/usCountry}}A team of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were rushed to the spot for rescue operations.
{{/usCountry}}Five bodies were recovered and three injured rescued from under the debris. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, but one of them succumbed to injuries on the way, he said, adding police were trying to identify the dead.
Chief minister Harish Rawat, the official said, was monitoring the situation personally and ordered ex-gratia for the families of those killed in the landslide.