Uttarakhand: Char Dham Yatra postponed for July 7 in view of IMD’s alert for heavy to very heavy rain

Uttarakhand government has postponed the Char Dham Yatra from tomorrow (July 7) in view of the Indian Meteorological Department's (IMD) alert of heavy to very heavy rains in various districts of Garhwal division.

Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey has issued orders in this regard, news agency ANI reported.

At least two pilgrims were swept away, and several others remain stranded in Devgad after a temporary bridge collapsed on Friday. The incident occurred approximately 8-9 km ahead of Gangotri on the Gomukh footpath.

In view of the IMD warning, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed the District Magistrates of all the concerned districts to remain on high alert.

Along with this, the CM has also appealed to the people to be cautious and stay in safe places in view of possible disasters due to heavy rains.

Dhami also directed Secretary Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Vinod Kumar Suman and other officers associated with the Disaster Management Department to keep a constant watch on all the districts from the State Emergency Operations Center of USDMA.

He said that as soon as any information regarding the disaster comes to the State Emergency Operations Center and District Emergency Operations Center, immediate action should be taken on it.

Earlier today, a bridge collapsed in Ramnagar amid heavy rainfall.

IMD's rain prediction:

The IMD has forecasted “heavy to very heavy” rainfall over Uttarakhand in the next two days.

The IMD has issued a red alert for heavy rain in Nainital, Bageshwar, Champawat, Almora, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar. The weather agency has also issued an orange alert for heavy rain in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, and Pauri districts and a yellow alert in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, and Rudraprayag districts.

An alert for isolated heavy rainfall has also been issued for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh till 9-10 July.