Uttarakhand: Met dept issues 'alert' amid heavy rainfall in Haridwar, Mussorie districts

Following continuous rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand the Met Department on Tuesday issued an alert regarding possible inundation of low-lying areas and landslides in hilly areas, an official statement said. "Due to continuous rain/heavy rain in Koti, Mussoorie Tehsil/Block in Dehradun and Laksar Block/Tehsil in Haridwar districts, inundation of low-lying areas and landslides in hilly areas are likely to occur. People are advised to remain alert," the statement read. Earlier on Monday, Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (STRF), continuously working in the Haridwar district for the rescue of people stranded in submerged houses in flooded areas of Haridwar, rescued a pregnant woman and a small girl from Laksar. 

According to officials, SDRF, and state police immediately reached the spot after receiving information about a small girl, and a pregnant woman, who was having labour pain in a house submerged due to waterlogging in Laksar police station, Adarsh ​​Nagar of district Haridwar." "Both, the girl and the pregnant woman were brought to a safe place by raft with full caution. After that, they were taken to the hospital by ambulance," they said.  Apart from this, other people, trapped, were also rescued and taken to a safer place by rafts.

The persistent rainfall and a breach in the Sonali River dam have raised a threat of floods in the Laksar town of Uttarakhand's Haridwar district.