Wednesday, 09 August 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN

The inter-ministerial group team arrived in Haridwar on Tuesday to review the Damage Caused by disasters. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) joint secretary Harsh Gupta presided over a meeting held in the collectorate with District officials to assess the damage caused by heavy rains in the district.

The district magistrate Dhiraaj Singh Garbyal informed the team that  a red alert for heavy rain was issued for the district on July 6 but the maximum rain occurred on July 11. Similar conditions were experienced in the coming days and the level of water in the Ganga river rose beyond the danger level two to three times during this period. Compared to past years, the district has witnessed more rain during July this year which resulted in waterlogging in various places. The impact of heavy rains in the mountainous regions was also felt in Haridwar district, he said.

The DM informed that 398 urban and rural locations experienced waterlogging of which 48 were under the purview of the Municipal Corporation of Haridwar. The swift flow of the Solani river damaged the embankment at various places. The National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and Provincial Armed Constabulary were deployed in Laksar, Khanpur and Roorkee. He also stressed on the need for treatment of the landslide occurring on the Mansa Devi hill. Garbyal informed Gupta that health camps were held in 447 villages where 2,994 patients were checked. He said that seven lives were lost in waterlogged areas, 370 buildings were partially damaged and three buildings were destroyed. Further, 882 schemes amounting to property worth Rs 189 crore and upto 35,000 hectare of agriculture land was damaged.

The authorities had distributed compensation for crop damage to about 4,500 persons. This along with home grant and other aid amounting to Rs 4.44 crore has been distributed to 9,956 people in the district, he added. The Ndma Joint Secretary also sought department-wise details about the damage caused by heavy rains in the district. Public Works Department officials informed that the department’s 175 roads were affected in the district amounting to Rs 34.07 crore. Officials of Irrigation, Electricity, Drinking Water, Panchayati Raj and other departments also provided detailed information about the damage.