With incessant rain continuing to wreak havoc in Kotdwar following the cloudburst, an Army camp has been damaged in the deluge. However, the severe damage the recent spell of cloudburst in the areas has raised question over shrinking fast of the River Kho due to the unhindered encroachment of its banks thanks to backing from the local political leaders and the apathetic administration.
Earlier, the hilly stream used to act as the natural drainage system while absorbing the excess rainwater and protecting the neighbouring areas from being inundated. Despite the threat remaining palpable, the district administration, habituated to act according to the whims of the political leaders, chose to look the other way with things going from bad to worse. However, nature in her fury finally cleared the river banks of the encroachments.
Things were such that the CM had to cancel his proposed chopper visit and took to the roads to reach the affected villages. local MlA and Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat also rushed to the areas to assess things on the ground and supervised the relief works.
Meanwhile, a bridge through which the trains passed had been repaired a few months ago after the pillars on which it stood had collapsed due to illegal mining has turned dangerously vulnerable after a few of the pillars have caved in again following the torrential rain, resulting in the railway service on this route being stopped.
Talking to The Pioneer, a resident of Ampadav, Jyotsana said that the aftermath of the cloudburst has seen huge volume of water crashing down in the Kho stream. “However, it failed to absorb the gushing water due to encroachment and the river is swelling precariously. We are still safe as our house is located in a higher area. But my room is under five feet of water. All the valuable household items like computer, printer, TV, fridge and other electronic gadgets have been damaged. The gushing water did not spare the nearby Army camp too, as its boundary walls collapsed. We have learnt that CSD canteen has been damaged too. All the items stocked there for the month have been destroyed,” she said. While narrating the plight of the nearby areas, she said that things were the worst in the Refugee Colony as water suddenly gushed in. The sacred people ran hither and thither, she said.
Recounting a particular tragic incident, she said that finding water gushing in furiously in her house, she had rescued her two children who were sleeping. “The children were rescued as they were taken upstairs. However, the mother slipped while climbing the stairs and died due to head injury,” Jyotsana said.