Pauri District Magistrate Chandra Shekhar Bhatt and Superintendent of Police Ajay Joshi visited the disaster affected areas of Yamkeshwar block in Pauri district on Monday.
At least five persons have died and several houses caved in as landslides occurred in the block. Besides, hundreds of people were in trouble in the wake of cloudburst and concomitant incessant and torrential rains on the intervening night of August 14 and 15. Superintendent of Police Joshi told The Pioneer that the survey of the rescue and relief work has been completed and the people stuck in Bairagarh had been evacuated by helicopter to safer places like Vedniketan at lakshmanjhula and some others. Joshi further said that the main problem is around the rehabilitation of the disaster victims and the District Magistrate has taken note of it and instructed the officers concerned to do the needful promptly. The inclement weather on August 14 and 15 has taken a toll of 12 lives in the Yamkeshwar, Dwarikhal and Kaljikhal blocks in the district. The police and district administration swooped into action immediately after getting the information.
However, on Sunday evening, sub divisional magistrate Pl Shah fell while crossing the damaged bridge on Bilkhet-Viyasghat motor road. Shah was unhurt, it was learnt. Almost all the connecting roads, including Pauri-Devprayag road, are still closed for traffic. The police team is learnt to have saved two persons from being swept away by a swirling river in Kotdwar. This aside, food was provided to over 600 people who were detained in buses and other vehicles on the Pauri-Kotdwar national highway near Devi Mandir and Pauri-Devprayag road on August 15.
Around 103 people were rescued from the Bairagarh village in Yamkeshwar. National disaster response force and disaster management force personnel have also played important roles in the rescue work, sources said.