Dehradun and other plain districts reeling under sweltering summer heat, the mercury in the capital soared to over 37 degree Celsius on Saturday. Besides, prolonged spells of power –cuts occurring across the city are compounding the people’s summer woes. However, the people living in the higher reaches are getting relief in the form of light rainfall occurring there for the past few days. The rainy spell is likely to continue for some more days at isolated places, especially in the higher reaches of Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Bageshwar, and Pithoragarh districts, say the Met officials.
Dehradun saw thin traffic on the roads during day hours when the heat was at its scorching worst. The elderly people, in general, chose to keep indoors during the day time while those who were outside were found having taken measures to beat the heat. The maximum temperature settled at 37.4ºC (three degree above the normal) while the minimum at 19.2ºC (one degree below normal). It was 26.2ºC (three degree above the normal) and 13.1ºC (two degree above the normal) in Mukteshwar and 39.5ºC (three degree above the normal) and 17.6ºC (two degree below the normal) in Pantnagar. In Tehri district, maximum temperature was reported as 27.5 degree Celsius while the minimum was 13.6 degree Celsius on Saturday. Highest maximum temperature 38.2°C was recorded at Pantnagar while the lowest minimum temperature 10.1°C was recorded at Munsiyari.
Vast areas of the capital faced power cuts dragging for hours, further aggravating their miseries. Frequent power outages were reported from places like Jogiwala, Vani Vihar, Kewal Vihar, Sahastradhara and Dalanwala for two days from Friday.
Sumitra, resident of Vani Vihar, said that summer season being at its dreaded peak, the residents of the city have been reeling under severe power-cuts. “We are wondering over the situation in the rural areas when the capital is experiencing such power ordeals day after day,” she said.
However, intriguingly, Uttarakhand Power Corporation limited (UPCl) media in-charge and chief engineer AK Singh
claimed that no power cut had been reported from any part of the state on Saturday. He attributed to the localised power cuts to snags in the transmission system at the local levels.
The hills are, however, cooler thanks to recurring spells of rains. Over the past 24 hours, rainfall has been reported from several places in the hills. The highest 10 mm rainfall was reported in Dharchula in Pitthoragarh district, the weather officials said. Meteorological centre director Bikram Singh said that a fresh western disturbance approaching Western Himalayan region, light rain/thunder shower/snow is likely to lash Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts of Uttarakhand from Sunday night onwards. The spell is likely to continue till May 10, he added.