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Friday, Jul 15, 2005

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1500 more rescued from flooded villages

Army put on stand by in Hardwar; Amarnath yatra remains suspended for second day

KANPURJAMMU GOPESHWAR (UTTARANCHAL)SONEP: Another 1500 people were on Thursday evacuated from 12 villages of Kanpur district which have been marooned by the rising water level in the Ganga. The river rose by about seven cms on Thursday, Kanpur District Magistrate Deepak Kumar told reporters. Relief and rescue operations were continuing with about 1500 people being evacuated from 12 hamlets on the trans Ganga belt.

Army personnel had on Wednesday evacuated 2,235 people. Mr.Kumar said flood victims had been shifted to five relief camps at different places in the city. The administration had provided cash assistance amounting to Rs.2,14,000 besides food to the displaced, he said and added that army personnel, who were called On Wednesday, were continuing to assist the local administration in relief operations.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Minister Munna Singh Chauhan has removed the Chief Engineer (Irrigation) L. R. Bansal for dereliction of duty in dealing with the flood in Kanpur.

The Army has also been kept on stand by at Hardwar following release of one lakh cusecs of water in the Ganga. Nearly 4,500 people would have to be evacuated, according to a comprehensive status report released by the National Disaster Management Division of the Home Ministry.

Pilgrim dies

KANPURJAMMU GOPESHWAR (UTTARANCHAL)SONEP: Pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in South Kashmir Himalayas continued to remain suspended from here for second consecutive day on Thursday with authorities not allowing pilgrims to proceed towards Pahalgam and Baltal.

The authorities also did not allow any vehicle to proceed towards Pahalgam and Baltal for undertaking the pilgrimage as many pilgrims were already stranded at Pahalgam and Baltal, official sources said here.

However, authorities allowed 5,000 pilgrims to trek onwards to the cave shrine from Baltal and 4320 others from Pahalgam as weather was good at these places.

Meanwhile, a 27-year-old pilgrim died of heart failure at the holy cave shrine on Thursday morning, taking to 11 the death toll in the ongoing pilgrimage, official sources said in Srinagar. Tilak Raj, of Punjab, died due to cardiac arrest at 3,880-metre high cave shrine while paying obeisance at the naturally formed ice Sivalingam, the sources said.

1000 stranded

KANPURJAMMU GOPESHWAR (UTTARANCHAL)SONEP: More than 500 vehicles with over a thousand people, including pilgrims and tourists, are stranded on Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway and Rudraprayag-Kedarnath road due to landslides at various places, sources said here on Thursday.

The landslides took place following heavy rains in the region during the past week which affected normal life, they said.

Vehicular traffic has been affected badly on Rishikesh-Badrinath national highway and Rudraprayag-Kedarnath road due to the landslides and pilgrims going to holy shrines of Kedarnath, Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib are forced to trek through narrow and dangerous routes. The incessant rains have also disrupted ration supply, power and water supply and telecommunication services, sources said adding authorities are taking steps to help the affected people.

Slum clusters being evacuated

KANPURJAMMU GOPESHWAR (UTTARANCHAL)SONEP: : Authorities on Thursday inspected the low-lying areas in the district and issued instructions to evacuate the slum clusters in the low-lying areas after the Yamuna eroded a portion of its embankment.

Deputy Commissioner S. K. Goel, who visited some flood-prone villages along with officials of the Rai Water Service Department, directed that temporary sand-bag embankments be made in the low-lying areas immediately to check further erosion, officials said.

He also visited the Ring Bund area near Garhi Asadpur village and instructed that people from the slum clusters near the embankment be shifted to safer places.

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1500 more rescued from flooded villages