Dehra Dun: Five persons were killed as heavy rain continued to lash Uttarakhand, triggering landslides that blocked several highways while the waters of Tehri dam reservoir and the Ganga rivder rose alarmingly on Tuesday, spawning a threat of floods in the plains.

The Yamuna river was also rising with Yamunotri yatra remaining suspended for the second day after a bridge was washed away and the weather bureau has warned of more landslides due to continued rains over the next 2-3 days.

Officials said four persons were swept away by various rivers in the Kumaon that were in spate and another died in the Tharali area of Garhwal region since Monday.

The water level of the Tehri reservoir was rising alarmingly inundating several areas in the district and the Ganga was hovering around the danger mark at Rishikesh and Hardwar threatening to flood more areas in the plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, they said.

Badrinath-Rishikesh highway was blocked at several places due to landslides and efforts were on to reopen Gangotri highway by clearing rocks and debris from the road.

Met Director Anand Sharma said a warning has been issued for chances of landslides at vulnerable areas in Uttarakhand as the rains were likely to continue for two to three more days. PTI

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