Snowfall in higher reaches of Uttarakhand including Joshimath

Most of the higher reaches of Uttarakhand, including landslide-hit Joshimath, received snowfall and rain on Friday, adding to the woes of disaster-affected people in the bitter cold. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed the officials to arrange heaters and bonfires for the affected families shifted from their homes in Joshimath for safety in view of the severe cold. Snow started falling in the high altitude areas from late Thursday night, which is continuing till now.

It is raining lightly in the lower areas. Cold winds are blowing here along with snow and rain, causing severe cold. It rained in Joshimath from Thursday night and then started snowing from morning, which also affected the relief and rescue work. Apart from Joshimath situated at an altitude of about 6000 feet, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Hemkund Sahib, Auli, Nanda Devi National Park, Valley of Flowers National Park and most of the area of ​​Kedarnath Musk Deer Sanctuary were covered with white sheet of snow.

According to the information received from Chamoli District Disaster Management Office, 47 villages of Chamoli district have been affected by fresh snowfall, out of which 13 villages of Joshimath sub-division are included. Capital Dehradun also received light rain since early morning, while nearby Mussoorie also received its first snowfall of the season. Dhanaulti, located near Mussoorie, was also wrapped in a blanket of snow. On the other hand, the ongoing relief and rescue work in Joshimath was also affected by the snowfall.

Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said that the work of demolishing hotels and private houses declared unsafe was temporarily stopped due to bad weather. Officials said that the number of buildings with cracks in Joshimath has increased to 863 out of which 181 buildings have been declared unsafe. He informed that so far 269 families with 900 members have been shifted to temporary relief camps in Joshimath. On the other hand, there was heavy snowfall in Gangotri, Yamunotri, Harsil, Mukhba, Dayara Bugyal and Sankri in Uttarkashi district. The fresh snowfall blocked the Dehradun-Suakholi and Uttarkashi-Lambagaon motorways, besides routes leading to Gangotri and Yamunotri temples.

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