Uttarakhand floods: New 40-member team reaches to expedite clean-up operation

With the proposed date for resumption of prayers at Kedarnath drawing near, a 40-member team reached the Himalayan shrine to expedite the clean up operations there even as most places across Uttarakhand were lashed by light to moderate rains, officials said at Dehradun on Monday. As prayers at the shrine are to be resumed from September 11, a 40-member team consisting of 30 PWD and 10 Revenue Department personnel reached Kedarnath late on Sunday evening to expedite debris removal exercise and complete other arrangements, official sources at Dehradun said. [caption id=“attachment_1043783” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File picture of the rescue operations in Uttarakhand floods. AFP. [/caption] The team will work on building a new bridge over Mandakini to substitute the makeshift bridge which was recently washed away by the swirling waters of the river, they said. The new bridge will be made of iron for which necessary equipment have already been dispatched to Kedarnath. Meanwhile, State Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre said most of the places across the state barring a couple of exceptions received light to moderate rains. Haldwani in Nainital district received 100 MM of rains in the past 24 hours whereas Nainital town was lashed by 55 MM of showers. Bhatwari area in Uttarkashi district received 25 MM of rains followed by Badkot (20 MM) and Uttarkashi town (17 MM), DMMC sources said. Dehradun received only 1 MM of rain, they said. The weatherman has predicted light to moderate rains in the state for the next 24 hours, they added. PTI