The India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounded the orange alert for 13 districts of Uttarakhand on Monday as it warned of heavy rains in the state for the next five days.
Apart from Uttarakhand, the department also predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
According to media reports, heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand triggered landslides blocking several roads.
The Ganga River, also called the Ganges, likewise crossed the danger mark in Devprayag district in the state while it was flowing at the warning level in Haridwar. According to the reports, the water level of the river has increased due to the heavy release of water from the Alaknanda River dam.
“Ganga was flowing at 463.20 meters following which water filled up in Sagam Ghat, Ramkund, Dhaneshwar Ghat and Fuladi Ghat. The tremendous increase in the water level of the Ganga is because 2,000-3,000 cusecs of water was released from the dam of the GVK hydroelectric project built on the Alaknanda river,” officials said.
The officials further stated that the river was flowing above the warning level of 293 meters in Haridwar and reached 293.15 meters on Sunday evening.
Following the steep increase in the water level of the Ganga River, an alert has been issued in the low-lying areas.
Apart from heavy release of water from dam, the incessant rainfall in the state has resulted in flooding in 71 villages of Laksar, Khanpur, Roorkee, Bhagwanpur and Haridwar.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), army and state police are carrying out rescue and relief operations in the flood-affected areas.
Some media reports suggest that 3,756 families have been affected in the 71 villages due to floods. Five people have died while at least 81 families have been shifted to the relief camps.