Heavy rain, hailstorm lash Dehradun, hills receive snowfall; several roads blocked

Dehradun: A fresh spell of heavy rainfall and a bout of hailstorm lashed Dehradun and several other parts of Uttarakhand on Friday.
High altitude places, including Char Dham cities and surrounding places, received snowfall in past 24 hours.
According to the regional meteorological centre, rainfall accompanied by hail and thunder squall lashed Pithoragarh, Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar districts.
Dehradun received 16.8 mm rainfall, while New Tehri was lashed by 13.6 mm rainfall and Mussoorie received 12.5mm rainfall.
“Several places received incessant rainfall, hail and thunder squall on Thursday and Friday. Higher reaches also received snowfall. The thunder activity is likely to continue on Friday night and Saturday as well,” said Bikram Singh, director of regional meteorological centre.
Incessant rain and snowfall since Wednesday have disrupted road connectivity and other basic facilities in Uttarkashi district. Several major roads, including Gangotri and Yamunotri national highways, got blocked due to a thick blanket of snow and landslide triggered by heavy rains. Bad weather conditions also hit drinking water and power supply in several areas of the district causing inconvenience for local people.
Meanwhile, restoration works were started to bring respite for locals of the affected areas. Devendra Patwal, district disaster management officer, told TOI, “Border Road Organisation (BRO) has restored Gangotri highway till Dharali village and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has cleared the Yamunotri highway at Damta and Kuthnor regions. Electricity department has also restored power supply in Bhramkhal region. We will restore other facilities in remaining areas by Friday late evening.”