Dehradun, July 4 - Two Indian Air Force personnel drowned in a lake in Bhimtal amid heavy rains in Uttarakhand for the past few days. The personnel have been identified as Prince Yadav (22) of Pathankot and Sahil Kumar (23) of Muzaffarpur (Bihar). Circle Officer Pramod Shah said that Yadav and Kumar were part of a group of eight Indian Air Force personnel, including four women. The police, with the help of locals, recovered the bodies of Yadav and Kumar from the lake after an hour of difficulty.
The rains in the state have affected daily life. More than a hundred roads have been closed in the hilly state, disrupting the Char Dham Yatra and causing food shortage in some villages in the Geet area of ??Uttarkashi district. The Yamunotri-bound highway has been closed for the past five days after a landslide hit a construction workers' overnight camp at Silai Mor, leaving nine people missing and a 12-metre stretch of the road washed away.
The Kedarnath-bound road between Sonprayag and Gaurikund is also closed due to landslides. Officials said efforts are on to open the route. Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday spoke to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to review the situation in the state's disaster-prone districts, including Kedarnath Dham in Rudraprayag district.
The Badrinath highway was closed at several places on Friday morning after a large rock fell. The state Emergency Operation Centre said a total of 109 roads in the hill state are closed due to rain-related obstructions. Officials said that most rivers, including Ganga, Alaknanda in Haridwar, Alaknanda, Mandakini and Pindra in Chamoli, Bhagirathi in Uttarkashi and Kali, Gori and Saryu rivers in Pithoragarh district, are flowing just two metres below the danger mark.