Uttarakhand: IMD predicts heavy rainfall in 8 districts, issues yellow alert

Dehradun: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday issued a yellow alert and predicted heavy rainfall in eight districts of the state. 
The weather department issued warnings for heavy rainfall in Dehradun, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital and Champawat districts.
Rainfall is also expected in Bageshwar, Pithoragarh and Udham Singh Nagar, added the IMD.
Earlier today, a portion of Shri Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple near River Tamsa collapsed following heavy rains since Monday night in the Dehradun district.
"Amidst heavy downpours since the previous night, a part of the Tapkeshwar Mahadev temple near River Tamsa collapsed and caused a lot of damage to the temple property," said the founder of the temple, Acharya Bipin Joshi on Tuesday.
He added that as soon as the Tamsa River started taking a formidable shape due to the rains, the temple premises were completely vacated.
"All the deities of Lord Ganesha Maharaj, Mata Vaishno Devi, Ram Darbar, Hanuman Ji Maharaj, Lakshmi Narayan Bhagwan were also put to sleep," he added.
Damage has been caused to the structure of the temple. However, no human loss or injuries have been reported, he said. 
Uttarakhand police on Sunday said that three people have died and the search operation for the missing persons is still underway after a landslide at Gaurikund.
Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar told ANI that 3 people have died and 20 people are still missing in a massive landslide that occurred on the Kedarnath Yatra route in Gaurikund.
He further said that 17 of the missing people are of Nepali origin.“17 of the missing people are of Nepali origin. Search operation of the police and SDRF is underway”, DGP said.
Uttarakhand Secretary Disaster Ranjit Sinha and Commissioner Garhwal Mandal Vinay Shankar Pandey along with DM and SP Rudraprayag reviewed the search and rescue operation for the missing persons. (ANI)