By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Incessant rains and snowfall paralysed life across Uttarakhand on Sunday, leaving two people, including a child, dead, stranding around 136 trekkers in the Himalayan region and triggering landslides and rising river levels across the state.
The Char Dham yatra remained suspended for the second consecutive day amid worsening weather conditions. Meanwhile, the met department has issued yellow alert for Uttarkashi and Dehradun districts for Monday indicating respite from heavy rains in rest of the hill state.
Nearly 136 trekkers, many of them foreigners, were stranded at different locations in the higher reaches following heavy snowfall. Officials said efforts were underway to evacuate them to safer locations with the help of helicopters.
A child was killed and another person injured after heavy landslides struck the Chirbasa trek route to Kedarnath. In another rain-related incident, Balbir Singh was buried alive when a house collapsed in the Thalisain area of Pauri district. Two kutcha houses collapsed in Chorgalia area of Nainital district, though no casualties were reported, police said. Over 500 people were safely evacuated from Munnaband area in Pithoragarh district by SDRF with help of ropes. (see picture)
The swelling Ganga also forced authorities to suspend river rafting near Rishikesh, as the river began rising rapidly following heavy rainfall in its catchment areas.
Red alert in five districts
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert on Sunday morning for Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Champawat, Nainital and Pauri, forecasting very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places. An orange alert was issued for the remaining eight districts, including Dehradun.
The persistent rain also brought a sharp fall in temperatures. Dehradun recorded a maximum temperature of 21.1°C on Sunday, around nine degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature dropped to 18.2°C in the morning.
The Char Dham yatra has been suspended for two days, September 26 and 27, according to a communication issued earlier by Garhwal Commissioner Anand Swaroop.
Dhami puts administration on 24×7 alert
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami appealed to residents and tourists to remain vigilant and avoid unnecessary travel during red-alert periods. He advised people to undertake journeys only when absolutely necessary after checking weather and road conditions and to strictly follow advisories issued by the local administration.
Dhami warned people against going near rivers, streams, gad-gaderas, rain-fed channels and waterlogged areas during heavy rain and urged them not to attempt crossing strong currents. He also called for caution while travelling on vulnerable roads and in landslide-prone areas in the hills.
The Chief Minister particularly urged parents to ensure that children stay away from rivers, streams and other potentially dangerous locations.
Dhami directed all departments and officials to remain on 24×7 alert, with continuous monitoring of river and stream levels, landslide-prone areas, hill roads, Char Dham routes and major tourist destinations.
He also ordered authorities to keep rescue teams, essential equipment, JCBs and other machinery ready at strategic locations so that relief and rescue operations can begin without delay in the event of any disaster.