NEW DELHI, July 12 (Xinhua) -- At least six people have been killed in heavy rains in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand in the past 48 hours, officials said Wednesday.
"While three persons died near Mussoorie, one body was found in state capital Dehradun's Rispana river, and two laborers were killed in Tehri and Pithoragarh district, respectively," Piyoosh Rautela of Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre told the media.
The national highway connecting Dehradun with Delhi has been blocked. Officials said efforts are underway to open the crucial road at the earliest. "Incessant rains forced landslides in many places that forced bolders to roll down on the highway," another official said.
Meanwhile, the state government has stopped pilgrimage to the holy town of Kedarnath.
The weather department has predicted more rains in the next 24 hours and all major rivers are flowing close to the danger mark.
The hilly state was hit by devastating floods in 2013, in which some 600 people died, while more than 5,700 people missing were presumed dead.
