Heavy rain in Uttarakhand claims 24 lives, PM Modi expresses grief over loss of lives

August 16, 2014

Uttarkhand rain
New Delhi, Aug 16: Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives due to heavy rain in Uttarakhand.

Heavy rain has wreaked havoc in Pauri and other districts of Uttarakhand killing 24 people in separate incidents of cloudburst, house collapse and landslides since Friday.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives due to heavy rain in Uttarakhand and extends his condolences to families of the deceased," said a government statement.

Seven killed in landslide

Seven people, including a woman, were killed here when three houses were buried in a landslide following heavy showers in the early hours of the day, taking the toll to 24 in rain-related incidents in two days in Uttarakhand.

The incident occurred at around 2am in Kathbangla area in the city. Rain triggered a landslide in the hills and the rubble fell on the three houses occupied by different families, a police official said.

Seven bodies, including that of a woman, have been pulled out of the debris of the houses, Rajpur police station SHO Rajesh Sah said, adding that the victims were sleeping when the mishap occurred.

A woman with critical injuries has also been rescued from the spot and admitted to the Doon hospital, he said.

There is no possibility of any more bodies trapped in the rubble of the houses, he said.

17 people were killed in separate rain related incidents in Pauri, Dehradun and Pithoragarh district of the state on Friday.

Though it rained heavily in Dehradun on Friday night, the city awoke to a bright sunny morning on Saturday.

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News Network
December 16,2025

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The deletion of over 58 lakh names from West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls following a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has sparked widespread concern and is likely to deepen political tensions in the poll-bound state.

According to the Election Commission, the revision exercise has identified 24 lakh voters as deceased, 19 lakh as relocated, 12 lakh as missing, and 1.3 lakh as duplicate entries. The draft list, published after the completion of the first phase of SIR, aims to remove errors and duplication from the electoral rolls.

However, the scale of deletions has raised fears that a large number of eligible voters may have been wrongly excluded. The Election Commission has said that individuals whose names are missing can file objections and seek corrections. The final voter list is scheduled to be published in February next year, after which the Assembly election announcement is expected. Notably, the last Special Intensive Revision in Bengal was conducted in 2002.

The development has intensified the political row over the SIR process. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress have strongly opposed the exercise, accusing the Centre and the Election Commission of attempting to disenfranchise lakhs of voters ahead of the elections.

Addressing a rally in Krishnanagar earlier this month, Banerjee urged people to protest if their names were removed from the voter list, alleging intimidation during elections and warning of serious consequences if voting rights were taken away.

The BJP, meanwhile, has defended the revision and accused the Trinamool Congress of politicising the issue to protect what it claims is an illegal voter base. Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the ruling party fears losing power due to the removal of deceased, fake, and illegal voters.

The controversy comes amid earlier allegations by the Trinamool Congress that excessive work pressure during the SIR led to the deaths by suicide of some Booth Level Officers (BLOs), for which the party blamed the Election Commission. With the draft list now out, another round of political confrontation appears imminent.

As objections begin to be filed, the focus will be on whether the correction mechanism is accessible, transparent, and timely—critical factors in ensuring that no eligible voter is denied their democratic right ahead of a crucial election.

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