New Delhi: With incessant rains lashing most parts of North India for the past few days – Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh are worst hit – normal life has been severely affected, leaving over 60 people dead and thousands stranded. The Dispatch News Desk reported.
Flashfloods in the Ganga and its tributaries triggered by incessant rains for over 48 hours left a trail of death and devastation across Uttarakhand killing 37 people, injuring 34 and damaging 164 buildings. The grave situation in Uttarakhand led to suspension of the annual Kailash Mansarovar yatra owing to the relentless rains and consequent landslides.
The rains, which began Saturday night, have continued for the past two days. The Met department said the rains in the month of June have since broken an 88-year record. The worst-hit areas include Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi, where Mandakini river is in spate. In Rambada, the river water entered the market area.
Rescue operations are being carried out in the hill state by the Army, para-military Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and disaster management authority.
Also, several parts of Haryana were flooded after water level of Yamuna rose alarmingly. The Yamuna river, which enters Haryana from Uttarakhand at Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar district, had swelled since early Saturday after over 800,000 cusecs of water was released Monday morning through the Hathnikund barrage.
In Uttar Pradesh, 15 people were killed in heavy rains and floods in Saharanpur and a flood alert was sounded in several districts as the Ganga, Ghaghra and Sharda are in spate, officials said. In Himachal Pradesh, a high alert was sounded and Army assistance was sought for rescue operations in the tribal border district of Kinnaur as incessant rains and snow wreaked havoc in the region, killing 10 people and damaging property worth crores of rupees.
Over 700 people, including Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who was campaigning in the area for Mandi Lok Sabha by-poll slated for June 23, were stranded in the Sangla valley and assistance of Army has been sought for rescue operations and airlifting them, state Chief Secretary S Roy said.
Delhi saw heavy rains over the weekend and intermittent showers continued Monday morning. The city received 58.5 mm of rain from 8.30 pm on Sunday to 8.30 am on Monday, leaving roads inundated and traffic snarls in the morning rush hour.
The monsoon this year had set over Kerala on schedule June 1 and advanced fast, covering the southern, eastern and central states within two weeks.
