Monsoon fury: Rain ebbs in most parts of North, two-day red alert in Uttarakhand

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 11

After incessant downpour over the last three days left a trail of destruction in North India, the rain ebbed in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu and Kashmir, but continued in Uttarakhand where five fatalities were reported on Monday.

The death toll in the region neared 50 even as hundreds of people were stranded in various parts as raging waters gushed through villages and towns. Rescue efforts had been expedited with teams of the Army, National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force shifting people stuck in flooded areas to relief camps, said officials. In Punjab, Patiala and Rupnagar are among the most affected districts.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has ruled out major rainfall activity in the northern region over the next few days. It, however, predicted heavy rainfall in parts of Uttarakhand (red alert issued) and Uttar Pradesh on July 12-13. Five pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were killed while eight others were injured when a landslide triggered by heavy rain buried three vehicles near the Gangnani bridge on the Gangotri national highway in Uttarkashi.

The data of the India Meteorological Department shows that Punjab has received 100 per cent excess rainfall while Himachal recorded 109 per cent more rainfall than the long period average of the monsoon until July 11. IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said the high-intensity rainfall activity in the northwest region was due to the interaction of western disturbance with monsoon circulation.

(With PTI inputs)

Rescue ops on in rain-battered Punjab

Chandigarh: The rain finally abated in Punjab, leaving behind a trail of breached bundhs, broken roads and inundated fields and homes. The state also saw eight deaths. The NDRF is still deployed in Rupnagar, SAS Nagar, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar for rescue operations. Fifteen villages in Shahkot were submerged after a breach. — TNS

1.47L acres of fields in Haryana inundated

Chandigarh: With over 1.47 lakh acres of agricultural land in 239 villages across seven districts of north Haryana inundated, farmers are staring at losses. At 20 villages in Karnal, over 15,000 acres remain submerged. The Army’s help has been sought to plug a 200-ft breach in a bundh near Gadhpur Tapu village. The water level at Hathnikund barrage has receded. — TNS

In HP, 40 shops, 30 houses swept away

Shimla: Rescue operations picked up pace in HP on Tuesday as incessant rain finally relented. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said six helicopters had been deployed to evacuate people from Lahaul and Spiti and Kullu. “In Sainj (Kullu), 40 shops and 30 houses have been swept away. It’s the worst disaster the state has faced in 50 years,” said Sukhu. The death count has risen to 27. — TNS

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