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Haryana death toll mounts to 15, Khattar announces ₹4-lakh relief to kin
Five rain-related deaths reported from Ambala, one each from Sonepat and Panipat; IAF joins rescue work, CM Khattar conducts aerial survey
Seven more rain-related deaths were reported from Haryana on Wednesday, including five from the worst-hit Ambala district, as chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar conducted an aerial survey of the affected areas and announced an ex-gratia of ₹4 lakh to the kin of the deceased.
Besides Ambala, one death was reported from Sonepat and one from Panipat. With this, the death toll due to rain-related incidents in the state has mounted to 15.
Bal Kishore, 65, of Ghasoli village in Sonepat district drowned in flood water, while Vikram Singh, 45, of Goyla village in Panipat too drowned in the heavy flow of water when he went to his fields to assess his crop. Five more deaths were reported from Ambala on Wednesday, taking the total toll to nine since the incessant rains battered the district.
Bodies of 70-year-old Sampoorn Singh and 55-year-old Mohan of Chourmastpur area of Ambala-1 block were found floating in the water.
The body of 50-year-old labourer Jeet Ram was found in a railway underpass near cloth market in Ambala
In Ambala Cantt, a youth Monty was reportedly electrocuted to death while wading through a waterlogged street in Shalimar Colony.
Body of Kundan Ram, 40. a resident of Uttarakhand was found in Shahzadpur area.
Financial assistance will also be provided to the poor and others whose houses have been affected by the rains, he said.
Khattar was accompanied by home minister Anil Vij in Ambala. The chief minister held a meeting with district administration officials.
Khattar said a total of 10 rain-related deaths have been reported from the affected districts. Food packets, water tankers, and fodder for animals were being dispatched to affected areas while people have been moved to safety, the CM said.
The chief minister stressed on the need of water drainage from waterlogged areas and food for the affected people.
“If more pumps are needed to drain the water, the administration should immediately make arrangements at their level or inform the headquarters,” Khattar said, directing that along with drainage of water from residential areas, drainage of water from fields should also be ensured. The chief minister said that directions have been given to all the deputy commissioners to assess the financial loss to infrastructure and public in their respective district. He said the damaged houses of poor families will be repaired by the government. He said that so far 240 villages have been reportedly affected by rains.
Deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala also visited the flood-affected villages in Ambala, Karnal and Kurukshetra districts.
Two days after the Indian Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were called in for flood relief operations in Ambala district, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday joined them to supply food and dry ration to inaccessible villages.
This comes hours after deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala visited waterlogged villages to inspect relief operations and asked the officials to seek help from the IAF.
Deputy Commissioner Shaleen told HT, “Two trucks of supply was provided to the IAF and they started the operations by dropping the packets through Mi-17 helicopter in Bamba/Bambay village. The IAF will provide relief in another six to seven villages on Thursday. Some villages are being covered by us using tractor-trolleys.”
Army’s flood relief teams of “Airawat Vayurakshaks” rescued more than 500 stranded persons at Mahesh Nagar Industrial Area and Sai Colony of Cantt.
Officials said that other than dry ration, packets contain drinking water, torch, candles, tarpaulin and other materials are also being distributed.
Dushyant said that the union government has released the first installment of ₹216 crore of the State Disaster Relief Fund (SRDF) to Haryana to assist the people affected by heavy rains.
The allocated amount will be utilised to provide essential supplies, including food items and drinking water, to the affected districts. He said preliminary reports indicate damage to crops covering about 1.25 lakh acre, particularly along the banks of canals in Karnal and Panipat.
Meanwhile, the administrative secretaries who have been deputed as in charge of flood and excessive rain-affected districts camped in the assigned districts to monitor government operations. The officers have been asked to help and guide the deputy commissioners.
Overall, the water has receded in most of the urban belt of all the blocks, while waterlogging remains in several villages.
Water level at Hathnikund was 147,857 between 7pm and 8pm. Earlier, the levels were recorded above 3 lakh cusecs in the ‘high flood’ category twice.
The vehicular movement was smooth on NH-44 (Panipat-Jalandhar) and Delhi-Chandigarh route. However, NH-152 (Hisar-Chandigarh) remains partially closed in Ambala for the fourth consecutive day due to flooding at several stretches.
“A breach at Tangri River was reported at Bhooni village and water was entering into Punjab’s Patiala district. Our team from the irrigation department was trying to repair it,” the DC.
DRM Mandeep Singh Bhatia said that the rail traffic was smooth on Delhi-Ambala-Chandigarh route. “Rail traffic will resume on Ambala-Saharanpur and Chandigarh-Kalka tracks on Thursday. There are a total of 130 affected spots on Kalka-Shimla line and it might be restored by Sunday,” he added.
