Monsoon highlights: Highest Yamuna water level in Delhi in 10 years, Old Railway Bridge closed

Rainfall activity ebbed in north India on Tuesday after three days of onslaught, revealing the extent of death and destruction as authorities reported at least 20 more fatalities and ramped up relief and rescue efforts.

The death toll mounted to 31 in Himachal Pradesh, which had reported 18 deaths till Monday, while neighbouring Uttarakhand witnessed five fatalities. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan reported one death each in rain-related incidents.

A 70-year-old woman was killed and two others, including a woman and a three-year-old boy, were injured when a big branch of a tree fell on them in suburban Malad in Mumbai on Tuesday, civic officials said.

With this incident, the number of fatalities in tree fall incidents in the city has risen to four since June 28 after the arrival of the monsoon.

Rain in Haryana and Punjab abated after three days of onslaught even as several parts still remained flooded and the death toll due to rain-related incident mounted to 15.

Six more people were reported dead on Tuesday due to rain-related incidents, with the overall death toll in the last three days rising to 15. Eight deaths were reported from Punjab, while seven people lost their lives in Haryana.

The days-long rain has left behind a trail of destruction in its wake with properties worth crores obliterated and farmlands flooded.

A spokesperson of Punjab government informed that Medicines worth ₹50,000 per district have been purchased and distributed at tehsil headquarters to Senior Veterinary officers.

SVOs have issued the medicines to the teams in affected areas. ₹50,000 per district has been released for the purchase of medicines as per their demand in 11 flood-prone districts (Ropar, Patiala, Ludhiana, SAS Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Moga, Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Kapurthala, Taran-taran and Sangrur).

The Yamuna river in Delhi swelled to the highest recorded level in 10 years on Tuesday and is expected to rise further, officials said on Tuesday.

According to the Central Water Commission's (CWC) flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge rose from 205.4 metres at 5 pm on Monday to 206.76 metres at 8 pm on Tuesday as Haryana discharged more water into the river from the Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar.

It is expected that the river will rise to 207 metres in the early hours on Wednesday and continue to rise further, PTI reported.

Rainfall activity ebbed in north India on Tuesday after three days of onslaught, revealing the extent of death and destruction as authorities reported at least 20 more fatalities and ramped up relief and rescue efforts, PTI reported.

Himachal Pradesh received 249.6 mm average rainfall from July 1 to July 11 against a normal rainfall of 76.6 mm, an excess of 226 per cent, said the weather department.

Kinnaur district received 500 per cent excess rains, followed by Solan 426 per cent, Sirmaur 367 per cent, Shimla 360 per cent, Bilaspur 325 per cent, and Kullu 283 per cent.

Lahaul and Spiti received 233 per cent, Chamba 220 per cent, Una 218 per cent, Hamirpur 171 per cent, Mandi 130 per cent, and Kangra 75 per cent, said the weather office, PTI reported.

Bollywood actor Anupam Kher warned people “not to mess with nature otherwise they would have to pay a price for it,” after rain caused havoc in different parts of the country, particularly in Himachal Pradesh.

The “Kashmir Files” actor took to instagram and said, “The heartbreaking havoc that has caused in different parts of the country, especially in Himachal Pradesh due to rain, is terrifying and alarming. Not only innocent lives have been lost, but also the government and private property worth crores have suffered huge loss. My sympathies and prayers go out to all! But for the past several years I have also been warning that if we continue to mess with nature we will have to pay heavily compensation for it. Greed must end somewhere.”

Kerala's Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Tuesday wrote to Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu urging him to ensure the safety of 47 students from Kerala who are stranded in Manali district due to the flash floods and torrential rains, PTI reported.

Keralite students, including 45 medical students from Government Medical Colleges in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts, have been stranded in the north Indian state since the rains wreaked havoc there, the letter said.

A helicopter sent to evacuate stranded tourists in Chandetral in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh had to return on Tuesday due to bad weather conditions, PTI reported citing officials. The first evacuation sortie took off around 12 noon from Bhuntar but had to return due to bad weather and a thick cloud cover.

Several hydropower plants in Himachal Pradesh have suspended operations due to flooding caused by the torrential rains that the country is currently witnessing. 

According to a Bloomberg report, SJVN Ltd. halted its 1,500 megawatt Nathpa Jhakri plant on Sunday, the hill state’s largest hydro station and will only resume generation once silt levels have subsided. It has also shut a 412 megawatt hydro facility.

Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati, urged the Centre on Tuesday to provide assistance to the areas that have suffered damage and destruction due to heavy rainfall over the past few days. She was quoted by PTI as saying, "The Centre should immediately extend help to the rain-battered states."

Villagers in Himachal's Solan said the condition in the area is bad and that the incessant rain has caused “severe destruction”, PTI reported.

"It's been raining heavily since the last three days which has caused severe destruction. For the first time, I saw a cloudburst, it was a dreadful sight. Roads have been shut, villagers are struggling for medical facilities," says a resident of Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

"We are facing water crisis for the last 4-5 days. We urge the authorities to look into it," say residents of Shimla as water supply to several parts of the city remains disrupted due to heavy rainfall.

A “red alert” has been issued for Uttarakhand and heavy rainfall is expected in northwest UP, ANI reported citing IMD scientist. The report further said that significant rain has subsided in Himachal and light to moderate rain is likely to occur in Delhi/NCR.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of the state. Earlier on Monday he said that the state has not seen such heavy rains for the past 50 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke with the chief minister regarding damages caused due to heavy rains in the state and assured full support to the state government to come out of crisis.

The Chamoli district administration in Uttarakhand on Tuesday said motor connectivity to Kaga, Garpak, Dronagiri, Jellum, Kosa, Malari, Mahargaon, Kailashpur, Prakiya, Bampa, Gamshali and Neeti villages -- all of which lie beyond Jumma village -- were cut off after the bridge was washed away in the flood of Jummagad river. Supply to border outposts by road has also come to a standstill.

Amid heavy rainfall, the flooding in Jummagad river, located in the border area of Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, resulted in the destruction of a bridge constructed over it, leading to the blockage of the Indo-Tibet border road in that region.

In Rajasthan, the weather office has predicted heavy rainfall in Baran, Bharatpur, Bundi, Dholpur, Jhalawar, Karauli, Kota and Sawai Madhopur districts on Wednesday.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall was recorded in isolated parts of Rajasthan and one rain-related death was also reported in Pratapgarh district.

Four pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh died and seven more were injured when a landslide triggered by heavy rainfall buried three vehicles near the Gangnani bridge on the Gangotri National Highway here, officials said on Tuesday.

The incident took place on Monday night when the vehicles came under debris due to the landslide from the hill near the bridge.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed grief over the incident and urged people to avoid unnecessary travel during heavy rains.

Three of the four bodies have been recovered and efforts are underway to pull out the fourth from the rubble, Bhatwadi Sub-Collector Chatar Singh Chauhan said.

(PTI)

A 42-year-old man died while his wife and son were injured when their single-storey house collapsed following incessant rainfall in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, police officials said on Tuesday.

They said the incident occurred in the Salyan neighbourhood of Jewar town around midnight.

"Satveer, his wife Anuradha (38) and son Nitin (19) were inside the house when it collapsed. Neighbours and other local people rushed to help them and the trio was taken to a nearby hospital, where Satveer succumbed to injuries," a police spokesperson said.

The official said the wife and the son are undergoing treatment, adding that the body of the deceased has been sent for a post-mortem examination.

(PTI)

A helicopter from the Indian Air Force (IAF) has been requisitioned to airlift the tourists stranded at Chandertal in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh while a rescue team from Kaza has reached Kunzum Top and is just eight kilometres away from the lake, Principal Secretary, Revenue, Onkar Chand Sharma said on Tuesday.

Around 300 people, mostly tourists, are stuck in camps at Chandertal, located at an altitude of 14,100 feet, following rain and snowfall in the region.

"Two of them were facing breathing issues due to the high altitude and they would be airlifted," Sharma said.

(PTI)

The rain ebbed on Tuesday after three days of incessant downpour, which left behind a trail of destruction in several parts of Punjab and Haryana where properties worth crores were damaged and nine lives lost.

The governments in both states have stepped up efforts to provide relief to affected people even as they scramble to conduct rescue operations.

On Tuesday morning, the weather was clear at most places in the region which brought relief to the people, after the incessant downpour inundated homes and caused extensive damage to crops and vegetables in many districts.

(PTI)

Shimla faces drinking water scarcity amid severe incessant rainfall. Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Ltd (SJPNL) supplies water to people through tankers.

ANI