Monsoon fury: Delhi on high alert as Yamuna breaches danger mark, 38 killed across North India

Several people were stranded in parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh due to rain-triggered landslides. Floods wreaked havoc in several areas in Punjab, Haryana and Jammu, while national capital remained on edge due to deluge warnings.

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In Short

  • Death toll in Himachal reaches 22, while 12 others killed in Uttarakhand
  • Flooded Yamuna wreaks havoc across in Haryana, thousands evacuated in Delhi
  • Punjab also on edge as authorities evacuate over 600 people from 45 villages on Satluj banks

Torrential rains claimed at least 38 lives and left thousands others displaced in parts of North India on Monday. Several people were stranded in parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh due to rain-triggered landslides. Floods wreaked havoc in several areas in Punjab, Haryana and Jammu, while national capital remained on edge due to deluge warnings.

Indian Air Force helicopters carried dramatic rescue operations in Jammu and Karnal districts, and the administration was on alert in parts of Haryana and Punjab.

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The water level rose above the danger mark in Haridwar and Delhi and the level at Bhakra dam was a foot above the permissible mark.

The government suspended the Kailash Manasarovar Yatra through traditional Lipulekh route halted due to incessant rain in the higher reaches of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand. Batches already on the move have also been stopped at safer places en route.

Toll mounts despite less rainfall

Although the rainfall had subsided across the region on Monday, rivers in several parts of the region were in spate.

Three more people were reported dead in Himachal Pradesh where heavy rains over the weekend caused floods and landslides, increasing the toll to 25.

In neighbouring Uttarakhand, the toll climbed to 12 with two more bodies being recovered on Monday. Cloudbursts had wreaked havoc in a dozen villages of Uttarkashi district, washing away houses and hectares of agricultural land.

The water released from barrages went to create dangerous conditions in the lower regions. A 16-year-old boy drowned in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah due to release of water from Kota Barrage into the Chambal.

WATCH: IAF rescues 9 people from flooded field in Haryana

Ground report from Haryana

Flooded Yamuna continues to wreak havoc in Haryana where more than 84 villages located along the banks of the river have been evacuated as a precautionary measure. The state government authorities have issued a red alert in four districts including Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat.

More than two dozen villages in Yamunanagar district have been flooded by the Yamuna. The residents were compelled to spend sleepless nights as the flood water entered their homes.

Nine members of a family who were struck in Kanpur Tapu village were rescued by the Indian Air Force officials on Monday after their hutments swept away in the flood. The family members were compelled to climb up a tree when the water level rose as high as 4 feet.

One of the family members, who had a mobile phone, managed to inform the local administration. They were rescued at 2:45 AM and were air lifted to Karnal.

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However, the water level at Hathnikund Barrage on Monday fell to 1.87 lakh cusecs from 8. 2 8 lakh cusecs recorded on Sunday which was highest in the last six years. It was recorded 8,06464 on June 17 2013.

"People living in low lying areas have been moved to safer areas. No loss of life has been reported from any part of the district so far. We have also put the NDRF teams on alert. The good news is that the water level at Hathnikund Barrage has fallen as low as one-fourth of which we had released on Sunday," Deputy commissioner Yamunanagar Mukul Dev told India Today TV.

However, the water released from Hathnikund Barrage on Sunday has already caused huge damage to the crops, private and public property besides forcing the people to leave their belongings.

The floodwater released from Hathnikund Barrage together with the tributaries of Yamuna river has spilled over on the roads, paddy fields beside the houses in the areas located on the banks of Yamuna.

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Ground report from Punjab

The situation in parts of Punjab is also grim, prompting the government to declare the current flood situation in the affected villages of the state a natural calamity.

Human settlements located along the river Sutlej are facing a flood threat in Punjab. More than 600 people belonging to 45 different villages have been rescued and moved to safer places.

The flood situation in Punjab is likely to aggravate following the incessant rains in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

NDRF team at work in Anandpur Sahib, Rupnagar, Punjab (Source: NDRF)

The impact of floods is clearly seen on the Bhakra dam which has already crossed the 1680 feet danger mark and its current level is 1681 feet. However, the authorities have said that the water released from the dam did not cause flooding in Punjab. Instead, they said, the water level in Punjab rivers rose due to incessant rains in the region.

Also read | Punjab CM assesses flood damage, announces Rs 100 cr for relief measures

Meanwhile, the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced Rs 100 Crore for emergency relief and rehabilitation measures in the flood-hit regions of the state.

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The Chief Minister made these announcements during a tour of the flood-affected areas of Rupnagar.

He was informed by the Chief Engineer Drainage that danger continued to lurk in areas adjacent to the Satluj river and further downstream, at Harike Headworks in Ferozepur.

Landslides rock Himachal Pradesh

The death toll in the neighbouring Himachal Pradesh has touched 22. Hundreds of link roads beside the major National Highways remained shut following the landslides after the torrential rains.

Over 500 people were stranded as several roads were blocked by landslides and flash floods, officials said. The rains have so far caused damage adding up to Rs 574 crore, according to a state government spokesperson.

The incessant rainfall for the last two days damaged water pipes and hit supplies in Kangra district, another official said on Monday.

Read | Heavy rains to continue in Himachal, over 500 stuck

Uttarakhand

Most rivers in Uttarakhand were in spate, with the Ganga crossing the danger mark in Haridwar and flowing close to it in Rishikesh.

Two bodies were recovered this evening from Makudi as search operations were intensified on Monday with the weather being clearer, Uttarkashi Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal said, adding five were still missing. All bodies except one have been identified, he said.

So far six bodies have been pulled from the rubble in Makudi, four from Arakot and one each from Tikochi and Sanel. Sixty head of cattle have also been killed in the cloudbursts in Mori block.

Three helicopters, including one from the IAF, were pressed into service to take relief material including food packets, rations and essential medicines to people.

With the Met department predicting heavy rainfall in parts of the state on Monday, all schools and anganwadi centres in nine of 13 districts remained closed.

National capital on edge

Over 10,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas in Delhi as the water level in the Yamuna river crossed the danger mark.

According to a Delhi government official, the river was flowing at 205.54 metres, above the danger mark of 205.33 metres.

The official said that the water level is expected to rise further as Haryana released 1.43 lakh cusec water at 6 pm on Monday.

People living in banks of Yamuna in New Delhi are being evacuated as the river is flowing above the danger mark (IANS photo)

Also read | Front portion of Nigambodh Ghat flooded as Yamuna breaches danger mark, over 10,000 evacuated

The Yamuna flows through six districts of Delhi whose low-lying areas are prone to flooding. The administration has deployed 30 boats to prevent accidental drowning.

The Delhi government has also set up tents opposite Mayur Vihar Extension to accommodate around 23,000 displaced people during flooding. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told media on Monday that the shelters have been equipped with clean toilet, food and water supply. However, India Today TV ground report found that there was just one toilet which was not clean and there were no provisions for water or food.

Dramatic rescue in Jammu

In Jammu, an Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter rescued four fishermen who were stuck in swollen waters of the Tawi river, officials said. They were stranded on a concrete platform at the bottom of a pillar of an under-construction structure to create a lake at Baghwati Nagar, they said.

The Air Force was called after state disaster response force and police personnel failed to reach the fishermen, the officials said.

Other states facing deluge

Several rivers including the Ganga, Yamuna and Ghaghra were in spate in Uttar Pradesh due to heavy rains in neighbouring states, leading to floods in low-lying areas that left one person dead.

Light to heavy rains also lashed parts of Rajasthan since Sunday. Due to rains, 6,000 cusecs of water was released from the Bisalpur dam in Tonk on Monday as it reached its capacity of 315.05 metres.

The Met department has also issued a yellow alert for very heavy rain in 17 districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Maharashtra, Karnataka announce sops for flood victims

Life is limping back to normal in states which were affected by floods until last week. Rehabilitation work is underway in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Odisha and Gujarat. Maharashtra government announced loan waiver for farmers, new houses for those who lost their dwellings built under the PM Awas Yojana in the deluge and free foodgrains for the people affected by the recent floods.

While the Karnataka government released Rs 195 crore for relief measure and to provide immediate compensation of Rs 10,000 to the flood victims.

"Government has released Rs 80 crore towards additional grant under SDRF to meet the state share to pay Rs 10,000 each to the flood victims to buy basic necessities such as clothes etc," an official statement said.

"Government has also released Rs 115 crore to the PD account of DCs to take up relief measures in the flood-hit area," it said.

The Indian Meteorological Department predicts that rainfall is likely to subside in the coming days, however, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh may experience more than normal rainfall.

(With inputs from Nayanika Singhal in New Delhi)