Heavy rains lash northern states, leave 25 dead in Himachal alone
Some parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal are likely to receive widespread rainfall over the next 24 hoursThe disaster relief operations team remained on alert in Punjab as well
After ravaging parts of Kerala and Karnataka, incessant monsoon rains took a toll on parts of northern India, killing at least 25 people and causing widespread destruction in Himachal Pradesh.
According to the state government, at least 25 people have died in Himachal Pradesh, where the rains have caused damage of up to ₹574 crore. Several roads leading to Kullu and Chamba remained blocked due to landslides. Heavy rains also impacted the drinking water supplies at several places in Kangra after water pipes were damaged.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), continuous moisture feeding from the Arabian Sea led to the intense rainfall for more than two days.
While the overall rainfall activity in India has begun to decrease, parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh will continue to receive widespread rainfall for the next 24 hours.
The continuous rain in the catchment areas led to water levels rising in the Yamuna and its tributaries, prompting authorities to release nearly 8.14 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage in Yamunanagar district of Haryana at 5pm on Sunday. This is the largest discharge from the Hathnikund barrage till date.
The flow from Hathnikhund usually takes around 60 hours to reach Delhi Railway Bridge and this has compelled the Central Water Commission (CWC) to issue a flood alert for Delhi. According to the CWC, the water level at Delhi Railway Bridge may cross 207.00 metres on Wednesday morning, leading to flooding of low-lying areas near the Yamuna, especially around the bridge.
Disaster relief teams remained on alert in Punjab as well, where a heavy inflow prompted authorities to open the floodgates of the Bhakra Nangal dam, causing floods in eight districts. With water levels in the Satluj, Ravi, Beas, and Ghaggar rising rapidly, the inflows in Bhakra, Pong, and Pandoa dams have also increased.
A strict watch is also being kept over releasing any excess flow from any of the dams in Rajasthan, which has witnessed incessant rainfall over the last few days causing a rise in the water levels of Chambal river and its tributaries.
Meanwhile, the toll has reached 121 in flood-hit Kerala which is still recovering from last year’s devastating floods that killed about 400 people and damaged ₹35,000 crore worth of properties. According to the disaster management cell, the northern district of Malappuram has so far been the worst hit this monsoon season, with 58 people dead and 13 missing. Kerala has pressed a radar system from Hyderabad’s National Geophysical Research Institute into service to search for missing people. The floods have destroyed 1,789 houses, with another 14,542 suffering partial damage.
In neighbouring Karnataka, floods have claimed at least 82 lives, and affected more than half the state’s population. According to the authorities, floods in the northern parts were because of unregulated release of waters from the Koyna reservoir in neighbouring Maharashtra, which raised the level of the Krishna river and inundated nearby villages. Belagavi, a district that borders Maharashtra, is one of the worst hit with 19 deaths reported from there. Another 10 people have died in Shivamogga, while the coffee growing districts of Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru have recorded a total of at least 23 deaths, according to disaster management data.
The Met department has predicted fairly widespread rainfall over the southern peninsula, especially Rayalaseema, south interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana over the next two days.
srishti.c@livemint.com
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