[ad_1]
With the intensity of rains decreasing in northern India, the focus has shifted to rescue and relief operations to deal with the damage that monsoons continue to plague the population. Thousands were evacuated in Delhi, where a red alert was sounded after the Yamuna River crossed a 208-metre barrier on Wednesday night, much earlier than expected.
In Himachal, 88 people have died, 16 are missing and 100 have been injured so far due to the rains. At least 492 animals have also died across the state.
At least 10 people have lost their lives in Haryana so far as Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced a gratuity of Rs 4 lakh to the relatives of the deceased. Another 11 people were killed in the neighboring province of Punjab, where the pace of rescue operations accelerated as the showers stopped.
Over the next two days, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued a ‘red’ alert for Bihar, and an ‘orange’ alert for Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand.
Here are the latest monsoon updates
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh, one of the states hardest hit by the rains, saw many evacuations as people remained stuck in areas closed by landslides.
The Met Office issued a “yellow” warning for heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightning on July 15 and 16.
An Indian Air Force helicopter was stationed to airlift stranded tourists at Chandertal in Lahaul and Spiti districts. About 300 rounds are still stuck in camps at Chandertal.
As many as 1,239 roads, including the Shimla-Kalka and Manali-Chandigarh national highways, have been closed due to the heavy rains.
However, stopping in the continuous rain helps increase the efficiency of rescue operations.
Light to heavy rains hit parts of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday with Daula Kawan recording 144.5mm of rain, Renuka 87mm, Rikungpo 42mm, Kotkhai 30mm, Hamirpur 16.5, Shimla 13.5, Dharamshala 13mm and Kalpa 10mm.
Delhi
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday chaired an emergency meeting with government ministers and asked people residing in flood-prone areas to move to a safer place as “life is most important”.
He also assured that the Delhi government had made all the arrangements in the relief camps, including food, toilets and other basic facilities.
In view of this situation, Delhi Police has imposed preventive measures under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in flood-prone areas of the city. This essentially prevents illegal assembly of four or more people and general movement in groups.”
Punjab
With six more deaths reported in Haryana and Punjab on Wednesday, the total death toll due to rain-related incidents rose to 21-11 in Punjab and 10 in Haryana.
This comes as heavy rains have left life out of control in the two states.
Authorities said about 14,000 people were shifted to safer places from waterlogged areas in Patiala, Rupnagar, Muga, Ludhiana, Mohali, SBS Nagar, Tarn Taran, Jalandhar and Fattigarh Sahib districts of Punjab over the past three days.
So far more than 1,000 villages in Punjab have been affected and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is monitoring the situation closely.
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dami again on Wednesday asked people to avoid non-essential travel as it continues to rain in the state. The state government has also issued a helpline for those stranded in the disaster.
“Our government has released disaster relief numbers to help the people of Uttarakhand who are stranded in various places of the state and in Himachal Pradesh,” Dhami said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, three persons were killed after their vehicle plunged into the swollen Khoh River in Kotdwar of Puri district of Uttarakhand, police reported on Wednesday.
Uttar Pradesh
At least 12 people have died due to heavy rains in the state in the last 24 hours, the relief commissioner of Uttar Pradesh said on Wednesday.
With agency input
[ad_2]
