Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 10: Punjab and Haryana governments sought army’s help as relentless torrential rains continued to lash most parts of north India taking a toll of at least 32 lives in the last three days and throwing the normal life out of gear.
Heavy rain in several parts of north India has brought the region to its knees with Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh continued to be battered by rains for the third straight day in a row on Monday with Himachal Pradesh remaining the worst-hit state.
The torrential monsoon rains in Himachal Pradesh that triggered incidents of cloud bursts, flash floods, and landslides during the past three days, have claimed at least 20 human lives so far in the state even as the weather department has predicted more downpour for Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Delhi and its adjoining areas over the next couple of days.
In cities and towns in these states, many roads and buildings remain submerged in knee-deep water. Frightening images of the chaos – vehicles floating like paper boats, muddy waters gushing into residential areas, structures submerged on the banks by the swollen rivers and land cave-ins – were shared online by people from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi.
Several people were seen standing atop an overturned bus waiting to be rescued in Haryana in one of the many scenes of despair across north India. The bus from Himachal Pradesh overturned on the flooded Ambala-Yamunanagar road. Visuals from the spot showed passengers trapped amid the raging floodwaters being rescued with the help of a crane and rope.
In Himachal Pradesh, landslides and flash floods, triggered by incessant rain, damaged houses, structures and paralysed normal life. Some shops and vehicles were also washed away in flash floods in Manali, Kullu, Kinnaur and Chamba as all major rivers – including Ravi, Beas, Satluj, Swan and Chenab – are in spate.
Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has appealed to people to stay indoors for the next 24 hours. “I want to request all residents of the state, please stay home for the next 24 hours because very heavy rain is expected. We have started three helplines — 1100, 1070, 1077. You can call up these numbers to share information about anyone stuck in the calamity. I am available round the clock to help you,” he said in a video message.
“So far, more than 20 people have lost their lives majorly due to road accidents and similar reasons. The loss of lives due to landslides and flash floods is not as high. Over 1,300 roads, including major national highways, district, and link roads in the state, are affected. We are on high alert for the next two days,” Himachal Pradesh Minister Jagat Singh Negi said on Monday.
Landslides and flash floods were reported in neighbouring Uttarakhand too, with reports of water level in rivers and streams crossing the danger mark. A red alert has been issued for Kathua and Samba districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Although, the Amarnath Yatra resumed on Sunday from the Panjtarni and the Sheshnag base camps after remaining suspended for three days.
Heavy rain in several parts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana led to massive waterlogging and flooding in low-lying areas, prompting authorities to swing into action in the worst-hit places.
In Himachal, Sukhu said efforts were underway to evacuate around 300 stranded people, which tourists and residents in Lahaul-Spiti and Kullu districts by using helicopters once the weather permits. He said the ‘Shrikhand Mahadev Yatra’ has been halted for the rest of the season due to six deaths reported during the pilgrimage.
In Mandi district’s Nagwain, where six people were stranded were safely evacuated on Sunday night, while 29 people trapped in Manali’s potato ground were rescued at around 8 a.m. The Mandi administration got 113 houses evacuated in the wake of a flood-like situation in River Beas. About 200 tourists are stranded near Chandertal Lake in Lahaul and Spiti district, and efforts are underway to rescue them. An operation has been launched to trace the eight missing local people at Lohardi in the Baijnath area of district Kangra.
Heavy rains that triggered landslides have left hundreds stranded as several roads — including national highways — have been damaged due to landslides, adversely impacting vehicular movement in Himachal Pradesh. The incessant rains have left rivers Sutlej, Ravi, and Beas flowing through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in Haryana in spate. In Haryana, rivers Yamuna and Ghaggar are flowing close to the danger mark.
All schools in Gurgaon and Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and many parts of Punjab remained closed on Monday as heavy rain has led to waterlogging. The Gurgaon administration has also advised corporate houses to work from home today to avoid traffic jams. The IMD said an interaction between a western disturbance and monsoonal winds is leading to an intense rainfall spell over northwest India.
Several low-lying areas of Punjab and Haryana are practically under water after torrential rain, prompting authorities to swing into action in the worst-hit places. The heavy monsoon downpour led to traffic snarls on key road stretches in the two states and resulted in flight delays.
Haryana’s Ambala administration announced holidays on Monday and Tuesday in all government and private schools of the district as more showers were forecast for the area. Three rivers Markanda, Ghaggar and Tangri were reported to flow close to the danger mark in Ambala. Schools have also been ordered to remain shut in Haryana’s Panchkula district on Monday.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, has been receiving heavy downpour. According to weather data from 5.30 am to 8.30 am on Sunday, Chandigarh received 63 mm of rainfall. A large portion of a dividing road caved in the city amid the heavy rain.
Punjab has already received nearly 70 percent of this month’s quota of rain in just two days. Unprecedented scenes are being witnessed in the key cities of the state with residents being rescued in boats, people wading through neck-deep water and vehicles being swept away. Chandigarh, Mohali have recorded over 50 percent of their annual rain quota in the last 50 hours.
While life in urban areas has been completely thrown out of gear, thousands of acres of agricultural land with standing paddy crop has been submerged under water due to the incessant rain. Central and state rescue teams and even forces from the Indian Army have been brought in to carry out evacuations from the low-lying areas of Patiala, Rochar and Mohali – cities which are virtually underwater with Satluj, Beas Ghaggar rivers flowing above danger levels.
Flood-like conditions and water logging have been reported from several places in Punjab following continuous rain including Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar (Mohali), Anandpur Sahib, Pathankot, Rupnagar, Nawanshahr and Fathegarh Sahib districts. Several roads, railway tracks, and farmland have been inundated following rains. People have been complaining of no power and water supply in many parts of the flood-affected areas.
As Punjab and Haryana sought help from the Army, the flood relief columns of Western Command were mobilised to assist the civil administration in rescue and evacuation efforts in the flood-affected areas. The flood relief reconnaissance party was dispatched to the affected areas of Rupnagar, Mohali and Panchkula. The rescue team alongwith the Army Engineer detachments worked throughout the night to evacuate the stranded people and helped to prevent the breaching of canals by the flood waters. “Approximately 50 civilians and 910 students of a private university stranded by the flood waters were evacuated to safe locations. At Araji Sabran village of Ferozepur district, 44 persons, including women and children were evacuated from the affected areas to safe locations,” according to an official statement.
Officials said rail operations on the Shimla-Kalka route, a UNESCO world heritage site, have been suspended till Tuesday as landslides blocked the track at several places while educational institutions across the state were ordered to remain shut on Monday and Tuesday.