Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 11: Intensity of rainfall was reduced in most parts of north India on Tuesday after leaving a trail of destruction in many parts of the region with the scenario seemed to shifting towards the eastern parts of the country where the weather bureau has forecast “extremely heavy rainfall” in the next couple of days.
Though rain continued to lash various parts of north India including New Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday adding seven more deaths taking the toll in the current monsoon to 44, the intensity was much less than what the north India, particularly Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, had been experiencing in the last three days. But bad weather conditions continued to hamper airlifting of tourists from Himachal’s Chandertal while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) also issued “red” and “orange” alerts for several districts of Uttarakhand for the next 24 hours.
“A red alert has been issued for very heavy rainfall in Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Kullu, Mandi, Kinnaur, and Lahaul for the next 24 hours. Additionally, an orange alert has been issued in Una, Hamirpur, Kangra, and Chamba. A flash flood warning has been issued for Mandi, Kinnaur, and Lahaul-Spiti for the next 24 hours,” said senior IMD Scientist Sandeep Kumar Sharma.
But the IMD has predicted “heavy, very heavy, and extremely heavy” rainfall in 23 states in the country. An extremely heavy rainfall is expected in West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya while most other states including Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa are expected to receive “heavy rainfall,” the weather office said.
The scale of the damage in the entire north Indian region has been captured in visuals of bridges being swept away, boulders tumbling down hills due to rain-induced landslides, and vehicles swallowed by the gushing waters.
The River Yamuna in Delhi breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres late on Monday evening entering into the residential areas on the banks of the river. The water level continued to rise overnight, and by this morning, it had reached 206.32 meters. The increase in water level was due to Haryana releasing more water into the river from the Hathnikund barrage.
In Haryana and Punjab, after three days of heavy rain, special teams have been deployed to assess the damage and to provide food, water, and shelter to those who have been displaced. A flood-like situation developed in a private housing colony in Punjab’s Dera Bassi after a fresh spell of rain. The water level rose so high that boats and tractors had to be used to rescue locals who were stuck in their homes.
In Himachal Pradesh, the worst affected state in north India, heavy rain battered the state, leading to the deaths of 30 people and causing damage worth ₹ 3,000 crore. The state capital Shimla reported the highest number of casualties with 11 dead. According to the police, 29 of the 30 dead have been identified. Additionally, over 500 tourists have been stranded in various parts of the state after rain-induced landslides cut off access to the areas.
Heavy rain and falling boulders killed four people and injured seven others in Uttarakhand last evening. The boulders tumbled down the hills and crushed three vehicles that were passing by. An orange alert has been sounded in the state with Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami saying that his administration remains “on full alert.”
The Amarnath Yatra resumed from the Jammu base camp on Tuesday afternoon after remaining suspended for three days in view of the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway for repairs in the Ramban section. A fresh batch of pilgrims was allowed to move towards Kashmir for their onward journey to the Amarnath cave shrine as the highway, which had been damaged at several places due to incessant rainfall, was opened, they said.
State governments stepped up relief and rescue efforts in the affected districts, navigating the trail of destruction left behind by the incessant downpour of the last three days. Four of the latest fatalities were reported in Uttarakhand and the rest in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab. This is in addition to the 37 deaths reported till Monday.
In Uttarakhand, 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 in Uttarkashi district on Monday night.
Three of the four bodies have been recovered and efforts are underway to pull out the fourth from the rubble, an official said, adding that two of the seven people injured are in serious condition.
Floods in the Jummagad river in Chamoli district on Monday night washed away a bridge built on it, blocking the Indo-Tibetan border road and snapping contact with over a dozen border villages. The bridge was located near Jumma village on the Joshimath-Niti highway, about 45 km from Joshimath.
A chopper sent to Chandetral in Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh to evacuate stranded tourists had to return due to bad weather conditions, officiating Director General of Police Satwant Atwal said. “Will try again as the cloud cover gives way,” she said in a tweet. The first evacuation sortie took off around 12 noon from Bhuntar but had to return due to bad weather and a thick cloud cover.
The helicopter from the Indian Air Force (IAF) was requisitioned to airlift the tourists stranded at Chandertal, 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. 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. According to officials, about 800 people are still stranded at Chandertal and Pagal Nallah in Lahaul and different parts of Mandi.
Key highways, including the Ambala-Ludhiana national highway, were temporarily closed for vehicular traffic on Tuesday due to waterlogging. Ambala Deputy Commissioner Shaleen said the decision to temporarily close the highway was taken as a stretch of the road was inundated.
Other key highways — Ambala-Chandigarh and Ambala-Hisar — have also been temporarily closed for vehicular traffic since Monday evening. Officials said water, coming through agricultural fields, was flowing on the main carriageway. Normal vehicular movement was also adversely affected on some other highways, including state highways, in many districts of the twin States.
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