NEW DELHI: At least seven more people died and hundreds were left stranded on Tuesday as torrent waters surged over villages, towns, and fields from the desert state of Rajasthan to the highlands of Himachal Pradesh. The rain in north India ebbed in some parts and pelted down in others.
The state administrations intensified relief and rescue operations in the impacted areas, traversing the trail of devastation left by the nonstop rain for the previous three days.
Four of the most recent fatalities were recorded in Uttarakhand, and the other fatalities were in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Punjab. On top of that, there are the 37 deaths that have been reported as of Monday.
The meteorological department issued an alert for Shimla, Sirmaur, and Kinnaur districts in Himachal Pradesh, one of the most affected states and the location of at least 300 stranded people.
The last three days have seen nonstop rain in the northwest of India, with “heavy to extremely heavy” precipitation being recorded in numerous locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
In Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab, this led to overflowing rivers, streams, and drains that severely destroyed infrastructure and disrupted vital services.
The Yamuna in the nation’s capital has risen above the 206-meter evacuation threshold, forcing residents in flood-prone regions to move to safer areas and forcing the closure of the Old Railway Bridge to both road and rail traffic.
On Monday night, considerably sooner than expected, the river in Delhi passed the 205.33-meter danger mark. The Central Water Commission (CWC) reports that Haryana released extra water into the Yamuna from the Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar, causing the water level at the Old Railway Bridge to rise from 205.4 metres at 5 p.m. on Monday to 206.38 metres at 12 p.m. on Tuesday.
Four Madhya Pradesh pilgrims perished and seven others were injured in Uttarakhand on Monday night when a landslip brought on by heavy rain buried three vehicles close to the Gangnani bridge on the Gangotri National Highway.
An official stated that two of the seven injured people are in critical condition and that efforts are being made to remove the other three bodies from the wreckage.
After flooding in the Jummagad river in Chamoli district on Monday night demolished a bridge built on it and obstructed the Indo-Tibetan border route, more than a dozen border communities lost communication. The bridge was located close to Jumma village on the Joshimath-Niti highway, around 45 kilometres from Joshimath.
An Indian Air Force chopper was requested in Himachal Pradesh to transport the tourists stranded at Chandertal in the Lahaul and Spiti district, but it was forced to turn around due to inclement weather. According to officials, a rescue crew from Kaza has arrived at Kunzum Top and is only eight km from the lake.
Following rain and snowfall in the area, 300 people, largely tourists, are trapped in camps at Chandertal, which is located at an elevation of 14,100 feet. According to officials, everyone who was trapped would be moved to safe locations by Tuesday night. They also mentioned that on Monday, about 100 people were rescued from various locations in the hill state.
For road restoration, two crews have been assigned—one from Kaza and the other from the Losar side. According to them, the team consists of officials from the administration, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), the police, and local people.
According to the officials, since the beginning of the monsoon on June 24, Himachal has lost Rs 780 crore, and the amount is predicted to rise due to extensive damage to roads, bridges, and water delivery schemes.
The rescue operations and road repair work have accelerated since Monday night, when it last rained.
The daytime itinerary for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu includes stops in Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, and Mandi.
After three days of nonstop rain in Punjab and Haryana, which left a trail of devastation in numerous areas of the state, the weather cleared on Tuesday.
Relief shelters have reportedly been created in the affected areas of the two states, including Rupnagar, Patiala, Mohali, Ambala, and Panchkula.
The roof of a 75-year-old man’s mud home collapsed in Hoshiarpur, Punjab, on the night between July 9 and 10, and he died as a result. In Sultanpur Lodhi, a 24-year-old man is suspected to have drowned while attempting to cling on to his motorbike in the flooded Chitti rivulet near Shahkot while the Sutlej river was under water.
A residential school for girls in Haryana’s Ambala City had 730 pupils overall who were relocated to Kurukshetra after floodwaters flooded their dormitory complex on Monday night after a surge in the Ghaggar river.
People in nearby low-lying districts have been urged to remain away from the riverbank since the Yamuna river’s level at the state’s Hathini Kund Barrage has been steadily rising, according to officials.
The barrage released about 3.21 lakh cusecs of water at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the officials. According to reports, this is the barrage’s largest water flow of the year.
Many villages in the districts of Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, and Sonepat, as well as those around the Yamuna River, have been placed on high alert.
In some of the worst-affected parts of Punjab and Haryana, water and power supplies have broken down, but authorities are working to restore them.
Due to waterlogging, a number of important highways in Haryana, notably the Ambala-Ludhiana National Highway, have been temporarily closed to vehicular traffic.
A single-story home in the Gautam Buddh Nagar region of Uttar Pradesh fell before midnight, killing a 42-year-old man and injuring his wife and son.
In remote areas of Rajasthan, where a 35-year-old man drowned on Monday night in the swollen Karmvachhni river in Pratapgarh district, strong to very high rains was also observed.
