A total of 39 National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF) have been deployed across four northern Indian states to respond to heavy rains and floods
Post Date – 06:00 AM, Tuesday – July 23rd 11th
New Delhi: Continued rains in parts of northern India on Monday caused more death and destruction, with 37 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents over the past two days, even as Army and NDRF teams stepped in to step up rescue operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed the situation with the chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and assured them of the central government’s all help and support. Modi also spoke with senior ministers and officials and assessed the situation after heavy rains in parts of the country, his office said.
Flash floods and landslides have killed 18 people in Himachal Pradesh over the past two days, nine in Punjab and Haryana, seven in Rajasthan and three in Uttar Pradesh. Many rivers, including the Yamuna River in Delhi in northern India, are surging. In towns and cities across the region, many roads and housing estates were knee-deep in water, and municipal systems were unable to sustain themselves in the face of Sunday’s record rainfall.
A total of 39 National Disaster Response Forces (NDRF) have been deployed across four states in northern India to respond to heavy rains and floods. 14 teams are working in Punjab, 12 teams are deployed in Himachal Pradesh, 8 teams are deployed in Uttarakhand and 5 teams are deployed in Haryana. “Rescue operations are being carried out according to local conditions and in coordination with state authorities,” an NDRF spokesman said.
In Punjab, the army rescued 910 students and 50 others from a private university in the state that was flooded by heavy rains. Civil administrations in Punjab and Haryana had earlier asked the Army for help in the rescue operation, and the Army sent a flood control column from the Army Western Command to assist government departments in flood-affected areas of the two countries.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday asked the center to provide additional relief from the PM CARES Fund to states affected by the torrential rains. In Himachal Pradesh, where the monsoon surge continued unabated on Monday, flash floods and landslides over the past two days have killed 18 people, affected hydropower projects and destroyed properties worth hundreds of crores. As many as 72 people have died in rain-related incidents in the state since June 24.
More than 300 tourists and locals were stranded in Chandertal, Pagal Nallah and elsewhere in Lahaul and Spiti, while NDRF, police and home guards rescued 515 laborers from the flooded slum area of Lalsingi, Una district, officials said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said efforts were underway to rescue the 300 trapped people and they could be airlifted when the weather clears. Power and water supplies have been cut off in several areas.
According to a government statement, damage assessment is underway and the damage is estimated to be between Rs 3,000 and 4,000 crore, he said.
However, the initial estimate of the damage by the National Emergency Operations Center was Rs 7.85 billion. Eighteen people were reported to have died from the rain since Sunday morning. About 800 roads in the state remain closed. Bus services on 1,255 routes of the Himachal Highway Transport Corporation (HRTC) have been suspended, with 576 buses stranded at various points along the routes, according to transport department officials.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a “red” alert for “extraordinary rainstorms” on Monday morning, a day after heavy rains hit the state, triggering landslides and damaging homes. Rail operations on the Unesco World Heritage Site Shimla-Kalka route had been suspended until Tuesday after a landslide blocked several tracks, while educational institutions across the state were ordered to remain closed on Monday and Tuesday, officials said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called a meeting on Monday over the torrential rains and rising water levels in Yamuna.
Kejriwal told a news conference that evacuations of residents in low-lying areas around Yamuna will begin once the river reaches the 206-meter mark, while assuring people that experts said flooding conditions were likely to be avoided in the capital. He said the government was closely monitoring the situation and was fully prepared to respond. In Uttar Pradesh, heavy rains in Harpur and Padang districts caused roofs to collapse, killing three people and seriously injuring others, as persistent showers disrupted normal life in different parts of the state.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed all relevant departments to remain vigilant in case heavy rains in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh caused river levels to rise. In Rajasthan, heavy monsoon rains have brought normal life to a standstill in the eastern and central parts of the state, with roads, railway tracks and even hospitals flooded. More showers are expected to hit more than a dozen areas on Tuesday.
A seven-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters in an overflowing gutter in the Mulipura district of the state capital Jaipur on Monday, as several parts of the region experienced waterlogging. Three drowning deaths were reported in Ajmer, two in Nagar and one in Tonk. The Met Office sent out Monday to Alwar, Banswara, Baram, Bharatpur, Dawsa, Delpur, Dungapur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Shirohi and Udaipur and Yellow alert for heavy rains issued for Baram, Bundi, Dungapur, Jalawal, Kota, Pratapgarh and Sawai Madhopur on Tuesday. The state has 33 districts.
The IMD uses four color codes for weather warnings: green (no action needed), yellow (watch and stay updated), orange (be prepared), and red (take action). Rains battered parts of the states of Punjab and Haryana on Monday, causing flooding in many places and authorities scrambling to lead rescue efforts to move people to safer places. Nine people have died in rain-related incidents in both states. In light of the current situation, the Punjab provincial government ordered schools in the state to remain closed until July 13.
