Toll reaches 121 in UP, 16 in northwest; landslides in Himachal

New Delhi, July 29 (UNI) Monsoon continued to vent its fury in Uttar Pradesh with the toll reaching 121 and remained active in the northwest region.

The toll in rainfall related incidents in UP has gone up to 121, after two-year-old Raksha drowned in a flooded drain in Allahabad last evening, while rain-related incidents in the northwest region have claimed the lives of 16 people during the current monsoon season so far.

Nine people have died in Himachal Pradesh, four in Haryana and two in Punjab while a teenaged boy was electrocuted in his hostel's dining room in Modasa village in Vidyanagar area of Gujarat last night.

The monsoon remained active in Himachal Pradesh as many areas in northwest region continued to receive rains during the past 24 hours.

Widespread rains lashed mid and lower hills of Himachal Pradesh, triggering fresh landslides in interior areas of Kullu and Shimla districts.

Landslides have also occured at various points on the 320-km Hindustan-Tibet Road. All rivers, including the Beas and the Sutlej, and their tributaries were in spate.

In certain areas of Punjab, the monsoon remained vigorous yesterday, and Haryana also had downpour overnight, bringing down the temperatures.

Heavy rain pounded Kullu, Kangra and Shimla districts last night, inundating low-lying areas.

Rains lashed Shimla and its adjoining rains and tourist resorts of Wildflower Hall, Kufri, Naldehra and Narkanda in Shimla district.

Parts of Jammu and Kashmir and the national capital region of Delhi also experienced monsoon showers.

In UP all prominent rivers including Ganga, Yamuna, Ken, Gomti, Sharda, Ghagra, Rapti and Gandak were flowing above the red mark.

Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Agra and Jhansi divisions were lashed by incessant rainfall.

Several houses have been marooned due to land erosion in Pahari 'Nullah' Makharjhar, a report from Balrampur said.

The southwest monsoon has been vigorous over Gujarat Region, Madhya Maharashtra and active over Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, east Rajasthan, Saurashtra and Kutch, Konkan and Goa. It has been subdued over Arunachal Pradesh.

In Bengal, an alert was sounded and fishermen were warned against venturing into the deep sea as rains have affected life across the state, since last night.

In Bihar, almost all the major rivers including Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Bagmati Kosi, Ganga and Mahananda, were in spate maintaining pressure at several places on the embankments.

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