Man swept away by flood waters in Raj: Modi surveys floods

New Delhi, Aug 1 (UNI) A man was swept away by flood waters in Rajasthan even as Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi made an aerial survey of the flood-hit parts of the state today.

Rains decreased in intensity in Kolhapur and Sangli districts but the flood situation continued to be grim in Maharashtra as there has been no recession in the waters of Krishna, Warna and Panchaganga rivers.

One person was swept away by the overflowing river in Sirohi district of Rajasthan as the entire state experienced heavy downpour and Nakki lake in Mount Abu overflowed. Water seeped into the Nimbu Nala Kacchi Basti threatening the residents there.

Shimla and its adjoining areas were lashed by heavy rains this afternoon after two days of respite from the wet conditions during which almost all mid and lower hills received no rainfall.

Rivers Krishna and Bhima continued to be in spate, with the water levels nearing the danger mark following torrential rains in the catchment areas of Maharashtra and release of heavy water from the Ujjini and Veerbhatkal dams in that State. Official sources said the flood situation in river Bhima was grim with 1.50 lakh cusecs flowing into it today and the water level touching 403.1 M. The district administration had been put on high alert and all precautionary measures taken to evacuate people living in low-lying areas.

The monsoon has been vigorous over west Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Though the rians subsided in Gujarat slightly today heavy to very heavy rain are likely to occur at most places in the state in the next 48 hours.

Hot and humid weather conditions prevailed in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Union Territory as rains eluded most parts of the north-west region today.

However, certain areas in the region received monsoon showers overnight, with Ranjit Sagar Dam site and Shahpur Kandi in Punjab recording 53.4 mm and 53.2 mm downpour till 0830 hours.

In Haryana, some areas including Hodal in Faridabad district, Bahadurgarh in Jhajjar district and Ferozepur Zhirka in Mewat district also had rainfall.

Parts of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir also experienced monsoon showers. Srinagar recorded 11.0 mm and Jammu 8.6 mm while Delhi registered 9.9 mm rain till 0830 hours.

Rain-related incidents in the region have claimed the lives of 15 people during the current monsoon season so far. Nine people have died in Himachal Pradesh, four in Haryana and two in Punjab.

The Met office predicted moderate to heavy rain or thundershowers at many places in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and few places in Punjab during the next 24 hours.

To review and assess the situation in worst rain affected areas of Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi today made an arial survey of Anand, Kheda and Vadodara districts of Central Gujarat in a helicopter of Indian Air Force.

The monsoon has become relatively weak in Uttar Pradesh, however the turbulent Ghagra in Ayodhya was flowing 10 cm above the danger mark, while Sharda in Paliakala was flowing 13 cm above the red mark.

A well marked low pressure has formes over northwest Bay of Bengal off north Orissa West Bengal coasts promising more rains to north coastal Andhra Pradesh and the sky West Bengal remained overcast with some bouts of shower which increased humidity in the state.

UNI TEAM ARB KN2010