Barmer submerged under water; new system likely over Bay

New Delhi, Aug 25 (UNI) Several villages in the border areas of Rajasthan's Barmer district remained submerged under 10-20 feet water as continued rain in catchment areas led rivers to swell in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Divers from Mumbai and Kota have been called in to fish out the bodies feared washed away in the flood waters.

The villagers in Malva village in Barmer district told officials that Army jawans have been able to save 26 people while there is no information about the rest 80. Former MP Colonel Sonaram has claimed that more than 1,000 people have lost their lives in the flood.

With no proper drainage system in the villages, it has become difficult for draining out the flood water. And as such it has become almost impossible to search for the dead bodies until the water recedes.

According to a government press release, at least 2,850 people have been shifted to safer places and 15,000 tonne relief supplies have already been distributed.

Even as the people of flood-hit North Coastal Andhra Pradesh heaved a sigh of relief with the weakening of the low pressure which was moving further away from the state, the Met office said a new system was likely over northwest Bay of Bengal by Sunday.

With the southwest monsoon being active, eastern and northern Madhya Pradesh received heavy rainfall, although its effect was less in other parts.

Moderate rain also pounded many areas in the north-west region as monsoon remained active in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh during the past 24 hours.

Moderate rain lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh, including mid and lower hills, triggering fresh landslides. All rivers, including the Beas, Sutlej and the Ravi and their tributaries flowing through the state were swollen.

Rains also lashed Jammu region and the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded 5.2 mm.

Continued rain in catchment areas have led to all major rivers swell in this part of East Uttar Pradesh, including the Ganga, which breached the danger mark in neighbouring Ballia district. Among other rivers, Gomti was rising at Jaunpur, but receding in Sultanpur, while Yamuna was also on the downward spiral in Naini.

Monsoon was weak over Karnataka. Rainfall occurred at isolated places over Coastal and North Interior regions and mainly dry weather prevailed over the South Interior Karnataka.

While Kolkatans experienced a bright and sunny day after heavy rainfall for the last few days, warm and humid weather persisted in Delhi even though westerly winds provided some relief from sultry conditions of yesterday.

Some showers could, however, be expected by the end of the weekend or the beginning of next week with the weather office predicting rain and thundershowers at a few places over Himachal Pradesh and West Uttar Pradesh in the next two to three days which, in turn, could result in some rainfall in Delhi as well.

Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at many places in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh and Konkan and Goa.

Rain or thundershowers are also likely to occur at a few places in Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, east Rajasthan, west Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Madhya Maharashtra, coastal Karnataka, Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and at isolated places in west Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Saurashtra, Kutch, Marathwada, Andhra Pradesh and interior Karnataka.

UNI TEAM SHB RK1848