Flood situation in Guj grim, 40,000 evacuated

New Delhi, Sep 7: The flood situation in Gujarat turned grim with about 40,000 people having been evacuated to safer places while water levels in most rivers across Uttar Pradesh receded for the second day today.

Flash floods in Gujarat were caused following release of nearly 10 lakh cusecs of water from the Kadana dam in Panchmahals district into Mahi river last night. Water level in the dam kept on increasing alarmingly due to heavy rains in its catchment areas and Madhya Pradesh for the past couple of days.

Water level of major rivers in Uttar Pradesh including Saryu, turbulent Ghagra, Ganga, Yamuna, Sharda and Rapti were decreasing.

Situation in Allahabad, where the administration had issued a high alert in 250 villages, is said to be under control.

Central Water Commission said Sharda in Paliakalan and Ghagra in Barabanki, Ayodhya and Turtipar were flowing below the danger mark.

While Yamuna was swelling in Agra, it was decreasing in Kalpi, Hamirpur, Mathura and Chillaghat.

On the other hand, Ganga continued to be in spate in Ballia and Ghazipur. The river was flowing 19 cm below the red mark in Ballia.

People in Kashmir woke up to a surprise as fog engulfed the valley.

Almost all vehicles, including those leaving for Jammu, were plying with their head lights on as nothing was visible at a distance of 10 feet due to fog.

Incessant rains lashed central and northern part of Gujarat with the former once again facing flood-like situation. As many as 37 villages downstream Mahi river, including 26 in Anand have been alerted following heavy inflow from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan into Kadana Dam.

Light to moderate rain lashed many areas in north-west India since last night as monsoon clouds hovered in the plains of Haryana and Punjab providing respite from warm weather conditions in the region.

Monsoon rain lashed some areas in Haryana with Panchkula recording two mm downpour overnight, followed by Rohtak and Hissar measuring 0.2 mm each. Certain areas in Punjab also received rainfall. Patiala recorded 0.2 mm while Ludhiana reported trace rainfall.

Moderate rain pounded many areas in Himachal Pradesh, including Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmour districts. Kasol was the wettest place in the state, recording 20.0 mm rain till this morning while Nahan registered 17.2 mm and Dharamsala 10.8 mm. Bhuntar, Mandi, Sundernagar, Pandoh and Barthin areas also experienced rainfall.

Meanwhile, fears of flood have risen in Banswara district in Rajasthan after heavy rains since yesterday and discharge of water in large amounts from Gandhisagar dam and Kota barrage.

Banswara in Udaipur division has witnessed over 300 mm rains over the past 24 hours and several low-lying areas have been flooded.

Sunny weather coupled with a high humidity level of close to 90 per cent led to continuance of warm and humid conditions in the national capital though some relief was provided by South Easterly winds.

Kolkata too experienced hot and sultry weather as the mercury suddenly soared high with no rains for the last two days.

UNI