4 die in Gujarat, SOS sent out to army

New Delhi, July 10 (UNI) The rain fury continued unabated in Gujarat and Rajasthan with heavy rains showers claiming four more lives each in the two states even as monsoon weakened over Madhya Pradesh.

Two companies of army were called in by the Gujarat Administration to assist the local administration in rescuing people marooned by floods in the low lying areas of the city.

Incessant rains crippled normal life in Vadodara city today as six of the 12 talukas in the eastern part of the district continued to reel under the threat of flash floods because of the rising levels of Mahi and the Narmada rivers.

In yet another flood related operation the army saved the lives of 400 people marooned in Bavla village, the Ahmedabad fire brigade rescued 55 people stranded in flood waters in Jhant villege near Dehgam in Ahmedabad district.

In another part of the state, one person was swept away in the Vartak river in Kheda district where 35 villages are in the grip of floods due to heavy rains.

A vehicle carrying five people fell into the Vartak river at Sansoli village today. Though four people were rescued, one of them was carried away by the currents and is yet to be traced.

In another rain related incident in Kheda, a man was washed away in Maaliatadi village in the district and his fate is unknown.

A 62-year-old man was killed when his kutcha house collapsed.

While the southwest monsoon has been vigorous in Gujarat region, life returned to normal in flood-affected Khandwa, Harda, Betul and Hoshangabad districts of Madhya Pradesh.

The monsoon has weekened and rainfall decreased all over the state as an extremely low pressure area was advancing towards the neighbouring Rajasthan, where monsoon continues to be active.

Twenty districts in the desert state received downpour 60 per cent above normal, with the highest rainfall of the season at Kotada in Udaipur district.

In the North, rain and thunderstroms are likely to occur at many places Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Saurashtra, Kutch and at a few places in Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Haryana.

Heavy monsoon rains in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh have so far caused an estimated loss of Rs 9.14 crore.

In the national capital people woke up to another pleasant morning even as the rains eluded the Capital city, after a brief spell yesterday afternoon. The Met office has forecast a partly cloudy sky in Delhi with the possibility of light rains in some areas during the next 24 hours.

In the eastern part of India, heavy rains are likely to occur at Arunachal Pradesh, Asom, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, sub-Himalayan West Bengal.

In the North-west, light to moderate rain lashed many areas since last night. Rains, however, eluded Punjab and Chandigarh Union Territory where hot and humid weather conditions prevailed.

In the Deccan region, after a week of incessant and intermittent rains, parts of the Mumbai city and its suburbs finally saw a bright sunny day with a slight increase in humidity.

Moving further down south, the south-west monsoon continued to lash the Cauvery basin regions, with the reservoir levels set to touch the danger mark.

Rains occurred at a few places over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, while isolated rainfall was reported in parts of Rayalaseema.

Rain occurred at most places in Kerala and very light rain occurred at Lakshadweep during the past 24 hours.

UNI