Delhi lashed by heavy rains due to revived southwest monsoon

New Delhi, Aug 2 (UNI) Delhi was water-logged leading to chaotic traffic snarls across the national capital as heavy rains lashed Northwest India during the past 24 hours, under the influence of a revived southwest monsoon, which had laid low for the past two weeks.

Though the monsoon showers were welcomed by Delhiites after two days of muggy weather, water-logging brought woes to the office-goers and school-going children. Several incoming trains have also been delayed due to the rains, though there has been no water-logging on the rail tracks, said Mr Rajiv Saxena, CPRO, Northern Railway.

Rains lashed many areas of Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and its adjoining areas last night, providing respite to people from humid weather conditions.

Heavy to moderate rains lashed all the mid and lower hills of Himachal Pradesh after several days of dry weather, the Met office said. The intermittent rains, which started late last night, continued throughout the day in various parts of the state. Rains also lashed Shimla town and other adjoining areas during the afternoon, which has adversely affected the apple crop in the region.

In Bihar, about 700 students, mostly in the age group of 7 to 11, of one of the largest madrassas at Majeria were trapped in the rising flood waters following the breach of a major embankment of the Pipra-Piparsi river yesterday inundating the entire block.

However, arrangements were being made to supply them food and water on priority basis before shifting them to safer places.

A number of country-made boats had already been pressed into service to provide succour not only to the students, but also to all nearby villagers whose houses were also inundated because of the flash floods.

Two people were killed after their boat drowned in the swirling water of the rainfed Singha river at Nawal yesterday, taking the death toll due to rains to 63.

Official sources said, more than 300 villages in nine blocks of the district had so far been affected by flood, rendering more than 300,000 people homeless.

Even as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati made an aerial survey of the flood affected districts, the flood fury continued in more than 20 districts of the state. In the last 24 hours, flood claimed two more lives, taking the toll so far to 102.

Several hundred villages in eastern and central UP continued to suffer due to the natural calamity. The situation had been compounded due to breaches in dams and embankments in the region.

The villagers had been warned to immediately evacuate the area and migrate to safer places. Two school buildings at Lakhimpur Kheri collapsed late last night following heavy downpour, whereas traffic was stranded at Tikuniya-Kodiyala highway due to water-logging, reports said.

Rapti and Budhi Rapti at Siddharthnagar were flowing above the red mark continuously for five days and had submerged almost 75 villages of the district. Hundreds of boats had been pressed into service in the affected districts.

In Mumbai, incessant rains continued to lash the city and its suburbs for the second consecutive day, slowing down vehicular traffic in parts of the metropolis. Rail services on the Central and Western lines were running on schedule, without any disruption. Even the air services were not affected by the rains.

Heavy rains have been lashing most parts of Rajasthan except the western region in the last 24 hours. At least 84 dams in the state are filled to the brim. Some parts of the state capital witnessed rains while the sky remained overcast throughout the day.

Railway traffic was severely affected by floods in Asom even as the overall situation showed marginal improvement with the sun coming up in many parts of the state after incessant rain for the past 18 days that have claimed 20 lives so far. There are also signs of marginal improvement in the situation along the Brahmaputra valley. Meanwhile, the flood situation worsened in Lower Asom after Bhutan released water on Tuesday night.

With around 55 lakh people affected, which amounts to one fourth of the state's population, this is one of the worst floods that the state has witnessed. The animals at Kaziranga were not left out as some died in flood and others slaughtered by poachers and villagers.

Separate protest rallies were taken out in the city by students' and youth bodies, demanding more Central relief for the flood-hit state. The All Asom Students' Union(AASU) activists took out a procession in the city alleging failure of the state government in providing adequate relief to the flood-hit areas.

In Meghalaya, flood water in the low-lying areas of the state's western region receded bringing respite to its residents. Chief Minister D D Lapang, who made an aerial survey of some of the affected areas yesterday, released Rs one crore to the district administration for relief and restoration work. He also distributed cheques of Rs one lakh each to the relatives of those killed in the Rishipara landslip.

After taking an aerial survey of the flood affected areas of Lohit, East Siang and Dibang Valley districts yesterday, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Dorjee Khandu announced Rs ten lakh for the immediate relief and rehabilitation of the 53 families. He also donated Rs 50,000 as his personal contribution to meet the immediate requirements of the flood-affected people, official sources said.

Rain occurred at most places in Kerala and Lakshadweep, even as a ten-member Central team will arrive in Kerala tomorrow to assess the damage caused by Monsoon, State Revenue Minister K P Rajendran said.

The team would hold a discussion with Chief Minister and other officials on August seven before leaving for New Delhi, he added.

In Bengal, due to several breaches in the railway tracks, caused by floods, train services on the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) have either been cancelled or diverted.

UNI