Parts of NE remain blocked; seven die in Assam, Maharashtra

New Delhi, Aug 28 (UNI) The North Eastern states of Mizoram, Tripura, parts of western Manipur and the Barak valley of Assam remained cut-off from the rest of the country for the third consecutive day today with road communication likely to be restored only tomorrow, while seven deaths were reported in Assam and Maharashtra due to the rain-related incidents.

Heavy landslides at Damcherra village near Sonapur in Meghalaya on Sunday night at NH 44 had led to suspension of vehicular traffic on the route.

Western districts of Manipur have also been severely affected as the sole road link had been cut off after the railway communication was snapped following the collapse of a bridge near Maibong earlier.

Official sources said work was going on a war-footing to restore the vital road link. Efforts were on to remove the boulders, trees and debris that came tumbling down the Jaintia hills and construct a substitute road in place of a 50 m stretch of the NH, which was washed away by the landslip on Sunday afternoon.

On both sides, thousands of trucks had been stranded. The number was much higher than usual as FCI alone was plying more than 200 trucks to move essentials as the railway lines were snapped for the past 45 days.

Three people have been killed in three different rain-related incidents in Buldhana district in Vidarbha region in Maharashtra.

Four children drowned in separate incidents as water from Naga hills gushed into the rivulets and streams of Sivsagar district along the Assam-Nagaland border.

The incidents occurred in Tipon, Aidewjaan and Borahat rivulets, which are fed by water from the neighbouring Naga hills, under Charaidew sub-division.

A day after moderate to heavy rains lashed Delhi, coolness in the air prevailed as the mercury dipped to 34.6 degrees Celsius, a degree above normal.

Monsoon, meanwhile, continued to play truant in the plains of Haryana and sultry weather conditions prevailed at most places in the north-west region today.

However, parts of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh experienced light to moderate rain since last night. Except Narnaul, which received 6.00 mm rain, a lull continued in the rainfall activity, leading to hot and humid weather conditions in the state.

In Punjab, moderate rain lashed Ludhiana and Amritsar, respectively recording 23.6 mm and 22.0 mm downpour last night.

Ranjit Sagar Dam site measured 6.0 mm rainfall.

Parts of Himachal Pradesh, including mid and lower hills, also received downpour overnight. Dharamsala, headquarters of Kangra district, was the wettest place, recording 26.6 mm rain, followed by Nahan, headquarters of Sirmour district, registering 17.2 mm rainfall.

Jammu received around 2.6 mm rain till this morning.

Farmers heaved a sigh of relief following widespread rainfall in Uttar Pradesh since yesterday.

Several places in Gorakhpur, Meerut, Faizabad, Kanpur and Jhansi divisions received rainfall in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall lashed the state capital inundating low lying areas.

Ayodhya, Mirzapur, Etawah and Mainpuri districts also received rainfall.

In Bihar, people in Patna and surrounding areas continued to suffer another sweltering day. The maximum temperature was recorded at 32.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum was pegged at 27.

Many places in Kerala and Lakshadweep received rainfall during the last 24 hours. Kasaragod received the maximum rainfall of 3 cm.

The Southwest Monsoon had been active over Gujarat, Konkan and Goa, but subdued over Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, west Rajasthan and interior Karnataka.

Heavy rains were likely to occur at most places in coastal Karnataka and at many places in Orissa, Uttaranchal, west Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha, Chattisgarh, Madhya Maharashtra, Kerala, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

UNI