Flood situation remains grim in UP, Assam

New Delhi, Sept 4 (UNI) Major rivers in Uttar Pradesh today swelled following incessant rains in the last 24 hours, while Assam continued to reel under flood as all major rivers flowed well above the danger level.

Eastern Uttar Pradesh was again affected by the turbulent Ghaghra, Rapti and Banganga rivers that have swelled following incessant rainfall in the last 24 hours. Siddharthnagar, Santkabirnagar and Basti districts were again facing sever flood situation.

Almost 12 villages of the Shauratgarh tehsil in Siddharthnagar were affected and thousands of hectares of land submerged. Vehicular movement at Siddharthnagar-Balrampur highway remain blocked.

Almost 200 people had been affected in the Santkabirnagar district. Besides, over 100 villages were marooned in Harraiya Tehsil of Basti. The rescue and relief operation was on with full swing.

The Barak valley in Assam also continued to reel under flood as all major rivers, including the mighty Barak, flowed well above the danger level. However, the water level partially receded over past twelve hours.

Official sources said flood control dykes of Rukni and Katakhal rivers had breached in at least two places last evening, causing havoc in the vast areas of Cachar and Hailakandi districts.

Thousands of people were rendered homeless and parts of two National Highways and a number of PWD roads were submerged.

Traffic on NH 53 connecting Imphal with Badarpurghat and NH 54 connecting Silchar with Aizawl was partially affected for the past couple of days due to inundation in Cachar and Hailakandi districts, the sources said.

A day after moderate showers lashed Delhi, the mercury soared to 35.5 degrees Celsius, a degree above normal. As hot and humid weather prevailed, most Delhiites preferred to stay indoors.

In absence of the cool westerly winds and high maximum temperature the relative humidity was pushed to 97 per cent.

In West bengal, one person died while three others, including a woman, sustained injuries when lightning struck yesterday in Bauthakurani village in North 24 Parganas when they were watching a football match at a local play ground.

Light to moderate rains lashed several places in mid and lower hills of Himachal Pradesh during the last 24 hrs. Dharamshala in Kangra district was the wettest place in the state during the last 24 hrs with a rainfall of 49.2 mm, while Shimla recorded 9.8 mm rains. Rains also lashed several other places in the state overnight and during the day, but there was no loss of life and property in any part of the state.

In Jammu and Kashmir, one person drowned when he was trying to cross Dobban Nullah at Nowshera in Rajouri district.

Rain God played spoilsport in the annual Janamasthmi fair in Gujarat, turning the venue into a pool of water following heavy downpour for the last two days. Rain proved to be a damper for the business this year as various stalls erected at Race Course ground remained stranded. Business-men are disappointed as they did not get the expected sales because of lack of visitors. The eight-day long fair at Rajkot, was inaugurated by the State Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala on September 2.

Meanwhile, two persons including an eight-year-old boy were swept away in two separate incidents in the city last evening.

Patna and its neighbouring districts continued to experience sultry and humid weather for the sixth day today with the day's temperature soaring by three degrees.

UNI