Rains lash parts of north India, force suspension of Kedarnath yatra

New Delhi, July 16: Rains lashed many areas of north India including hilly state of Uttarakhand, where authorities suspended pilgrimage to Kedarnath, even as Delhi experienced another hot and humid day in the absence of monsoon today.

The yatra to Kedarnath has been suspended for three days in view of the MeT department warning of heavy rains and frequent blockage of roads and the 21-km trekking route from Sonprayag to Kedarnath due to intermittent showers in the valley over the past few days. "Yatra to Kedarnath has been suspended for safety reasons till July 18...," Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langar said.

However, yatra to three other Himalayan shrines - Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri - continued though on a low key due to inclement weather condition. All the major rivers and their tributaries including the Alaknanda, Ganga, Mandakini and Bhagirathi are steadily on the rise with rains lashing most parts of the state.

Light to moderate rain/thunderstorm may occur at many places in the state while rather heavy rainfall could occur in Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Rudraprayag districts tonight, Dehradun MeT director Anand Sharma said.

Meanwhile, Delhiites experienced another hot and humid day as monsoon rains continued to elude the national capital for the third day in a row. The maximum temperature settled at 37.4 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal, while the minimum stood at 27.9 degrees.

According to MeT officials though the day temperatures dropped to below the 40 degrees Celsius mark following Sunday afternoon's rains, it still remains substantially above normal.

What is worse is that humidity, which oscillated between 58 and 82 per cent during the day, has remained on the higher side since then. Although the MeT department had predicted rains and thunderstorms in Delhi today, no rainfall was reported till early evening. Rains, however, lashed parts of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.

PTI