New Delhi: Heavy rains in northern India,
including in the national capital, on Thursday affected normal life
in the region as two persons were washed away in flood-hit
West Bengal and showers uprooted a portion of railway track in
Bihar's Barauni-Katihar section.
In West Bengal's Arambagh block, two sisters were washed
away by the flood waters from Malaypur. In Hoogly district,
which has been badly affected by calamity, IAF helicopters
dropped about 10 tonnes of relief at Pursura and Khanakul
areas.
In Bihar, heavy rains caused a portion of the track on
the down-line in the Barauni-Kathihar section to cave in,
disrupting train operations for a while.
Nine feet of railway track between Pasraha and Narainpur
railway stations was washed away leading to several trains
running behind schedule between 15 and 45 minutes.
In the northern region, the 'Chardham Yatra' in
Uttarakhand was suspended after incessant rains triggered
landslides at several places on the highways to the shrines.
Landslides struck roads and highways at several places
enroute to Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, the
Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre said in Dehradun.
Widespread showers lashed the state in the past 24 hours
with Dehradun recording 102.5 mm rainfall, Mukteshwar 94.1 mm
and Dharchula in Kumaon 60 mm, the Met office said.
The higher reaches of Garhwal and Kumaon Himalayas have
also been receiving snowfall for the past two days, bringing
cold-like conditions in the state.
Heavy rains drenched the national capital too, bringing
down the maximum temperature to 26.4 degree celsius but
causing problems for office goers who got delayed due to water
logging and traffic jams on the roads.
During the day between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm, the city
received 19.1 mm of rains, the Met office said.
In Punjab and Haryana, incessant rains inundated
low-lying areas and disrupted power supply to some areas in
both states.
Attendance was also low at many schools in rural areas in
the region and commission agents feared that the rains could
damage procured wheat stock lying in the open.
The Met office said that while Ambala recorded 131.7 mm
in showers, Chandigarh received 106 mm, Rohtak 38 mm, Patiala
71.2 mm and Hisar 15.1 mm.
In Himachal Pradesh, snowfall was recorded for the second
consecutive day on the high peaks in Lahaul and Spiti and
Kinnaur districts as the lower hills received widespread
showers, leading to a dip in day temperatures.
The Met office said about one-and-a-half feet snow has
been reported at Rohtang pass and on the mountain peaks in
Lahaul.
The Queen of the Hills which has received 105 mm rain so
far, saw its day temperature dip to 16 degrees from
yesterday's 16.8 degrees.
Elsewhere, Sundernagar registered 68.5 mm rain, Kalpa
60.3 mm and Dharamsala 19.1 mm.
A report from Kinnaur said an increase in silt level in
Satluj river due to the rains has forced the closure of 1500
MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power project and 300 MW Baspa hydel
project.
In Uttar Pradesh, moderate to heavy rains lashed most
parts of the state, causing water levels to rise in major
rivers, including the Ganga.
The Central Water Commission said the Ganga was rising in
Mirzapur, Varanasi, Ghazipur and Ballia, the Gomti in Sitapur,
and the Yamuna at Auraiya and Naini in Allahabad.
The Met office said Kalagarh received 122 mm in rains,
Bagpath 104 mm, Moradabad 69.6 mm, Siddharth Nagar 62.4 mm
Mathura 42 mm and Ballia 38.2 mm.
The desert state of Rajasthan too had good showers with
Atrauli recording the maximum rainfall of 11 cm, followed by
Malakhera which received 7 cm rainfall in the past 24 hours,
the Met office said.
It added that Thanagazi and Sapotara recorded 6 cm rains,
Rajgarh, Pipalda and Mangrol recorded 5 cm while Kaman,
Behror, Anta, Chabra, Mandava, Baran, Kishanganj, Bansur
recorded 4 cm respectively.
Bureau Report
First Published: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 22:21