Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Heavy monsoon rains continued to batter several parts of the country on Wednesday, throwing normal life out of gear and heightening fear of floods.
In Delhi, traffic was thrown out of gear as heavy rains caused waterlogging on all major roads.
School children, office goers and even train passengers had a harrowing time as traffic crawled.
Vehicles moved at a snail`s pace on Vikas Marg and Nizamuddin Bridge while traffic was affected on Mathura Road, Ring Road, Munirka, Laxmi Nagar, Ashram and Mehrauli Road.
Vehicular movement was also slow in areas like Connaught Place and AIIMS, South Extension, Nizamuddin, Saket, Safdurjung and Kalkaji.
The rain gauges measured 9.3 mm of showers for a period of 24 hours ending 8:30 am. The city has received a total of 701.6 mm of rain so far during this monsoon, 43 percent above average. The month of August alone has recorded 444 mm of rains so far - the highest in 10 years.
The minimum temperature was recorded at 25.3 degree Celsius.
Meanwhile, water level of Yamuna continued to flow above the danger level. Authorities evacuated more people in low-lying areas in East Delhi today.
The river had crossed the danger level of 204.83 metres on Friday evening following rains and since then it has been flowing above that mark.
The city government has already set up over 160 relief camps to provide shelter to people living on the bank of the river.
In view of the rising waters of the Yamuna, Railways have stopped train services on the old Yamuna Bridge and are diverting all the trains bound for Old Delhi Railway Station and towards the eastern part of the country through other routes.
The Met office has said the city will continue to receive rains for the next 24 hours.
The Yamuna river was in spate in Agra too, with the threat of flood looming large in the lower reaches and along the banks of the river in the Taj Mahal city.
Authorities have already sounded a danger alert and advised people to move out as the water level was rising every hour.
Water has entered fields in Bateshwar, in Vrindavan and parts of Mathura district.
Thousands flee in Punjab, Bihar
In Punjab, thousands have fled their homes as the rain-swollen Satluj river flooded 15 villages in Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district, inundating vast acres of farmland.
A nearly 100-feet breach in the river bank turned the villages of Laudipur, Gajjpur, Burj, Nangli, Dasdgrain, Hariwal, Nikkuwal, Mehandli Kalan and Saini Majra into a sea of water.
Flooding was also reported in the villages of Ferozepur and Nawanshahar districts.
Trains were diverted in Ferozepur after rising water flooded tracks.
To maintain the water level in the 225-metre Bhakra Dam, the Bhakra Beas Management Board has been releasing excess water into the Satluj since August 21. The inflow in Bhakra Dam Tuesday was over 68,000 cusecs.
This is threatening the low-lying areas of Ludhiana, Ferozepur, Nawanshahar and Ropar districts and the Sikh holy towns of Anandpur Sahib and Kiratpur Sahib.
Water level can reach the maximum height of 1,680 feet in Bhakra Dam. By Tuesday evening, it had touched 1,673.55 feet. It is increasing about a foot a day.
In Haryana, water level in the Yamuna receded marginally but Yamunanagar, Karnal, Sonepat, Panipat, Faridabad and Palwal districts remained on high alert.
"There was a discharge of over 90,000 cusecs from the Hathni Kund Barrage into the Yamuna. Water from the river has entered the villages of Kalesar, Bibipur, Bhogpur, Odri, Bagwali, Jathlana, Gumthala and Kamalpur Tapu (of Yamunanagar district)," Haryana engineer-in-chief Harmail Singh said.
"We are trying to plug the breaches," Singh said.
Like in Punjab, thousands of people in Bihar too had to flee their homes as floodwaters entered over 200 villages and threatened to inundate many others.
Floodwaters entered villages in Narkatiaganj and Sikta blocks of Bettiah district, Katra, Auraiand Gaighat blocks in Muzaffarpur district and Ghanshayampur and Kiratpur blocks in Darbhanga district.
Besides, dozens of villages in Bagaha district were inundated after embankments were breached at several places and water levels rose in all the major rivers following heavy rains in the state and the catchment areas of Nepal.
According to the Central Water Commission, the water level in major rivers - Kosi, Gandak, Budhi Gandak, Kamlabalan, Adhwara and Bagmati - has risen in the last two days.
Meanwhile, two persons were killed when flash floods, triggered by heavy rainfall, struck Rajouri and Kathua districts of Jammu region in the state.
Normal life was also badly hit in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry following heavy rains as Met officials predict more downpour in the next 24 hours in the region.
In Muzaffarnagar, over a dozen people were injured when a house collapsed due to heavy rains in the
district, officials said.
More than 80 houses have flattened in different parts of
the district due to incessant rains lashing the region, they
said, adding, some portions on the Delhi-Dehradun national
highway has also caved in.
(With PTI/IANS inputs)
