Monsoon mayhem: Bridge breaks, roads go under as rains wreak havoc across country

Heavy rains on Sunday lashed several states throughout the country disrupting normal life and wrecking havoc. What started as a relief from the scorching heat soon turned into chaos as states of Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh witnessed problems like water-logging, traffic snarl, submerged railway tracks and station, amidst several others. 

Several areas in Delhi, including South Delhi's Palam, witnessed waterlogging where people were stranded and vehicles came to a stop. The area around Parliament also witnessed heavy rains.

Earlier in the morning, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official had said, "The sky will remain mostly cloudy with light to moderate rain throughout the day in the National Capital Region (NCR)." The minimum temperature was recorded at 26 degrees Celsius, a notch below the season's average.

The Meteorological (MeT) Department had also issued a fresh alert and predicted rains accompanied by thundershowers in parts of Uttar Pradesh. Thundershowers are likely to hit some places in Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur, Bulandshahar, Amroha districts and adjoining areas.

In Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, a car which was parked near a drain was swept away after the drain overflowed in Taraganj area following heavy rain. 

A video released by news agency ANI shows an overflowing river completely immerse a bridge in Damoh town. However, commuters, including children, can be seen braving the swift current to cross the bridge on foot and also on vehicles.

#WATCH: Commuters risk their lives in crossing the immersed bridge due to overflowing river in #MadhyaPradesh's Damoh pic.twitter.com/7iyAh5iwlW — ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2018

Rajasthan's Bikaner railway station was a horrific scene as the platform was flooded with water completely and the railway track was submerged. People could be seen walking in the waterlogged railway station in a video by ANI.

#Rajasthan: Railway track submerged and platform waterlogged at Bikaner railway station due to incessant rain in the area. pic.twitter.com/QQzIADLWRS — ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2018

The people of Chhattisgarh's Vishwarampur and Bhatgaon woke up to heavy rains that had washed away the connecting bridge between the two places. The commuters were stuck at both ends of the bridge as the bridge was the main link. 

In the northern state of  Jammu and Kashmir, heavy rains created havoc in Udhampur city. 

Monsoon is expected to gain strength in north India including Uttarakhand, Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh and western Uttar Pradesh. Rains are also expected to lash parts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, east UP and east Rajasthan in the next 24 hours.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall has also been predicted for parts of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, central Maharashtra, Gujarat as well as in Gangetic West Bengal and north-eastern states of Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

A warning has been issued for fishermen in coastal West Bengal and Odisha and they have been asked to not venture into sea till at least Monday due to high-speed winds reaching 55kmph.