31 dead as heavy rains inflict chaos on HP, U’khand; Odisha, Jharkhand also hit

India

oi-Prakash KL

New
Delhi,
Aug
20:
At
least
31
people
were
killed,
including
22
in
Himachal
Pradesh
alone,
as
heavy
monsoon
rains
triggered
flash
floods,
landslides,
and
house
collapses,
affecting
normal
life
across
large
swathes
of
the
country.

Uttarakhand
and
Odisha
have
reported
four
deaths
with
Jharkhand
registering
one
fatality.

Heavy
rainfall
in
Himachal
Pradesh
since
Friday
caused
landslides
and
flashfloods,
with
officials
saying
22
people,
including
eight
members
of
a
family,
died.
Ten
people
were
injured
in
the
state
which
has
reported
36
weather-related
incidents.

As
many
as
743
roads,
including
the
Manali-Chandigarh
national
highway
at
Mandi
and
the
Shimla-Chandigarh
highway
at
Shoghi,
have
been
blocked
for
traffic.
In
Mandi
alone,
13
people
died
and
six
went
missing
in
flash
floods
and
landslides
triggered
by
heavy
rainfall,
Deputy
Commissioner
Arindam
Chaudhary
said.
Those
missing
are
feared
dead,
he
said.
The
Chakki
bridge
in
Himachal
Pradesh’s
Kangra
collapsed
due
to
heavy
rains
on
Saturday,
disrupting
train
services
between
Pathankot
and
Jogindernagar,
PTI
reported.

In
Uttarakhand,
a
series
of
cloudbursts
early
Saturday
killed
four
people,
while
10
went
missing
as
rivers
breached
banks,
washed
away
bridges,
and
threw
mud
and
waters
inside
houses,
forcing
evacuation
of
multiple
villages.
As
the
gushing
waters
threatened
more
damage,
a
number
of
roads
were
blocked
for
traffic,
while
all
Anganwadi
centres
and
schools
were
ordered
shut
in
the
Pauri
district
of
Uttarakhand.

Rains
also
pounded
parts
of
eastern
India,
with
Odisha
—
already
reeling
under
floods
in
the
Mahanadi
river
system
with
around
4
lakh
people
marooned
in
500
villages
–
reporting
four
deaths,
and
neighbouring
Jharkhand
one.
Odisha
braced
for
more
damage
with
parts
in
its
north
receiving
rains
since
Friday
night.

Prices
of
vegetables
have
shot
up
in
the
markets
of
Bhubaneswar
with
the
supply
chain
disrupted.
Water
levels
in
Subarnarekha,
Budhabalang,
Baitarani
and
Salandi
are
being
monitored
as
Balasore,
Keonjhar
and
Mayurbhanj
received
heavy
rain
on
the
previous
night,
Odisha
Water
Resources
Chief
Engineer
B
K
Mishra
said
on
Saturday.

In
the
neighbouring
Jharkhand,
heavy
rainfall
associated
with
high-speed
winds
since
Friday
evening
uprooted
scores
of
trees
and
electricity
poles,
and
submerged
low-lying
areas
in
many
districts.
A
woman
died
when
a
mud
wall
of
her
house
caved
in
on
her
in
West
Singhbhum
district
on
Saturday
morning
as
the
deep
depression
that
crossed
the
Odisha
coast
on
the
previous
evening
brought
incessant
rainfall
in
several
areas,
an
official
said.
Normal
life
was
thrown
out
of
gear
with
rain
disrupting
power
supply
in
many
areas
for
long
hours
and
causing
traffic
jams
in
major
cities.

Two
flights
have
also
been
cancelled
till
2
pm
due
to
bad
weather
on
Saturday,
officials
at
Birsa
Munda
Airport
in
Ranchi
told
PTI.
The
India
Meteorological
Department
said
isolated
extremely
heavy
rainfall
is
expected
over
West
Madhya
Pradesh
on
Sunday
and
East
Rajasthan
on
Monday.
Meanwhile,
the
yatra
to
the
famous
Mata
Vaishno
Devi
shrine
atop
Trikuta
hills
in
Jammu
and
Kashmir’s
Reasi
district
resumed
this
morning
on
the
old
track
after
remaining
temporarily
suspended
overnight
following
heavy
rains.

However,
the
Himkoti
(battery
car)
track
which
is
also
known
as
the
new
track,
is
still
closed
due
to
ongoing
clearance
operation,
even
as
the
helicopter
service
remained
suspended
due
to
bad
weather,
officials
said.
The
pilgrimage
was
temporarily
suspended
Friday
evening
following
heavy
rains
in
the
Trikuta
hills.
Thousands
of
pilgrims
were
present
at
the
shrine
when
it
started
raining
heavily
around
6
pm
and
continued
till
midnight.

Several
videos
shared
on
social
media
show
flood-like
situations
on
the
Vaishno
Devi
track.
Back
in
Uttarakhand,
water
also
entered
the
caves
of
Tapkeshwar,
a
famous
Shiva
temple
on
the
banks
of
the
Tons
river,
which
was
in
spate,
officials
said.
A
cloudburst
occurred
around
2.15
am
in
Sarkhet
village
in
the
Raipur
area,
they
said,
adding
a
bridge
over
the
Song
river
near
Thano
got
washed
away
while
the
Kempty
Falls,
a
popular
tourist
spot
near
Mussoorie,
was
also
flowing
dangerously.
The
affected
people
have
been
shifted
to
schools
and
panchayat
buildings,
said
Sub-Divisional
Magistrate,
Dhanolti,
Lakshmi
Raj
Chauhan,
adding
the
Raipur-Kumalda
road
has
been
blocked
by
debris
at
many
places.

The
Rishikesh-Badrinath
highway
is
blocked
at
Totaghati,
the
Rishikesh-Gangotri
highway
is
blocked
at
Nagni
and
the
Narendranagar-Ranipokhri
road
is
blocked
at
several
points,
Chauhan
said.