NEW DELHI, Jul 3: Heavy rains continued in many parts of the country and water level of rivers in Uttar Pradesh started rising as monsoon advanced further into many states of north India, even as the death toll from cloudburst in Uttarakhand rose to 18.
In Telangana, two minors of a family were killed in rain-related incident. Rains lashed several parts of Rajasthan, with Sikar receiving 20 cm precipitation, followed by Baran 11 cm.
Intermittent rains which occurred in most parts of Uttarakhand caused hindrance in the rescue operation in the cloudburst-hit villages of Pithoragarh, where the toll rose to 18 with three more bodies being pulled out of the debris.
In Mumbai, normal life was thrown out of gear due to heavy rains in the last 24 hours even as incessant showers continued to hit other cities of Maharashtra like Pune and Nashik. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted “very heavy” showers for the megapolis in the next 24 hours.
The wet spell resulted in an increase in water levels of the four dams that supply water to Pune city – Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar.
The Southwest Monsoon has advanced further into remaining parts of west Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, most parts of Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab and some parts of east Rajasthan.
The national capital today experienced pleasant weather as rains brought the maximum temperature down to 32.4 degrees, four notches below the season’s average.
According to the MeT department, Safdarjung observatory, figures of which are considered the official for Delhi, recorded traces of rain in the last 24 hours.
With light to moderate rains in Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours, water level of important rivers has started rising at a number of places. According to the Central Water Commission, Sharda river is flowing above danger mark in Paliakalan, Lakhimpur.
Several parts of Punjab and Haryana were being pounded by heavy rain since yesterday. Jind received 100 mm rain, while Narwana and Chhachrauli recorded 90 mm rainfall each. In Punjab, Nabha and Muktsar recorded 60 mm rainfall each.
Rajasthan’s Udaipur today received 45 mm rainfall, followed by Kota 41.8 mm and Churu 18 mm. Barmer was the hottest in the state with maximum temperature of 40.2 degrees Celsius, while Jaisalmer recorded a high of 39.7 degrees Celsius.
In Himachal Pradesh, the mercury dropped marginally as it received light to moderate rains. The lower areas of the state reeled under sultry conditions as humidity level rose after scattered rainfall.
In Telangana’s Medak district, two minors of a family were killed and their parents injured in the wee hours today after a wall of their house collapsed on them due to incessant rainfall, police said.
Geeta (5) and Chitti (10) were killed when the wall of their shanty collapsed around 1 AM in near Ramayapet, police said. Ramayampet and its neighbouring villages have been receiving rains for the last three days.
In Bihar, rains brought relief for the people of capital Patna and other parts of the state. Patna recorded 19 mm rainfall, while Gaya, Bhagalpur and Purnea received 32 mm, 22 mm and 34 mm rainfall respectively.
The rains brought down the maximum temperature which hovered around 30 degrees Celsius in major towns of the State.
Kolkata received the monsoon’s first downpour with incessant rains lashing the metropolis since this morning. The day temperature came down sharply to 28.5 degrees Celsius, four notches below normal, as the city received 29.8 mm rain.
The MeT department has forecast heavy rains over the next two days in sub-Himalayan West Bengal. In the Gangetic region of the state, the forecast is generally cloudy sky with a few spells of rains or thundershowers.
Heavy rain is very likely at isolated places over Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Odisha and Jharkhand, the IMD said. (PTI)