New Delhi:
Heavy rain disrupted life across several states on Thursday, killing five people in Uttar Pradesh, pushing the Ganga towards its “highest flood mark” in Bihar, triggering landslides and blocking roads in Himachal Pradesh and disrupting train services in West Bengal.
In Uttar Pradesh, five people, including three members of a family, were killed in separate rain-related incidents in Chitrakoot, Amethi and Barabanki districts, officials said.
A mud house collapsed in Chitrakoot during heavy rain in Barachhi village, killing a 32-year-old man and his two children — aged five and one. His wife and daughter were injured.
A 66-year-old man in Amethi died after a mud wall collapsed amid heavy rain in Naya Purwa village on Wednesday evening. In Barabanki, a 62-year-old man died and his son-in-law was injured after a mud wall collapsed on them in Dhanouli village late Wednesday night.
Barabanki is among 23 districts in the state affected by floods.
In Bihar, the rising Ganga prompted authorities to step up vigilance, with the river expected to breach its “highest flood mark” at Patna’s Gandhi Ghat on Thursday night, the Disaster Management Department said.
Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary inspected the rising water level along JP Ganga Path and directed officials to take measures to ensure public safety. Residents of riverbank and low-lying areas in Bhojpur, Patna, Saran, Vaishali, Nalanda, Begusarai, Lakhisarai and Jehanabad were advised to remain alert and avoid unnecessary movement near ghats and embankments.
Deputy CM Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, who also holds the Water Resources Department portfolio, reviewed the flood situation across the state through a video conference. He said severe erosion by the Ganga in Kajikoraiya-Raghopur and adjoining areas of Bhagalpur had been brought under control and further damage had been averted.
Officials said the Ganga’s water level was rising due to heavy rainfall in parts of Bihar and continuous rainfall in Jharkhand over the past few days. The Ganga is also expected to cross the highest flood mark at Hathidah in Mokama around noon on September 4.
In Himachal Pradesh, heavy rain brought debris onto the Chandigarh-Shimla highway in Solan district, affecting traffic movement, while run-off water inundated shops in the Jabli area near Dharampur.
Debris near Chakki Mod, around 10 km from Parwanoo, forced vehicles to move through one lane, causing congestion. Several parts of Parwanoo also witnessed waterlogging.
Landslides in the Naddi area of Kangra district damaged key gravity pipelines supplying drinking water to Dharamshala, disrupting water supply to several parts of the town.
As many as 95 roads remained closed for traffic across the state. Bilaspur’s Naina Devi recorded 130.6 mm rainfall on Thursday, the highest in the state, followed by 85.8 mm at Murari Devi in Mandi.
The Shimla Meteorological Centre has forecast heavy rain at isolated places in Bilaspur, Kangra and Sirmaur on Friday and Bilaspur, Kangra and Solan on Saturday. A wet spell is likely to continue till September 9.
In West Bengal, the Damodar Valley Corporation began issuing flood alerts for downstream areas after releasing water from its Maithon and Panchet reservoirs amid heavy rainfall and increased inflow.
The discharge from Maithon, which was 1.2 lakh cusec on Wednesday evening, was reduced to 98,000 cusec by Thursday afternoon, lowering the flood risk from orange to yellow, DVC Executive Director (Civil), Maithon, Subir Kumar Saha said.
Purba Bardhaman, Paschim Bardhaman, Bankura, Hooghly and Howrah districts are likely to be affected by the release. The DVC alerted the state government and district administrations, asking them to take precautionary measures in riverbank areas.
Train services were also affected in West Bengal’s Eastern Railway Howrah-Malda division after soil beneath tracks between Tilpara and New Farakka eroded following heavy rain.
North Bengal-bound trains were diverted through a bypass line, while several long-distance trains, including the Jogbani Express, Gour Express and Darjeeling Mail, were running late. Repair work was taken up by railway maintenance teams.
In Delhi, the maximum temperature on Thursday was 34.9 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees above normal, while the minimum was 27 degrees. The India Meteorological Department has forecast a generally cloudy sky with moderate rain in Delhi on Friday and Saturday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
