Rains continue to wreak havoc in UP, death toll touches 131

At least 11 people lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh as monsoon rains lashed most parts of north India, with several rivers in the region flowing above the danger mark.

New Delhi witnessed 6.9 mm rains during the day, which led to a drop in maximum temperature by two notches, which settled at 32 degree Celsius, the meteorological department said. The minimum temperature was recorded at 27.3 degree Celsius, which was normal for this time of the season. Humidity level oscillated between 75 and 91 per cent.

The Sharda, Ghaghra and Budhi Rapti rivers in Uttar Pradesh continued to flow above the danger mark. Four persons were killed in Sant Kabir Nagar district, and seven were killed in Saharanpur in rain-related incidents.

With this, the total number of casualties in UP this monsoon has touched 131, relief commissioner office said.

According to the Met department, moderate to heavy rains and thundershowers occurred at a few places over east UP and at isolated places over western parts of the state.

Musafirkhana in Sultanpur got 6 cm rains, Mirzapur and Basti 5 cm each, Varanasi 4 cm, Chandradeepghat, Balrampur, Rae Bareli 3 cm each, Regoli, Hardoi, Lucknow, Agra and Shahjahanpur received 2 cm rain each.

Meanwhile, the central water commission report said that River Ganga was in spate in Fatehgarh, flowing near the red mark, prompting the authorities to make all necessary steps to deal with the situation. The River Yamuna is also flowing close to the danger mark at Prayag Ghat in Mathura.

The River Sharda continued to flow above the danger mark in Palia Kalan while Ghaghra was flowing above the red mark at Elgin Bridge, Ayodhya and Turtipar.

In Rajasthan, light to moderate rains occurred at isolated places in Jaipur, Bharatpur and Bikaner divisions during the past 24 hours.  Himachal Pradesh also received moderate rains at isolated places. Renuka and Nahan in Sirmaur district received 79 mm and 32 mm rains, while Palampur recorded 15 mm rains, followed by Sundernagar 11 mm, Gohar 9 mm, Jogindernagar 7 mm and Dharamshala 6 mm.

MeT office has warned of heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places from July 14 onwards due to western disturbance.

Image: A man swims in the flooded waters of river Yamuna

Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters