New Delhi: Heavy rainfall over the past few days has caused widespread disruption across several states, with floods, landslides, and rain-related accidents reported from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam. In Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district, five members of the same family lost their lives, while three people were killed in separate rain-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that heavy rainfall is likely to continue across parts of North India in the coming days.
What happened in Chamba?
A family was devastated after a car fell into a ditch on the Pathankot-Bharmaur highway in Chamba on Monday night. There were 5 people from the same family in the car. Everyone died. The youngest child was only 3 months old. It is being said that the family was returning after getting the child treated at PGI, Chandigarh. That night, the rain was so heavy that debris came down from the mountain at many places. Roads were closed, and vehicles were stuck. Traffic was almost at a standstill throughout Himachal.
Has the situation worsened in Kashmir and Uttarakhand also?
Cloud burst in Bandipora, Kashmir. Low-lying areas were flooded. Many families had to be shifted to safe places overnight. Fields and roads were also damaged. The weather in Uttarakhand is so bad that the administration has stopped the Chardham Yatra for 2 days. Passengers have been stopped in hotels and dharamshalas. We will be able to proceed once the weather clears.
Are questions also raised after the deaths of 3 people in UP?
A fourth-class child returning from school in Bulandshahr fell into a filled drain. After a long time, he was taken out. The administration is now investigating whether there was any negligence on the part of the school and the municipality. In Sambhal too, the wall of a house collapsed due to rain. A mother and her niece were crushed to death. Both these incidents show that the security arrangements are weak during the monsoon. The weather department has given an orange alert of heavy to very heavy rain for the next 2-3 days in parts of Himachal, Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Western UP, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.
How will the weather be for the next few days?
There is still flooding in Assam. Lakhs of people are in relief camps. The administration has only one appeal – do not go near rivers and streams, do not travel unnecessarily in hilly areas, and do not take weather warnings lightly.
