New Delhi: The flood situation in Assam worsened on Wednesday as waters entered into new areas, killing 2 more persons and affecting over 26 lakh people, even as 5 deaths were reported in rain-related incidents in Uttarakhand and UP. The Centre will soon release Rs346 crore as an initial sum to handle the flood situation in Assam.
Bihar also battled floods with more than 4.5 lakh people affected in its 10 districts. National Disaster Response Force DG SN Pradhan said a total of 16 NDRF teams have been deployed in Assam and 20 in Bihar.
Meanwhile, another spell of heavy rains, the second in four days, submerged many areas in waist-deep water and brought traffic to a standstill in the national capital. Gurgaon also received a heavy downpour.
The India Meteorological Dept (IMD) said the rains covered most parts of Delhi and the adjoining areas of Haryana and UP.
The Safdarjung Observatory, which provides representative figures for the city, recorded 67.6 mm rainfall till 2:30 pm. The Palam and Lodhi Road weather stations gauged 81.2 mm and 72 mm precipitation respectively. Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand, three people were killed when their car was swept away by a swollen stream following heavy rains in Pauri district. The mishap occurred about 5 km from Najibabad-Buakhal national highway towards Dugadda on Tuesday, Kotdwar police station SHO Manoj Raturi said.
In the neighbouring UP, two kids drowned in a pit filled with water at Gurusandi village in Mirzapur on Wednesday, police said. They had gone to graze buffaloes. They were sitting near the pit when they slipped into it, police said. Rains also lashed Haryana and parts of neighbouring Punjab on Wednesday, causing maximum temperatures in the two states to remain well below normal limits.
