37 killed as heavy rains batter north India Army, NDRF step in for rescue ops

PTI, New Delhi, July 10, 2023: Incessant rains unleashed more death and destruction on Monday in parts of north India with 37 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the last two days even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand about the situation and assured them of all help and support from the central government.

Modi also spoke with senior ministers and officials and took stock of the situation in the wake of excessive rainfall in parts of the country, his office said.

Flash floods and landslides claimed 18 lives over the past two days in Himachal Pradesh, while nine people died in Punjab and Haryana, seven in Rajasthan and three in Uttar Pradesh in different rain-related incidents.

Several rivers, including the Yamuna in Delhi, in north India are in spate. In cities and towns across the region, many roads and residential areas were submerged in knee-deep water with the civic system unable to hold on in the face of record rains on Sunday.

A total of 39 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed in four north Indian states to tackle the heavy rains and floods. While 14 teams are working in Punjab, a dozen are deployed in Himachal Pradesh, eight in Uttarakhand and five in Haryana.

“The rescue operations are being undertaken as per the situation on ground and in coordination with the state authorities,” an NDRF spokesperson said.

In Punjab, the Army rescued 910 students and 50 others from a private university in the state after it was flooded with water due to heavy rains.

The civil administration in Punjab and Haryana had earlier sought help for the rescue operation from the Army, which sent the Flood Relief columns of Army’s Western Command to assist the administration in the flood affected areas of the two states.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday asked the Centre to make available additional relief from the PM CARES Fund for states affected by the torrential rain.

In Himachal Pradesh, there was no let-up in the monsoon fury on Monday with flash floods and landslides claiming 18 lives over the past two days, affecting hydropower projects and destroying properties worth hundreds of crores of rupees.

As many as 72 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents since June 24 in the state.