New Delhi, Aug 4: Heavy rains lashed western and central parts of India on Sunday while a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir led to the closure of the arterial Srinagar-Leh national highway, cutting off the Kashmir Valley from Ladakh and rendering the Baltal base camp for the Amarnath Yatra inaccessible.
The death toll in last week's landslides in Kerala's Wayanad and Himachal Pradesh rose to 221 and 11, respectively, while more than 370 people, including pilgrims, stranded on the rain-ravaged trek route to Uttarakhand's Kedarnath, were evacuated.
So far, more than 10,000 people have been rescued from Kedarnath, Bhimbali and Gaurikund. The trek route to Kedarnath suffered extensive damage as a result of a cloudburst in Junglechatti near Lincholi last Wednesday.
Army personnel were deployed at an inundated residential area in Maharashtra's Pune amid heavy downpours and water discharge from the Khadakwasla dam, officials said.
In view of the discharge of water from Khadakwasla, Mulshi, Pavana and other dams in the Pune region, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde directed authorities to be alert and shift people from dangerous zones to safer places with the assistance of NDRF, SDRF and the Army, if needed.
Officials of Maharashtra's irrigation department said 35,000 cusecs of water was discharged from the Khadakwasla dam following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas in the past fortnight. The ghat section in Pune district received heavy rainfall in the last two days.
In Jammu and Kashmir, some buildings suffered damage while the Srinagar-Leh national highway was closed following a cloudburst in Ganderbal district that triggered a flash flood.
The highway's closure has cut off the Kashmir Valley from Ladakh while the Baltal base camp for Amarnath yatra has also been rendered inaccessible.
“The traffic on Srinagar-Leh road has been suspended till further notice due to road damage at Kacherwan in Ganderbal district,” an official of the traffic control room said.
He said the road was damaged due to cloudburst during the intervening might. A police official said some buildings, including residential houses, have suffered damage due to the flash floods triggered by the cloudburst.
Authorities are on the ground to provide help and assistance to those in need, the official said. The closure of the highway has cut off Kashmir valley from Ladakh union territory while Baltal base camp for Amarnath yatra has also been rendered inaccessible.
Several south Bengal districts, including Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Birbhum, Paschim and Purba Medinipur, Bankura, Hooghly and Howrah have been impacted by the release of water by DVC.
The death toll due to flash floods triggered by cloudbursts in three districts of Himachal Pradesh increased to 11 with the recovery of two more bodies from the Mandi district.
Over 40 people are still missing after a series of cloudbursts occurred in Kullu's Nirmand, Sainj and Malana, Mandi's Padhar and Shimla's Rampur subdivision on the night of July 31 and wreaked havoc.
The India Meteorological Department has warned of heavy to very heavy rainfall in eastern, northeastern and northern parts of the country on Monday while isolated places in Bihar Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh are likely to witness thunderstorms accompanied by lightning.
