Mercury comes down but lightning strikes in Raj kill four; hundreds of commuters stranded in Himachal due to flash floods, landslides in J&K
As monsoon rains continue to lash parts of North and West India bringing relief from the heatwave that killed over a hundred people, the downpours also brought destruction, with incidents of lightning strikes in Rajasthan resulting in the death of at least four people and hundreds of commuters remaining stranded in Himachal Pradesh (HP) due to flash floods and landslides.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the monsoon has now covered 80 per cent of the country. According to IMD scientist Dr Naresh Kumar, after advancing through Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR, and Haryana, the southwest monsoon has now reached Gujarat, Haryana, and Punjab.
This year’s monsoon has witnessed a unique occurrence as it simultaneously reached Delhi and Mumbai, a phenomenon that has not happened in the past 62 years.
While the normal onset date for the monsoon in Mumbai is June 11 and for Delhi is June 27, the rain clouds followed an unusual path, resulting in a lag over several western States before covering the entire country.
"The last time the monsoon covered both Delhi and Mumbai at the same time was June 21, 1961. That year, the monsoon covered the remaining parts of the country on the same day," said an IMD official.
In Himachal’s Mandi district, hundreds of commuters, including tourists, were stranded as the Chandigarh-Manali National Highway got blocked due to flash floods and landslides. A total of 301 roads have been closed in the State, and 140 power transformers have been disrupted. Flash floods occurred near Khotinallah, causing the commuters to be stranded since Sunday evening. The alternative Mandi-Kullu route, previously blocked due to landslides, has been opened for small vehicles after almost 20 hours.
Restoration work is currently underway, with explosives being used to clear heavy boulders blocking roads. One-way traffic is expected to be restored within the next couple of hours. However, stranded commuters have been advised not to move towards Mandi until the road is fully opened.
Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh informed that 180 out of the 301 blocked roads would be reopened by Monday evening, 15 by Tuesday, and the remaining roads by June 30, depending on the weather conditions. The State has deployed approximately 390 earth movers and heavy machinery to clear the roads.
In Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) heavy rains brought relief from the sweltering heat but also triggered landslides at multiple locations, blocking the crucial Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and other roads. Authorities closed all schools up to class 10 in Ramban due to the threat of flash floods. The 250-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the only all-weather road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country, was blocked due to landslides and shooting stones. However, the stranded vehicles were cleared later in the day, allowing for one-way traffic.
Delhi experienced pleasant weather conditions with 2 mm of rainfall recorded in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 AM. The weather office predicts a generally cloudy sky with light to moderate rain for the day, and the maximum temperature is expected to reach 30 degrees Celsius. In Rajasthan, the first monsoon rains claimed four lives and left four others injured due to lightning strikes in different parts of the State. Dinesh (21) was struck by lightning in Pali district, while two cousins, Hariram (46) and Kamal (32), lost their lives in Baran’s Patpadi. A 10-year-old girl was also fatally struck in Chittorgarh.
Madhya Pradesh is also bracing for heavy rainfall, with the IMD issuing an ‘Orange Alert’ warning for heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall in isolated places until Tuesday morning. Mumbai witnessed a house collapse in the Ghatkopar area, injuring four individuals, amidst moderate to heavy rains in the city and its suburbs.