Floods LIVE updates: Toll in rain-related incidents rises to 25 in Himachal; Fadnavis says Maharashtra govt will seek extension to file I-T, GST returns – Firstpost

Floods in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu LATEST Updates: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that he will ask Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to extend the deadline to file Income Tax and GST returns, in view of the rains and flood situation in the state.

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced Rs 100 crore for emergency relief and rehabilitation measures in the flood-hit regions of the state. Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that houses damaged due to floods will be re-built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. The state government will provide financial help of Rs 24,000 for rented accommodation in rural areas and Rs 36,000 in urban areas, he said.

Delhi Traffic Police said on Twitter that the deputy magistrate has shut the iron bridge over Yamuna River for vehicular movement in view of the possibility of the river level rising by Monday evening. Meanwhile, Skyment Weather said that light rains are expected over Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurugram during next 2-3 hours.

On Monday, rescue and relief operations resumed the state police, ITBP, PAC and SDRF personnel being involved in the exercise. “Amid relatively clear weather in the affected area with three helicopters, including one from the IAF, pressed into service to take relief material including food packets and essential medicines to people,” News18 reported.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who held a meeting with government officials as the Yamuna river came close to crossing the danger mark on Monday afternoon, addressed a press conference on the looming flood-like situation in the national capital.

He said, “The water level (of Yamuna river) is expected to cross the danger mark, today evening. Water can reach here during the next two days with full force, all our officers and ministers are monitoring the situation constantly.”

The Yamuna river on Monday crossed the “warning mark” of 204.50 meters and was set to breach the “danger mark” of 205.33m, forcing authorities to stop traffic on one of the bridges that connect Delhi with its eastern wing. Amid the rising water level, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has called an emergency meeting of officials, the government said.

At least 24 people were killed in Himachal Pradesh and three people died in Punjab in rain-related incidents on Sunday as the two states received rainfall over ten times more than normal, officials said. Overall, at least 40 have died in rain-related incidents. According to IMD, heavy rainfall lashed the two northern states due to a low-pressure system along their borders. Heavy rainfall was also reported from parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Haryana.

In a daring rescue operation, an IAF chopper helped stranded people on Jammu’s Tawi river. ANI tweeted the video of the operation and reported that after a sudden increase in water levels of Tawi river, two people were stuck near an under-construction bridge in Jammu. Rescue operations are underway.

Authorities issued high alert in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab after heavy rains led to floods that killed at least 28 people, while about 22 are still missing. Flood alert was sounded in parts of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh as Yamuna and other rivers were in spate. Haryana has asked the Army to remain on standby after 8.14 lakh cusec water was released from the Hathini Kund barrage in the Yamuna river.

At least 22 people, including two Nepalese, were killed and nine others injured in rain-related incidents in Himachal Pradesh, while three people died and 22 went missing following a cloudburst in Uttarakhand. Three people lost their lives in Punjab.

Roads in Himachal Pradesh continued to remain shut on Monday due to landslides triggered by heavy rain in the past two days, officials said. Heavy landslides also hit vehicular movement on the Chandigarh-Manali highway beyond Mandi town.

A total of 22 people died and two were reported missing in the state in rain-related incidents in the past two days, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur told reporters.

There was an estimated loss of Rs 20 crore to both public and private property in the state in two days. Till date the overall loss was Rs 574 crore.

Reports said more than 300 vehicles, carrying tourists and locals, have been stuck since Sunday between Keylong and the Rohtang Pass and work was on to clear the landslide debris.

Rail traffic bound for Himachal Pradesh beyond Ropar town in Punjab has been snapped since Sunday owing to damage to the tracks, officials said. Twelve trains were suspended.

Train services between Shimla and Kalka, which were disrupted on Sunday after landslips, were normal.

The local Indian Meteorological Department on Sunday said the state received the highest ever rainfall for a 24-hour period, since records began almost 70 years ago.

“The state as a whole received 102.5 mm and this was 1,065 per cent more than normal for this day,” the IMD said in a statement.

This is the highest ever rainfall in 24 hours over the state, it added.

The higher reaches of Kullu, Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts experienced snowfall. Keylong town in Lahaul-Spiti district too saw snow.

There was no major rainfall in the state in the past 12 hours. Light to moderate rainfall was likely at some places till Tuesday, a Met Department official told reporters.

The state capital saw 11.9 mm of rain.

The government has announced closure of all educational institutions in Kullu and Shimla districts on Monday.

A government spokesperson said the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna rivers and their tributaries have been in spate in Kinnaur, Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Bilaspur and Sirmaur districts.

“We have advised people settled along the banks of the rivers to move to safer places,” an official said here.

Authorities said excess water was discharged from the Pandoh diversion dam, located 112 km upstream of Pong dam, as a precautionary measure.

The Pandoh diversion dam is located on the Beas river in Mandi district. It diverts excess monsoon water towards the Pong dam. Otherwise, it diverts water towards the Satluj river which feeds the Gobind Sagar reservoir of the Bhakra dam.

However, the inflow of water into the state’s Pong and Bhakra dam increased dramatically due to heavy rainfall.

All the major rivers of the hill state — the Satluj, Beas and Yamuna — enter Punjab and Haryana.

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Floods LIVE updates: Toll in rain-related incidents rises to 25 in Himachal; Fadnavis says Maharashtra govt will seek extension to file I-T, GST returns – Firstpost