New Delhi: Heavy rains on Monday lashed several parts of north India, including Uttarakhand, where five people were killed in rain-related incidents, while a red alert for 10 dams was issued in Kerala due to incessant downpour in the southern state.
In Delhi, the month of October this year has been the wettest since 1960, when the city had recorded 93.4 mm of rainfall, according to data shared by the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Heavy rainfall also lashed several parts of Rajasthan, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
Due to heavy downpour, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan postponed his campaign tour to Khandwa for the upcoming Lok Sabha bypoll there, while in Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav's rally had to be cancelled in Budhana town as the venue was submerged in rainwater.
Authorities in Uttarakhand advised Chardham pilgrims, who arrived in Haridwar and Rishikesh by Sunday, not to proceed to the Himalayan temples till the weather improves.
Five people, including three labourers from Nepal, were killed and two others injured in rain-related incidents in the state.
The labourers were staying in a tent at Samkhal near Lansdowne in Pauri district when rubble flowing down from a field above due to the rains buried them alive, District Magistrate Vijay Kumar Jogdande said, adding that the injured were admitted to the Kotdwar base hospital.
In Selkhola in Champawat district, two people were killed when their house collapsed, following a landslide, the State Emergency Operation Centre said.
Passenger vehicles are not being allowed to cross the Chandrabhaga bridge, Tapovan, Lakshman Jhoola and Muni-ki-Reti Bhadrakali barriers in Rishikesh.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the state disaster control room at the secretariat in Dehradun to take weather updates and know the conditions of roads and highways.
In Kerala, where heavy rains have claimed 22 lives till Sunday, water levels are rising in the catchment areas.
A red alert was issued in respect of 10 dams in Kerala, two shutters of Kakki dam in Pathanamthitta were opened and pilgrimage to Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala has been put on hold for now, state Revenue minister K Rajan said.
After a review meeting held at the Pathanamthitta District Collectorate to assess the situation, Rajan and state Health minister Veena George said that it has been decided to open the Kakki dam to release around 100-200 cumex water, which would increase the water level of Pampa river by around 15 centimetres.
They said the decision was taken in view of the water level in the dam increasing beyond the danger levels and also taking into consideration the heavy rains expected from October 20, which might worsen the situation if some water is not released now.
In view of the expected worsening of the weather from October 20 till 24, according to IMD information, they said it would not be possible to permit pilgrimage to the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala for the Thula Masam poojas for which the shrine had been opened from October 16.
Heavy rains lashed Delhi, leading to traffic snarls and waterlogging at several places in the city. The minimum temperature settled at 23.9 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season's average.
Delhi recorded 87.9 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am on Sunday and 8.30 am on Monday. In the city this year, 94.6 mm of rainfall has already been recorded in October.
A link road from National Highway-05 to Moorang was blocked due to flash floods triggered by heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh Kinnaur district at Khogpa Nullah in Moorang Tehsil, a disaster management official said.
In Madhya Pradesh, almost the entire state received post-monsoon showers in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am.