DEHRADUN/BHOPAL/CHANDIGARH: Torrential rains and flash floods have thrown life out of gear in several parts of the country, leading to the loss of lives and property in several separate incidents. In Himachal Pradesh, two people were buried alive under debris following a landslide in the Kullu district. Ten shops and three vehicles were washed away after a cloudburst hit the Deuthi panchayat in Anni tehsil on Thursday morning, Director of state disaster management department, Sudesh Mokhta, said.
At least seven persons, including a toddler girl, were swept away in flooded rivers and nullahs in the Indore and Betul districts of Madhya Pradesh over the last 24 hours. In Indore, 23-year-old Jafar Khan has been swept away in the Chandan Nagar area, a 26-year-old woman jumped into an overflowing nullah to save her son (who has slipped in the water body) was washed away, even as local residents saved her son. While Jafar’s body was recovered on Thursday, the woman is untraceable.
In Betul district, at least five persons were lost in flooded rivers and nullahs in three places. The first mishap happened in the Amla area on Wednesday when a youth Rajendra Omkar was driving sister Sandhya and toddler niece Lavanya on a motorbike for the Raksha Bandhan festival.
Unable to gauge the flow of water in the Kharpada river, he drove the motorbike through the bridge but was swept away with his sister and niece. While Sandhya and daughter Lavanya’s bodies were recovered on Thursday, Rajendra remains untraced.
Youth in an inebriated state was washed away in the Marghat river in the Athner area of the Betul district, while another youth was swept away in a flooded nullah elsewhere in the same district. Only one of the two bodies has been recovered until now.
In Uttarakhand, during the last 24 hours, unabated rainfall caused heavy damage to property in the Garhwal hills. Eight shops, including two jewellery shops, got washed away on Kumola Road in the Purola area of Uttarkashi district at around 2 am. The ATM of Punjab National Bank has also been swept away. Branch manager Chanchal Joshi said Rs 24 lakh was deposited in the ATM on Wednesday evening itself.