CHANDIGARH/DEHRADUN: The situation in the rain-ravaged Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana continued to remain grim on Wednesday, while the swollen Yamuna in downstream Delhi hit an all-time high of 208.05 metres, inundating several low-lying areas in the national capital.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged Union home minister Amit Shah to reduce the outflow from Haryana’s Hathni Kund barrage into the Yamuna to prevent further flooding.
In Uttarakhand, the embankment of the Solani River got breached at two places due to incessant rains, flooding 24 villages. The Gangotri and Yamunotri highways were among the 1,500-plus roads that have been closed due to landslides and rain-related damages. Pilgrims are waiting for the highways to open for their safe exit. There were also reports of a car with four persons on board skidding into the Khoh River.
In Punjab, 1,058 of its villages in 14 districts have been affected by the flood fury, with Roopnagar district taking the biggest hit. While around 10,000 people have been shifted to safer places in Punjab, 49 houses have been completely destroyed and 180 other houses partially damaged.
As for Haryana, its seven districts have been affected. The toll due to rain-related incidents in Punjab and Haryana has gone up to 21.
In Himachal Pradesh, 3,000 tourists stranded in the Kasol area of Kullu district have been evacuated. Fifty-two students of a school in Kullu, who were stuck at Sissu in Lahaul, too, were safely moved out. That apart, about 25,000 people stranded in Manali and Kullu for the past three days at various locations have been rescued. But 293 others, including 243 tourists, are still stuck at the glacial Chandratal Lake in Lahaul and Spiti district because of bad weather.