CHANDIGARH/LUCKNOW/DEHRADUN: Three occupants of a car were killed as the vehicle they were travelling in fell into a ditch following the caving-in of a stretch of a road near Sharan Dhank in Nankheri area of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, reports said. At least 125 people have died in the state since the onset of monsoon on June 24 in rain-induced road accidents in the hill state.
As many as 647 roads, including 244 in Shimla, 136 in Kullu, 83 in Sirmaur and 60 in Mandi districts are still blocked while 1,115 transformers and 543 water supply schemes are disrupted in the state. The state has suffered losses of Rs 4,636 crore as per the state emergency response centre.
In the plains of Uttar Pradesh, a swollen Yamuna breached the “low flood level” mark to reach the walls of the Taj Mahal in Agra for the first time in 45 years. The river level has risen to 495.8 feet, district authorities said.
As per the authorities of the Archaeological Survey of India, the design of the monument and the main mausoleum were created to withstand floods. The flood water reached the walls of the Itmad-ud-daulah monument, the authorities said. Historical monuments, including Rambagh, Mehtab Bagh, Zohra Bagh and Kala Gumbad also faced threats.
A report from Uttarakhand said eight houses and shops collapsed in state capital Dehradun due to continuous heavy rains since Monday night. Many areas in Dehradun were flooded, while drains overflowed.
The State Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert for the entire state, as well as an ‘orange alert’ in many areas of Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Almora, Champawat, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar. State Meteorological Department Director Dr Bikram Singh said the rainfall sequence is above normal.
“State Disaster Response Force units are patrolling the embankment areas of the Ganga. The water levels of major rivers are close to the danger mark,” SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra told this newspaper.