Rain fury claims 10 lives in Haryana, Himachal, J-K; cripples life across north India

The downpour across north India showed no signs of easing on Wednesday as rain-triggered structural collapses and landslides claimed 10 lives in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir, pummelled regions already on edge and forced the suspension of classes, flights, trains and even cremations.

In the east, a fresh low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal is likely to bring heavy showers in Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Jharkhand on Thursday, while rains continued to batter Odisha for the third consecutive day on Wednesday with no respite in sight.

At least six people, including three girls, were killed in three roof collapse incidents caused by heavy rain in different parts of Haryana.

The incidents were reported from Bhiwani, Shahbad Markanda, which is about 20 km from Kurukshetra, and Yamunanagar.

In Himachal Pradesh, rain fury continued as four more bodies were retrieved from the debris of a landslide near Sundernagar in Mandi district, taking the toll to seven.

Two people, including an NDRF jawan, were feared dead after two houses collapsed in Kullu district, while two women died and 15 passengers were injured after rolling boulders fell on a private bus near Kalimitti in Kumarsein area of Shimla.

Authorities in the state have ordered closure of all schools and colleges till September 7 as a precaution and the state's police chief, Ashok Tewari, has instructed all police units to step up preparedness for rescue, relief and traffic management.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the Chamba administration to immediately evacuate stranded Manimahesh Yatra pilgrims and coordinate with the Air Force to deploy about six MI-17 helicopters.

Jammu and Kashmir, too, faced devastation as torrential rains claimed the lives of a woman and her daughter in a house collapse, while 40 people were trapped in a flooded village in Akhnoor.

Landslides in Reasi blocked the track to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, prolonging the suspension of the pilgrimage for the ninth day.

Shuttle services of four trains that were introduced to help locals and stranded passengers travel between Jammu and Katra were suspended due to heavy rain and flooding on Wednesday. The scheduled train services from New Delhi to Katra have also been short-terminated.

In Chhattisgarh's Balrampur district, four people were killed and three went missing after a portion of the Lutti dam collapsed late on Tuesday after a spell of heavy rain, triggering flash floods that swept through houses and fields.

Delhi was lashed by intermittent showers for the third consecutive day on Wednesday as overcast conditions persisted in the city, which is predicted to receive more rain in the next few days.

Waters from a raging Yamuna submerged homes, destroyed shop goods and disrupted traffic in several areas throwing life out of gear for thousands of people as the river breached the 207-metre mark on Wednesday for the fifth time since 1963.

More than 2,000 people were evacuated from Jharoda Kalan and some areas of Najafgarh after a 50-foot embankment of Mungeshpur drain was breached, inundating many low-lying areas overnight in south-west Delhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had a phone call with her Haryana counterpart, Nayab Saini, over the drain breach and called for an urgent repair.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has directed officials to intensify insecticide spraying in flood-affected areas and relief camps to prevent vector-borne diseases as the Yamuna water levels rose persistently, inundating its floodplains.

Cremations at Nigambodh Ghat, Delhi's largest cremation ground, were suspended after Yamuna floodwater entered the premises. Located along the Ring Road behind the Red Fort, Nigambodh Ghat is the city's oldest, largest, and busiest cremation ground and on average, handles 55 to 60 cremations daily.

The Geeta Colony crematorium was also flooded, forcing the staff to look for dry places to carry out cremations.

In Punjab, which is battling its worst deluge since 1988, a fresh spell of heavy rain compounded the flood situation as all 23 districts of the state have been hit and 37 lives lost so far.

Schools, colleges and universities were ordered shut till September 7, while over 3.5 lakh people reeled under the impact of the calamity. Rupnagar and Patiala districts remained on alert as swollen rivers and rivulets threatened embankments.

The deluge, however, failed to dampen the spirits of a groom in Khanaura village of Hoshiarpur district as he and around 20 'baraatis' rode a tractor-trolley through nearly 1.5 km flooded stretch before travelling another 3 km to board cars to reach the bride's village in Jalandhar.

After the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom also returned home the same way, on the trolley, crossing floodwaters.

Haryana's Ambala city was submerged after two days of incessant rain, with floodwater entering the deputy commissioner's office, police stations and schools. The wholesale cloth market and several residential sectors went under water, forcing authorities to shut all educational institutions.

State Public Health Engineering Minister Ranbir Gangwa chaired an emergency meeting, directing officials to ensure drainage and uninterrupted drinking water supply.

He ordered readiness of backup power, pumps and tankers, while asking officers to work round-the-clock and maintain coordination with district administrations.

Chandigarh authorities extended the closure of all schools till September 7 due to incessant rain.

In Rajasthan, rail and road traffic were paralysed as torrential downpour lashed Jaipur, Kota and adjoining districts.

Nine trains were halted on the Kota-Mumbai route after landslips near Dara railway station, while waterlogging forced closure of National Highway-52 connecting Kota and Jhalawar.