The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a major alert for the next 12 hours. According to the Meteorological Department, there is a possibility of heavy rain with thunderstorms in many parts of the country.
This alert has been issued for a total of 24 states. These include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi-NCR, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Meghalaya.
Conditions worsened due to rain across the country
These days, monsoon rains have made the situation quite serious across the country. According to the Meteorological Department, continuous heavy rainfall in many states has disrupted normal life. From hilly areas to plains, flood-like situation has arisen due to rain. It has become difficult for people to live a normal life in many parts including Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. Waterlogging, road jams and impact on transport services are being seen at many places.
Trouble due to rain throughout the day in Delhi-NCR
It rained continuously from morning to late night on Monday in the capital Delhi and the adjoining NCR region. Due to this, the roads were flooded and people had to remain stuck in traffic jams for hours. The situation worsened in areas like Noida and Gurugram, where many vehicles drowned in water. Not only this, metro services were also affected and passengers had to wait for a long time at the stations. Complaints of water dripping inside the metro were also reported at many places.
Red alert in hill states
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an alert for many states of north-west India for the next few days. Heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected especially in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Red alert has been declared in the southern districts of Himachal for the next two days. After this, torrential rain is also expected in the eastern parts on the third day. In the last 24 hours, more than 21 cm of rain has been recorded in many areas of Himachal, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Rajasthan. At the same time, some parts of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana have also received 12 to 20 cm of rainfall.
Impact on traffic and rail services
The continuous rain has also affected the rail network. Due to damage to the tracks in Jammu and surrounding areas, many important trains have had to be cancelled. Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Vande Bharat Express, Shri Shakti Express and Jammu Rajdhani Express have been announced to be cancelled for the entire month of September. According to railway officials, the track between Kathua and Madhopur is badly damaged and repair work is going on. Due to this, passengers are facing a lot of trouble.
Major relief and rescue operation by the army
In view of the dire situation of rain and floods, the Western Command of the Army is continuously engaged in relief and rescue operations. So far, more than 5,000 people have been evacuated to safer places in Jammu, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. More than 21 tonnes of relief material has been sent to the affected areas. So far, more than 20 aircraft have been deployed in this operation, including Advanced Light Helicopters, MI-17 and Chinook. Due to this campaign of the Army, thousands of families got timely help and efforts are on to control the situation.
