Himachal on red alert; schools shut as landslides and rain cripple daily life
Heavy rainfall has brought the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand to a standstill. A red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in several parts of Himachal has prompted the government to announce the closure of all schools in the Kangra, Mandi, Sirmaur, and Solan districts today.Three deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours in Himachal due to heavy rains, taking the total toll to 20 since the monsoons began.advertisementThe weather department has said "heavy to very heavy rains are likely to occur at a few places in the districts of Kangra, Mandi, Solan and Sirmaur till Monday evening.
The red alert for rainfall is issued when there are high chances of damage to life and properties as a result of landslides and floods.In Uttarakhand, the 24-hour ban on the Char Dham Yatra was lifted on Monday, a day after it was suspended due to a massive landslide in Barkot.Meanwhile, services on the Shimla-Kalka rail line were suspended for hours till the debris and trees fallen on the tracks following overnight rains were removed.One person each drowned in Una and Bilaspur districts, while another died after falling from height in Shimla district, the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) told news agency PTI.advertisementA landslide near Koti on the Shimla-Kalka national highway (NH-5), connecting Shimla and Chandigarh, damaged some stretches of the road, resulting in a two-to-three-km-long traffic jam for hours.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday announced the arrival of the Monsoon over the entire country, including Delhi, nine days ahead of schedule. According to the IMD, the monsoon has now covered the remaining parts of Rajasthan, West Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and all of Delhi as of June 29, beating its usual timeline of July 8.The early onset brought light to moderate rain across Delhi-NCR on Saturday and Sunday, with showers and gusty winds reported in Rohini, Pitampura, Karawal Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Dwarka, IGI Airport and several other parts of the capital.- EndsInputs from PTI, agenciesTrending Reel
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