INDIA Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued an alert for heavy rainfall in most parts of country. “Active monsoon conditions are likely to continue over east-central, north-west and west India over the next 4-5 days and the south-west monsoon is likely to advance further into some more parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and the remaining parts of the Western Himalayan Region today, June 26,” the IMD said in a press release. Conditions are favourable for further advance of south-west monsoon into some more parts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, remaining parts of Haryana and Punjab during next 2 days, IMD added. IMD also issued agromet advisories for rainfall, thunderstorms/gusty winds and heatwave over several parts of the country. Delayed by over a fortnight, monsoon finally hit Maharashtra with full fury, claiming at least six lives in the past 24 hours in the financial capital Mumbai. The IMD has forecast heavy rains in Mumbai over the next 48 hours with an orange alert for Tuesday. Several districts like Palghar, Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have also been issued rainfall warnings of varying alerts till June 30. Late on Saturday, two contract workers fell into a manhole while cleaning up a rain-soaked road at Govandi in north-east Mumbai.

 

They are identified as Ram Krishan, 30 and Sudhir Dhas, 35. Early on Sunday morning, a senior couple Priscilla Misquitta, 65 and her husband Robi Misquitta, 70, were killed after a two-storied building crashed in Vile Parle gaothan area in the western suburbs. Barely hours later, a tenement crashed in Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar in Ghatkopar east, trapping several persons of whom two were killed, and four others were injured. They were identified as Alka Palande, 94 and her son Naresh Palande, 56, whose bodies were recovered from the debris on Monday morning. Heavy rains or showers continued to lash Mumbai and the coastal Konkan region all through Monday, though there was no major disruption of rail, road or air traffic. Waterlogging was reported from some areas in the city and suburbs including water seeping into ground floor homes, some low-lying roads and subways, putting people on alert. Four people were killed and as many others injured in incidents of lightning strikes in Rajasthan as first monsoon rains were received in some parts of the State, officials said Monday.

 

The deaths were reported from Pali, Baran and Chittorgarh districts, they said. Monsoon entered parts of the State on Sunday, bringing light to moderate rains and heavy rains in some districts of Udaipur, Kota, Bikaner, Jaipur divisions. IMD also issued an orange alert warning heavy to very heavy and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places in Madhya Pradesh till Tuesday morning even as showers continue to lash several areas in the State. Hundreds of commuters, including tourists, were stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district as the Chandigarh-Manali national highway was blocked following flash floods and landslides, officials said on Monday. The 70-km Mandi-Pandoh-Kullu stretch has been badly affected, they said. A total of 301 roads are closed in the State following heavy rains, while 140 power transformers are disrupted. The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway was blocked for vehicular traffic following landslides due to heavy rainfall in Mehad and Cafeteria Morh of Ramban district. As per the latest visuals, there is a long queue of vehicles on the highway. Notably, the District administration Ramban of Jammu and Kashmir has ordered for closure of all schools, upto class 10 for the day amid ongoing heavy rains across the district.