New Delhi: It has been a wet and miserable weekend for those who have been caught in the deadly mix of heavy rains and floods in South and West India.
Torrential rains on Sunday lashed Karnataka and Maharashtra, throwing life out of gear while the situation improved in worst-hit Andhra Pradesh and Kerala even as the toll in these states mounted to over 130.
Though, the state governments have pressed emergency operations into service, the Met Department fears the worst may be far from over.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reviewed the flood situation in the country with Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta.
Singh also spoke to Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy regarding the flood situation in the state.
Worst-hit Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh saw a replay of last year when massive flooding took place in Kurnool district.
Apart from heavy rains, heavy damage is also due to silting caused by large scale encroachments on storm drains and rivulets, leading to diminished carrying capacity of
these water bodies, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy said at his camp office after an aerial survey of affected areas in Nandyal and Kurnool on Sunday.
The Chief Minister also visited the flood-affected districts of Chitoor, Guntoor and Kurnool.
However, angry residents of Kurnool blocked Reddy's convoy at least 25 times on a three-kilometer stretch.
The locals are angry over the state government's failure to provide immediate relief to those displaced by rising waters. Even the CM's promise of Rs 2,000 and five kilogram of rice as interim relief to the affected families, failed to boost their morale.
The death toll in the state stood at 45 on Sunday.
Mumbai madness begins
Mumbai and its neighbouring areas bore the brunt of the monsoon's fury, which claimed five lives since Saturday.
The Met Department said “heavy to very heavy” rains and gusty winds would continue to hit Mumbai. Meanwhile, several flights from Mumbai were delayed and rail traffic has also been disrupted.
Since Saturday Mumbai received 279 millimeters of rain in 24 hours, which is about 10 per cent of its annual quota.
An airport spokesperson told PTI that 11 flights had to be diverted to other neighbouring airports like Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Vadodara due to poor visibility but later most flights were operating with a delay of about half an hour.
A Central Railway spokesperson said suburban trains were running half an hour behind the schedule due to flooding of tracks near Kurla and Kalyan in neighbouring Thane.
Services on Western Railway was largely unaffected with most trains running behind schedule in the morning but were on schedule later in the day.
Road traffic remained largely unaffected with a majority of Mumbaikars remaining indoors on account of Sunday.
Kerala limps backs to normalcy
Kerala began limping back to normalcy after being battered for the past four days by torrential rains that claimed 20 lives and caused extensive damage to property.
Hundreds of families are still in relief camps despite a respite in the rains On Sunday. The state government said it would pay Rs 50,000 to the kin of those killed in monsoon-related calamities.
Power supply, which was seriously disrupted in many parts of the state after trees fell on electric lines, has largely been restored, officials said.
However, coastal areas where heavy rains wrought havoc are yet to return to normalcy.
Karnataka deluged
The monsoon continued to lash Karnataka, claiming six more lives and taking the toll in rain-related incidents in the state to 39.
There was no let up in the downpour in the districts of Kodagu, the origin of the river Cauvery, Belgaum, Bijapur, Raichur, Gulbarga, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, where life was severely disrupted.
(With inputs from PTI)
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