Northern India Faces More Rain as Monsoon Toll Reaches 2,400
Jay Shankar
Bloomberg News
Sep 23, 2008
India's northern states, where more than 10 million people have been affected by flooding, will be hit by more downpours as the national death toll since the onset of monsoon rains in June rose to more than 2,400.
Rain is forecast over the next five days in northwestern and northeastern parts, with ``heavy to very heavy rainfall'' predicted in the eastern states of Orissa and West Bengal, India's Meteorological Department said in an online statement.
The army and navy have been deployed in the north and east of the country after rain burst dams and changed the courses of rivers, inundating villages. The June-September annual monsoon season accounts for four-fifths of the country's rainfall.
At least 32 of the deaths took place in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh in the past two days, the National Disaster Management Division said. About 2.6 million people in the state have been hit by flooding and 732 villages are cut off, the agency said, adding that more than 340,000 houses are damaged.
``The situation is becoming grim as more rains are predicted,'' Pragya Vats, spokeswoman for charity ActionAid said in a telephone interview from New Delhi. ``Most of the affected people are agricultural laborers. It may take up to six months for them to get back on their feet.''
Authorities set up relief camps and rushed doctors to flooded villages to prevent the outbreak of disease. Helicopter crews dropped food packets to stranded people. In Uttar Pradesh, 183 mobile teams of doctors have been deployed.
`Above Danger Level'
In Orissa, 4.3 million people have been affected and 240,754 people are housed in relief camps. The River Mahanadi is flowing ``above danger level in Alipingal Devi and Niraj'' regions of the state, the government said.
``The flood situation in the Mahanadi system continues to be grim, with more areas being submerged under water due to the opening of about 61 breaches on embankments in different places,'' according to the disaster management division.
Landslides closed roads in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, while parts of the capital, Shimla, remained cut off. At least 41 people have drowned, been buried under collapsed walls or crushed when trees fell onto their homes.
``To repair the roads and restore communication we need at least 4 billion rupees ($87 million),'' Shimla Deputy Commissioner J.S. Rana said today in a telephone interview. ``Compensation of 100,000 rupees has been given to the families of people who died and the government will pay to repair damaged homes.''
Blankets, medicine, food and other commodities were dropped by air force helicopters in the state's Sarchu area and rescue teams were deployed for evacuating people, Rana said.
Bihar Hardest Hit
India's northeastern state of Bihar has been hardest hit during the monsoon season, with 216 people killed when the Kosi River broke through a dam in neighboring Nepal on Aug. 18, flooding the Supaul district 7 kilometers downstream.
The river shifted 120 kilometers eastward, inundating 16 districts in Bihar, one of India's poorest states. About 4.5 million people have been affected by floodwaters in the state.
``In Bihar the main concern is the plight of women, especially pregnant women,'' ActionAid's Vats said. ``Women in relief camps are vulnerable to sexual abuses. Dietary needs of young children remain another concern.''
