The Hindu : National : 15 dead as heavy rain lashes Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand

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15 dead as heavy rain lashes Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand

Pre-monsoon showers cool Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh

Photo: Subir Roy

Some relief: The scene at Hazratganj market in Lucknow after a brief spell of pre-monsoon showers on Monday.

New Delhi: Heavy rain lashed Uttar Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan and Jharkhand, leaving 15 people dead as a delayed southwest monsoon advanced to these States while pre-monsoon showers brought down the temperature in Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Seven killed

In Uttar Pradesh, which received heavy rain for the second consecutive day on Monday, lightning claimed seven lives. While two persons were killed in Maharajganj, three died in Sonbhadra and one each in Ballia and Gorakhpur districts.

Gorakhpur witnessed 60 mm rainfall, Basti and Gonda recorded 178.4 mm and 33 mm rainfall respectively, the Meteorological Department said. The temperature dropped below 40 degree Celsius at a number of places. In Lucknow, the maximum temperature was 32.2 degree Celsius, five notches below normal.

Lightning strikes

Ending a long dry spell, heavy rains lashed several parts of Jharkhand. At least eight persons were killed and a dozen injured in lightning strikes in Garwah, Giridih and Palamau districts.

Delayed by ten days, the southwest monsoon reached eastern Rajasthan as light to moderate rains were received in parts of Ajmer, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, and Kota districts, he said.

A maximum rainfall of 29.8 mm was recorded at Bharatpur followed by Jaipur 23.2mm, Banswara 16.4 mm and Chittorgarh 8 mm.

Aided by the low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal, the monsoon has covered entire Central India and some parts of Rajasthan and West Uttar Pradesh, India Meteorological Department Director B. P. Yadav told PTI.

“Conditions are favourable for further advance of the southwest monsoon over some more parts of Rajasthan, remaining parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and some parts of east Rajasthan and west U.P. in the next two days,” he said.

No respite for Delhi

However, cloudy sky and scattered rains in various parts of Delhi on Monday failed to bring respite from scorching heat to the residents as the mercury hovered around 40 degree Celcius mark and the humidity level remained high.

Haryana and Punjab finally saw some pre-monsoon showers. Southern parts of Haryana, including Mewat and Rewari districts, and Anandpur Sahib and Madhopur in Punjab received rains. With the arrival of rains, farmers are expected to begin sowing for the kharif crop, which is crucial for the country’s economy. In Himachal Pradesh, Mandi received 52.8 mm rainfall, Dharamsala (38 mm) and Shimla (29 mm).

In Haryana, Karnal registered a fall in mercury by four degrees which settled at 36.2 C. However, there was no relief for Hisar residents, as the town baked at 45.6 C, up six degrees.

Temperatures fall

Meanwhile, the temperature dropped at many places in the region, with the maximum at 38.5 degrees C in Chandigarh falling by over three degrees since yesterday. Ludhiana and Patiala in Punjab also witnessed a fall in maximum temperature, which settled at 38.5 C and 38.2 C, respectively. However, heat wave continued to sweep Amritsar at 44 degrees Celsius.

The mercury continues to hover above normal in Jammu and Kashmir with weathermen forecasting mainly dry weather for next 24 hours. The day temperature in Srinagar settled at 32.6 degrees Celsius -- three degrees above normal while minimum temperature recorded one degree above normal at 16.5 degrees Celsius, the Met office said.

However, Jammu recorded normal day temperature of 41.4 degrees Celsius. The night temperature was three degrees above normal at 31.2 degrees Celsius.

Katra in Jammu region was the second hottest place with a high of 38.8 and a low of 28.3 degrees. -- PTI

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