Rain havoc: Yamuna water level in Delhi highest in 10 years, Old Railway Bridge shut for traffic

When foul weather and blocked roads made it impossible for Ashish Singha to take his 'baraat' from Kotgarh in Shimla to marry Shivani Thakur in Kullu's Bhuntar, the families found another way to solemnise the union -- video conferencing. Rain pounded Himachal Pradesh for three consecutive days since Saturday, triggering flash floods and landslides, damaging houses and leaving at least 31 people dead. Ashish Singha was scheduled to reach Bhuntar on Monday with the wedding procession. The Kullu district was the epicentre of the recent disaster. Therefore family members decided to hold the wedding online, former legislator of Theog assembly constituency Rakesh Singha told the PTI on Tuesday. He said the government had advised people to avoid travel and as such the union was solemnised through video conferencing, he added.

A portion of the Nigambodh Ghat in east Delhi has got flooded due to which cremation activities will not be carried on that part of the crematorium, a member of its managing committee said on Tuesday. The Yamuna in Delhi has exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and the closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic, officials said on Tuesday.

Three days of incessant rains hit Haryana's Ambala district and neighbouring Patiala of Punjab the worst, but could not dampen the spirit of the locals as they extended help to their neighbours stranded by waterlogging, bringing them food, water bottles and medicines. At many places in the affected districts, people joined hands with the NDRF, police and the Army in relief and rescue operations. "It is our duty as citizens to do our bit during this grave crisis," said Deepak Madan, a resident of Ambala city, who distributed food packets and clothes in the Manmohan Nagar residential colony.

Rain continued at several places in Uttarakhand on Tuesday even as five pilgrims were killed and eight others injured in landslides and due to boulders falling from mountains in the past 24 hours. Incessant rain nearly crippled the state infrastructure with several routes, including national highways, closed due to frequent landslides, affecting the 'Char Dham yatra' currently underway. The Met Department has forecast heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday and asked the state administration to take adequate precautions. Ganga, Yamuna and all other rivers are in spate due to incessant rains, and bridges have also been washed away in some places.

Scores of people who lived in the Yamuna floodplain area in Delhi had to scamper to safety in the dark of the night as the water rose above the danger mark in the Yamuna River, threatening their lives and lifelong earnings. People were forced to evacuate themselves to higher places nearby in the early hours of Tuesday after the river breached the danger mark here a day earlier.
The Yamuna floodplains provide a precarious bedding for hundreds of shanties across its wide swath where some of the poorest people of the city, mostly migrants, find shelter. Mostly composed of small-time farmers or shopkeepers and odd-job workers, the displaced people appealed to the city government to help them tide over the crisis.

The Delhi BJP has set up eight relief camps for people living on the Yamuna flood plains, who on Tuesday moved to safer places due to the rising level of water in the river due to two-day record rain in the city. The party has set up a camp each in Yamuna Bazar, Sabhapur, Ghonda Third Pushta, Gandhi Nagar Loha Pul, Mayur Vihar Extension, and Yamuna Khadar, said a Delhi BJP statement. The remaining two camps have been set up near Akshardham Commonwealth Village and opposite Mayur Vihar-1 Metro Station.

The Delhi government on Tuesday said thousands of people living in the floodplain of the swollen Yamuna river in the city have been shifted to makeshift accommodations in safer places and provided with food and water. Saurabh Bharadwaj, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government's water minister, said the evacuation process was underway. The affected people are being shifted to places in the East, North, Northeast, Southeast, Central and Shahdara districts of Delhi where more than 2,700 tents have been arranged for them, Bharadwaj said at a press conference. The minister said the water level of the Yamuna was rising due to the discharge of a huge quantity of water from Haryana but a flood was unlikely in Delhi.

A 24-year-old man is feared drowned in the flood waters of the Sutlej river near Shahkot while trying to hold on to his motorcycle in the flooded Chitti rivulet, police said on Tuesday. The incident took place on Monday, they said, adding that there is no trace of the man while his motorcycle has been recovered. Three days of incessant downpour has left behind a trail of destruction in several parts of Punjab and Haryana where properties worth crores have been damaged.

Key highways, including the Ambala-Ludhiana national highway, were temporarily closed for vehicular traffic on Tuesday due to waterlogging following heavy rainfall in Haryana and Punjab, officials said. Ambala Deputy Commissioner Shaleen said the decision to temporarily close the highway was taken as a stretch of the road was inundated.Other key highways -- Ambala-Chandigarh and Ambala-Hisar -- have also been temporarily closed for vehicular traffic since Monday evening. Officials said water, coming through agricultural fields, was flowing on the main carriageway. Normal vehicular movement was also adversely affected on some other highways, including state highways, in many districts of the twin states.

A 19-year-old student drowned after water gushed into the campus of a private university near Rajpura here following heavy rains, police said on Tuesday. Incessant rains from Saturday to Monday led to swelling of rivers and major canals were breached, inundating roads, residential colonies as well as tracts of agricultural fields in Punjab. Patiala district is one of the worst affected in the state.

Key highways, including the Ambala-Ludhiana national highway, were temporarily closed for vehicular traffic on Tuesday due to waterlogging following heavy rainfall in Haryana and Punjab, officials said. Ambala Deputy Commissioner Shaleen said the decision to temporarily close the highway was taken as a stretch of the road was inundated. Other key highways -- Ambala-Chandigarh and Ambala-Hisar -- have also been temporarily closed for vehicular traffic since Monday evening. Officials said water, coming through agricultural fields, was flowing on the main carriageway. Normal vehicular movement was also adversely affected on some other highways, including state highways, in many districts of the twin states. The three days of incessant downpour has left behind a trail of destruction in several parts of Punjab and Haryana, where properties worth crores were damaged. Ambala is the worst-hit district.

Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Ltd (SJPNL) supplies water to people through tankers.

Heavy rains in Gujarat's Sabarkantha cause all drains to overflow. Drains are overflowing with close to 8 inches of rain.

People wade through water in the Yamuna Bazar area near Old Yamuna Bridge. The area is flooded due to a rise in the water level of River Yamuna.

Chandigarh-Manali national highway closed following landslide near Six Mile area in Mandi. 

Water level of River Yamuna continues to flow above the danger level in Delhi's Old Railway Bridge area. Railway and traffic movement on the Bridge has been stopped.

At 8 am today, water level of River Yamuna recorded at 206.32 metres at Old Railway Bridge, flowing above the danger level. The highest flood level of the river in Delhi is 207.49 metres. 

Mandi in Himachal Pradesh faces a flood-like situation as river Beas swells due to incessant rainfall.

Incessant rainfall for the past few days in Ambala leaves the residential areas of the city waterlogged as Ghaggar River swells and overflows. 

The water level in Yamuna River rises in Dehradun due to continuous rainfall in the city

High alert in Haryana's Ambala as all rivers overflow and breach embankments

The Mandi administration set up a relief camp at Beas Sadan to provide food, medicine, and sleeping facilities to those affected by the floods.

Rains have stopped in the district. Some roads are partially blocked, however, traffic is moving smoothly.