Met forecasts heavy rainfall; Bihar floods affect rail traffic

The India Meteorological (MeT) department on Sunday (July 28) forecast heavy downpour in Odisha during next one week in the wake of a possible low pressure following the existing cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal. Though the low pressure over North Odisha and adjoining Jharkhand has become less marked, a cyclonic circulation in the northwest of Bay of Bengal is created, it said.

According to the MeT department forecast, heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places in the two states, Haryana and Punjab,  on July 31 and August 1.

Meanwhile, a part of a river bridge linking Murbad to Kalyan in Maharashtra’s Thane district got washed way in the early hours of Sunday due to heavy downpour in the region, an official said. Officials informed that 370 houses have got submerged in the floods, and rescue teams working overnight shifted families to higher places. On Saturday, over 1,000 people were rescued.

Light to moderate rainfall was recorded at some places of Uttar Pradesh, with the Sharda river flowing above the danger level. According to a Central Water Commission report, the river was flowing above the danger mark, while the Ghaghra river at Elgin Bridge, Ayodhya and Turtipar was very close to the red mark. The Met has forecast that rain and thundershowers are very likely to occur at isolated places and at a few places over west Uttar Pradesh.

Rail traffic has been suspended on Darbhanga-Samastipur section in Bihar on account of floods, resulting in a cancellation, short termination and diversion of more than a dozen trains on Sunday, the East Central Railway headquarters here said. “At bridge no. 16 near Hayaghat section in Samastipur-Darbhanga section, the water level has crossed the danger mark. Hence, train movement is being suspended on this section,” ECR Chief Public Relations Officer Rajesh Kumar said in a statement. He said this has led to the cancellation of four passenger trains.

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This is the second instance of rail traffic being disrupted in Bihar on account of the flash floods which have been ravaging the state in the aftermath of torrential rainfall in catchment areas of Nepal earlier this month.

Similarly, heavy rains over the past four days in Nashik region had led to water in Gangapur Dam reaching 74 per cent of storage capacity, an official said on Sunday. The dam has a total capacity of 5,630 million cubic feet (MCFT), he said. He said residents along the banks of Godavari river have been alerted that water from Gangapur Dam could be released any time now into the river. Kota and other nearby areas in Rajasthan faced a flood-like situation on Sunday due to continuous rain since Saturday night.

Also read: Train stuck in floods near Mumbai; 700 stranded passengers rescued

SDRF teams were pressed into service in Kota and surrounding areas and over 100 people were shifted to safe zones on Sunday morning, officials said. Kota District Collector Muktanand Agrawal said SDRF teams were pressed into service after several areas were inundated. People whose homes were flooded in the ground floor have been relocated.