Heavy rains batter north India; Army, NDRF teams step in

New Delhi: Incessant rains played havoc for the third consecutive day on Monday in parts of north India, particularly Himachal Pradesh where landslides claimed four more lives even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with chief ministers of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand about the situation and assured them of all help and support from the central government.

Modi also spoke with senior ministers and officials and took stock of the situation in the wake of excessive rainfall in parts of the country, his office said.

Several rivers, including the Yamuna in Delhi, in north India are in spate. In cities and towns across the region, many roads and residential areas were submerged in knee-deep water with the civic system unable to hold on in the face of record rains on Sunday.

A total of 39 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed in four north Indian states to tackle the heavy rains and floods.

While 14 teams are working in Punjab, a dozen are deployed in Himachal Pradesh, eight in Uttarakhand and five in Haryana. In Punjab, the Army rescued 910 students and 50 others from a private university after it was flooded due to rains. (PTI)