Monsoon begins retreat from flood-ravaged Punjab, neighbouring Haryana

Chandigarh, Sep 16 (PTI) The southwest monsoon on Tuesday withdrew from some parts of flood-ravaged Punjab and neighbouring Haryana.

According to the Meteorological (Met) Department, "Today, the southwest monsoon has further withdrawn from some more parts of Rajasthan, some parts of Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana... The line of withdrawal of the southwest monsoon now passes through Bathinda, Fatehabad, Pilani, Ajmer..." The Met bulletin further said that the conditions are favourable for further withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from some more parts of Punjab and Haryana during the next two to three days.

Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at isolated places on September 17 and 19 and at a few places on September 18, says the Met forecast for the two states.

Notably, flood-ravaged Punjab had received 253.7 mm of rain in August, which was not only 74 per cent in excess of normal but also the highest the state had witnessed in the past 25 years.

Neighbouring Haryana received 194.5 mm of rain in August against an average of 147.7 mm for the month, marking a 32 per cent increase.

According to Met data, Punjab and Haryana had received excess rain in August only five times in the past 25 years, which included the previous month.

Notably, Punjab faced one of its worst flood disasters in decades.

The floods were a result of swollen Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers along with seasonal rivulets caused by heavy rainfall in their catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides, heavy rains in Punjab had also intensified the flooding situation.

The death toll because of the floods presently stands at 56 while crops on 1.98 lakh hectares were damaged.

Recently, heavy rains and some rivers flowing in spate also led to flooding in some parts of Haryana. PTI SUN KSS KSS