Showers drench north India, fresh snowfall in J-K; toll in north Bengal landslides rises to 28

New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Rain lashed parts of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, while fresh snowfall was reported in the higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, causing the mercury to drop in several northern states on Monday.

In West Bengal, the death toll in Darjeeling landslides rose to 28 on Monday with six people still missing, as rescue teams battled rising waters across the hills. The disaster has also ignited a fierce political confrontation between the ruling TMC and the opposition BJP.

With over 300 mm of rain in 12 hours, the landslides ravaged Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Kalimpong districts, leaving thousands of tourists stranded and hundreds homeless as several hill slopes caved in.

A yellow alert was issued for parts of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, signalling light to moderate showers with thunderstorms and lightning.

In Jammu and Kashmir, light to moderate rainfall was witnessed in the plains of Kashmir and snowfall was reported from Sinthan Top in Anantnag district, Affarwat in Gulmarg, Zojila Pass, Bangus in Kupwara, Razdan Pass in Gurez valley, and other higher-altitude areas, officials said.

The day temperature in the valley dipped by nearly 10 degrees Celsius, with Srinagar recording a maximum of around 11 degrees Celsius on Monday, compared to 22.6 degrees recorded a day earlier. The meteorological office has forecast continued wet weather for the next 24 hours in the valley.

Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, the minimum and maximum temperatures witnessed a significant drop as the state received snowfall for the second day in a row. Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti recorded a low of 0.1 degree Celsius.

Intermittent showers lashed parts of the state, with Guler receiving 42 mm of rain since Sunday evening, according to officials. Thunderstorms were witnessed in Jot, Sundernagar, Bhunter, Kangra, Palampur, and Shimla, while gusty winds with speeds ranging between 41 and 57 kmph swept Hamirpur, Narkanda, Kufri, Bajaura, Reckong Peo, Tabo, and Kotkhai.

Shimla MeT Office Director Kuldeep Srivastav said a strong active western disturbance would impact the state for the next two days, with the possibility of heavy rains in Kangra and Chamba districts and snow in Lahaul and Spiti districts.

Meanwhile, rainfall provided relief to Delhi-NCR from the hot and humid conditions that had persisted over the last several days in the region. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 20.6 degrees Celsius, two notches below the season's average.

In Punjab, places like Mohali, Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Ferozepur, Phagwara, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Bathinda, Rupnagar, and Ludhiana received rain, while Haryana's Panchkula, Hisar, Fatehabad, Ambala, Rohtak, and Kurukshetra were lashed by rain.

The local meteorological office said that due to a western disturbance affecting northwest India, light to moderate rain is likely at most places in Punjab and Haryana on October 6 and 7.

In Rajasthan, heavy rainfall was witnessed in parts of Bikaner, Kota, and Udaipur divisions due to the western disturbance, according to the Jaipur Meteorological Centre.

Heavy rain and hailstorms are expected in isolated areas of Jaipur, Bikaner, Ajmer, and Bharatpur divisions.

However, the rain activity is expected to subside in Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions on Tuesday, while it will continue in parts of Jaipur, Bharatpur, Ajmer, Kota, and Udaipur divisions, the MeT centre said.

In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) for triggering a "man-made disaster", while the BJP accused the TMC of orchestrating an attack on its MP Khagen Murmu and MLA Shankar Ghosh while visiting the disaster-hit Nagrakata region in Jalpaiguri.

Rescue teams struggled to clear over 40 landslide points, as swollen rivers and broken bridges cut off remote settlements.

North Bengal Development Minister Udayan Guha said the toll was likely to rise further as rescue operations continued. "Till now, 28 people have died and six remain missing. The deaths have been reported from both Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri," Guha told PTI.

However, there is no forecast of heavy rain in any of the districts in north Bengal, even as the IMD said scattered light to moderate rain may occur over the region till October 12.

Torrential rain over the last few days in the sub-Himalayan districts of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, and Cooch Behar had led to the overflowing of rivers here.

In Maharashtra, which is also dealing with the damage caused by torrential rains and flooding in September with crops destroyed on 83.77 lakh acres of land, the southwest monsoon is likely to begin withdrawal around October 10.

The weather office has issued a yellow alert for parts of Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, forecasting light to moderate showers accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning for the next few days, an official said on Monday. PTI TEAM PRK KVK KVK