Heavy rains batter Manipur, Arunachal; 4 deaths in Rajasthan

The heavens opened up in Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh, triggering flash floods and landslides, while four rain-related deaths were reported from Rajasthan.
Rains poured down in torrents in parts of Himachal Pradesh as well. The state has been hit by a series of landslides over the past few days.
The weatherman has predicted very heavy rains in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim and Bihar.
A downpour is "very likely" in Arunachal Pradesh, Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka.
Three teenagers were swept away by strong water current in a rivulet following showers in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur district. A 59-year-old man also lost his life in a similar manner in Jodhpur.

A downpour in south Rajasthan affected the movement on the Mehsana-Palanpur railway route. Abu Road-Mehsana- Ahmedabad, Ajmer-Ahmedabad-Ajmer passenger trains were cancelled, a railway official said.

Torrential rains over the last two days have led to flash floods in many parts of Manipur, including the Imphal Valley.
Over 300 families have been hit and many have fled their homes to seek refuge in relief camps.
A portion of the Imphal riverbank collapsed at Bashikhong in Imphal East district, creating panic among people.
A swollen Nambul river flooded farmlands and many low- lying areas in Imphal. Landslides between Mahadev and Litan areas hit the vehicular movement on the Imphal-Ukhrul road.

Rockslides at several places along the NH-2 hampered road communication between Dimapur and Imphal.
This is the fourth time flash floods have struck the state since April end.
In Arunachal Pradesh, incessant heavy rains over the past two days have triggered landslides, damaged houses, water pipelines, roads and hit basic essential services.
The capital town of Itanagar has been cut off from the rest of the country due to landslides on NH-52 A.
The rainwater has eroded a portion of NH 415 connecting Itanagar and Naharlagun, forcing the administration to divert traffic through the Pappu Nallah-Jullang road.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu today directed officials to immediately evacuate people living in vulnerable areas to safer places and ensure adequate stock of ration, medicine and other essential commodities.

In the wake of an IMD warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall, Khandu appealed to people to stay alert.
The southwest monsoon entered parts of Haryana bringing light rain, even as humid weather prevailed in other parts of the state and neighbouring Punjab.
Most parts of Haryana falling in the NCR, including Gurugram, Rohtak, Faridabad, and other places such as Sonepat, Rewari and Hisar, were covered by the southwest monsoon.
The monsoon is expected to fully cover the two states and Union Territory of Chandigarh within the next few days.
Last year too, the monsoon had entered the two states on July 2.

Punjab and Haryana, the grain bowl states of the country, had received scanty monsoon rains during last two years.
A fresh spell of rains kept the heat at bay in the national capital. The city had a high of 32 degrees Celsius and a low of 26.4 degrees Celsius. High humidity levels caused a little discomfort.
Several parts of the city gauged rainfall between 20.4 mm and 37.9 mm.
Rains lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh for the third consecutive day as the southwest monsoon advanced into more areas of the state.
About 400 tourists, who were stranded on a stretch of the Manali-Leh national highway, blocked due to landslides and inundated by rainwater, were rescued after 15 hours of hectic efforts.

The Border Road Organisation teams cleared the blockage. More than 200 vehicles stranded on both sides of the highway left for their destination around 11 am. The tourists spent the night in their vehicles in the biting cold.
Meanwhile, rains continued to pound parts of the state, which witnessed a series of landslides over the last week.
Moderate to heavy rainfall
occurred at most places in Bihar in the past 24 hours while very heavy rainfall occurred at Bhagalpur, the Met office said.