NEW DELHI, India, July 18, Reuter: The rains for which India has been praying have arrived with a vengeance, bursting dams, drowning villages, destroying crops and killing up to 100 people in the last four days.
In the central state of Uttar Pradesh, more than 1.2 million people were affected as rivers burst their banks and inundated low lying villages, the Press Trust of India reported on Monday.
‘The government announced 60 million rupees (4.3 million dollars) in relief funds for the State, and medical teams were working round the clock, officials told PTI.
Whole areas of North India were cut off from the rest of the country as mud and rocks crashed
Down across vital road links. In the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Minister Faroog Abdullah on Monday called in the army to help evacuate 150,000 villagers as water pouring through a breached embankment washed away bridges and swallowed up houses.
Residents in Kashmir said at least 17 people had died, crushed by collapsed houses, the news agency said.
In northeastern Assam state, an agriculture official warned that rain was threatening rice crops, putting production targets in jeopardy. PTI gave no further details.
In some parts of Western India’s Gujarat state, up to 300 mm of rain have fallen in 24 hours.
The Mithi Dam near the Pakistan border was unable to take the strain and collapsed. Thirty people died and thousands were made homeless.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 22, 1988
