At the beginning of the monsoon, the Meteorological Department had informed that this time the effect of El Nino would be weak and the rainfall would be less than normal. On this, economic forecasters had also broadcast predictions of a possible economic recession. But in this era of environmental pollution, the colors of the weather are unique. It seems as if the weakness of El Nino has been removed, the result is incidents of heavy rain, floods, cloudbursts and landslides in most of the states of the country.
The lives of millions of people have been disrupted, development work has stopped and relief work has to be expedited. So far, 87 people have died due to floods in Assam, Gujarat and Jammu Kashmir. Relief is not being provided due to continuous rain. Electricity supply to 60 thousand houses is disrupted in Assam. 61 people have died due to floods so far, 11 districts have been affected. 725 livestock have also died. The situation has become so bad that medicines, baby food and food are being delivered to the flood-affected areas through drones. In Jammu and Kashmir, more than 20 people have succumbed to the weather so far. Poonch and Rajouri have been the worst affected. The Amarnath Yatra, which was suspended, has resumed on Saturday, July 25. But schools are closed and normal life is disrupted.
Heavy floods and rains in Gujarat have submerged areas from Ahmedabad to rural areas. 6 people have died. Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway is closed. 242 tehsils are submerged. The situation is even worse in Himachal. Roads are closed in Lahaul Spiti. Here in Kadunala, a taxi coming from Kullu met with an accident as soon as the road opened. 13 people including a 6-month-old girl died due to a rock falling on it. 121 roads are closed in Himachal. 89 drinking water projects and 43 transformers of the state have been affected due to heavy rains and waterlogging. Landslides are continuously occurring in the hilly areas.
Here in Punjab, the weather is so bad that people are suffering from humidity in some places, while in others, it rains for two hours. Wherever it rains, it causes flooding. A rain alert has been issued in Punjab from July 28th to 30th, but even before that, 34 animals belonging to the Gujjar community died after falling into a drain in Ajnala, Amritsar. Heavy rain alerts are also in effect in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It remains to be seen what the rain will bring in the coming days