W India reels under monsoon fury

Mumbai/Bhadrachalam: Incessant monsoon rains triggered fresh floods across western India, halting rail and road traffic in Mumbai and stranding tens of thousands of people in the region.

The flood situation is grim in Maharashtra. A steady downpour for over 24 hours has led to a flood alert being issued in low lying areas of Pune.

Mumbai continues to grapple with water logging in many areas. Rail and road traffic were halted in many parts of Mumbai after train tracks and roads were submerged by waist-deep water.

Local trains linking the city center to the suburbs were suspended for several hours, railway spokesman Sunil Jain said.

The Mumbai-Pune highway has now been closed after fear of landslides. There's extensive flooding and water logging in several areas of Marathwada and Vidharba regions as well.

Authorities have also alerted residents in and around Nasik to vacate their homes. And according to the Meteorological Department, the situation would only worsen in the days to come.

"Rainfall is expected to increase in Maharashtra and Gujarat in the coming one or two days, and some parts of Gujarat may experience heavy to very heavy rainfall," said Director of India Meteorological Department, Pune Dr Medha Khole.

The Godavari river is still flowing 16 feet above the danger mark. Water released from the Pen Ganga Dam has flooded the entire Buldhana district of Maharashtra.

A bus was washed away on Sunday in the floodwaters in Buldhana district. There were only seven occupants in the bus of whom five have been rescued, official sources said.

A boat capsized in a rain-swollen Yamuna on Sunday near Ballavgarh, 50 km southeast of New Delhi killing at least six people.

The boat was carrying 30 people when it sank in the Yamuna river, said the duty officer at a police station in Ballavgarh.

Rising Godavari has forced several people to run away from their homes and take shelter in the relief camps in Andhra Pradesh.

Sixty-year-old Allannu Naidu along with his wife and daughter occupy a single room in a relief camp in Bhadrachalam with three other families, who also lost their homes to the angry river.

"We have lost our home. Everything is ruined," said Allannu Naidu.

Villagers, who have lost their homes as their villages are inundated, only refuge is the relief camp, set up as a desperate measure by an unprepared government.

But they are more fortunate than the thousands who are marooned in villages in the flood hit areas.

The situation in Andhra Pradesh continues to remain grim with the death toll rising to 66.

Most affected districts are Khammam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Warrangal, Karimnagar and Adilabad.

About 83,000 people have been evacuated so far while 10,000 are still marooned. Army's has been engaged in relief and rescue efforts.

"We are taking every needful action to see that the sufferings of people are mitigated to the best extent possible,” says AP Chief Minister YSR Reddy.

Although rains in the state eased Sunday, at least two major rivers - Godavari and Krishna - remained swollen.

More than 130,000 people who were evacuated from their homes over the past week are still living in relief camps, Reddy said.

A key airport in the state remained shut for a fourth day after water from an overflowing river submerged its runway.

(With inputs from AP)

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