All efforts should be on relief, restoration and rehabilitation, Nadda told reporters in Shimla after visiting the rain-affected areas of Poanta in Sirmaur and Shimla town.
A series of flash floods in Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh killed at least 16 people on Wednesday and damaged several residential houses, standing crops and a mini power plant, officials said.
India recorded around 16 per cent more rainfall than normal in August, with rainfall over Northwest India recorded at 253.9 mm, the second highest in August since 2001, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday.
Several deaths were reported across the country due to rain-related incidents like lightning strikes and drowning.
Around 300 people, mostly tourists, are stuck in camps at Chandertal, located at an altitude of 14,100 feet, following rain and snowfall in the region.
No loss of life was reported in the incident.
'Family, friends, far off relatives, almost everyone has been impacted by nature's fury.'
Many low-lying areas in West Bengal's sub-Himalayan region were reeling from a flood-like situation while major rivers in Bihar were flowing above the danger level at several places as unabated heavy rain lashed the country's eastern parts on Sunday.
A team of six trekkers from New Delhi and Shimla is missing in Kinnaur district, officials said. A rescue operation will be launched.
Incessant rains unleashed more death and destruction on Monday in parts of north India, with 37 people killed in landslides and other rain-related incidents in the last two days even as the Army and NDRF teams stepped in to intensify the relief and rescue operations.
The Northern Railways said it has cancelled around 17 trains and diverted around 12 others, while traffic has been suspended at four locations due to waterlogging.
Overburdening of hills with construction coupled with saturation of soil and seepage seem to be responsible for landslides in Shimla city, said Principal Scientific Officer, Himachal Pradesh Council for Science Technology and Environment (HIMCOSTE) S S Randhawa.
All educational institutions in Shimla and Kullu districts will remain closed on Monday as heavy to extremely heavy rains continue to lash the state, district officials said.
The Manali-Leh National Highway-3 was blocked after heavy rainfall triggered landslide in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district on Friday.
Large tracts of land in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district was washed away in flash floods which occurred due to a cloudburst even as several parts of the state received moderate to heavy rainfall on Friday.
Zee TV reporter Shobhana Singh, who was on way to Chandratal pond in Lahual and Spiti for news coverage, died while the cameraman and the driver were injured near Chattru late on Saturday evening following a landslip.
Over 300 persons were airlifted by the IAF and state choppers from various places in Himachal Pradesh's rain ravaged Kinnaur tribal district cut off by road due to landslides.
In the worst-ever temple tragedy in Himachal Pradesh, 146 devotees, including 30 children and 38 women, were killed and more than 50 injured on Sunday in a stampede at the Naina Devi shrine triggered by rumours of a landslide.
Rescuers at the under-construction tunnel collapse site in Uttarkashi on Tuesday initiated the process of inserting large-diameter mild steel pipes through the rubble using an auger machine to rescue the 40 workers trapped for two days now, officials said.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday visited the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel site for a review of the rescue operations being carried out there to evacuate 40 labourers trapped inside since Sunday morning following its partial collapse.
Tomato prices are likely to touch Rs 300 per kilogram in the coming days and the prices of vegetables are also on the rise, according to wholesale traders. Kaushik, a member of Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC), said that vegetable wholesalers are facing losses as the sale of tomato, capsicum, and other seasonal vegetables has fallen drastically. He said that the prices of tomatoes have shot up to Rs 220 per kilo from Rs 160 per kilo in the wholesale market, owing to which retail prices can also go up.
The wreckage of the Pepsu Roadways Transport Corporation bus was found 300 metres down from the green tax barrier of the Allo (potato) ground in the middle of the Beas river in Manali on Saturday and a search is on for the 11 passengers.
As the weather improved in parts of north India, which was pummelled by heavy rains for days, authorities on Wednesday worked on a war footing to rescue stranded tourists, restore vehicular traffic on arterial roads and prevent floodwaters from entering new areas.
The Supreme Court on Monday mooted constituting an expert committee for conducting a "complete and comprehensive" study on the carrying capacity of the Himalayan region in the country, where unplanned development has caused devastation in recent times, terming it a "very important issue".
After a resounding victory in Punjab polls, the Aam Aadmi Party will hit the ground in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat which will go to polls in November this year.
The new machine, that landed at the Chinyalisaur helipad, over 30 kilometres from the tunnel on the Chardham route, is being put into service, amid apprehension by workers at the site on the progress of the multi-agency rescue operations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday poised to form the government for a third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, notwithstanding crushing losses in three Hindi heartland states after a bitterly fought election that was projected as a referendum on his popularity.
The BJP has bettered its show this time as its vote share in several states is well over 50 per cent, nothing short of a statistical wonder in Indian electoral history.
Despite high exposure to floods, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Sikkim are the best performing states in terms of flood early warning systems (EWS), according to the report by independent policy research think tank The Council on Energy Environment and Water.
Four persons, including three members of a family, were feared dead as flash floods triggered by a cloudburst wrecked havoc in Dharampur area of Mandi district, 250 km from Shimla, on Saturday morning, inundating vast areas, washing away vehicles and perishing several heads of cattle.
The rain ebbed in some places in north India and pelted down in others on Tuesday, with at least seven more people dead and hundreds stranded as raging waters gushed through villages, towns and fields -- from the desert state of Rajasthan to the hills of Himachal Pradesh.
President Droupadi Murmu on Monday asked scientists and policymakers across the world to give special attention to global warming and climate change which are leading to flash floods and droughts, warning that a "culture of greed" is taking "the world away from nature".
Yet another effort has been made by the state government for a scientific study with the help of satellite imagery of the crisis in the sinking town, Bhatt, who is associated with the Chipko Movement, said.
To visit the village of Malana deep in the Himalayas, a COVID-19 vaccination team scrambled over a landslide that blocked the road the day before, scaled a retaining wall and then began a three-hour trek down and up a river valley.
The schedule for Gujarat will be announced separately.
Heavy rain alert continued in Himachal Pradesh as the monsoon intensified in the various districts of the state.
About 1000 tourists and locals were stranded at various places, including 800 in Sangla alone and heavy rains were hampering the rescue operations, officials said on Monday.
Fresh snowfall disrupted normal life in Jammu and Kashmir, where an avalanche warning was issued in five districts, higher reaches and tribal areas of Himachal Pradesh and the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand on Monday.
In one state, the BJP sweeps in Modi's name -- and only because of Modi's name. In the other state, Modi's name did not work. Himachal underlines the limitations of Modi's magic, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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