After a brief lull, intermittent rains lashed Chennai and its suburbs on Sunday, while the weatherman predicted more showers in Tamil Nadu over the next 48 hours.
Till June 30, the southwest monsoon was 33 per cent lower than normal, which is among the worst in the last five years, with 28 of the 36 meteorological divisions recording deficient rain.
Chennai resident Evelyn Ratnakumar writes how Chennai floods fail to dissolve the resilient urban spirit
The highest farmer suicides have been reported from Beed district
Rescuers on Monday fished out bodies of five Hyderabad-based engineering students, who were washed away in the swirling waters of Beas River along with 20 classmates whose fate is not known as Chief minister Virbhadra Singh ordered a magisterial inquiry and suspension of Resident Engineer of Larji hydropower project.
Setting aside rivalries, ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front and opposition Left Democratic Front in Kerala stepped up the demand for a new dam at Mullaperiyar as water flow into the reservoir in Idukki almost touched the maximum permissible storage level of 136 feet on Sunday due to heavy rain in the area.
Both the countries agreed to undertake the Treaty mandated tours of both the Indus Commissioners in the Indus basin on both sides, the ministry said in a statement in New Delhi.
Data provided by the satellites helps experts predict the level of rains till then, what to expect in the next few hours and even about the situation in the forests and the water reservoirs.
A photograph of Kumar snapped while scurrying across the bridge with the child two days ago, has gone viral on the social media with people showering praise on him.
Moderate to heavy showers will continue over Mumbai for next 48 hours.
DroughtThe Centre is expected to discuss issues related to drought management and also review the progress of major central schemes like soil health cards, irrigation programmes
In Gujarat, of the 12.5 million hectare of area under cultivation, while six million is dependent on rainfall, two million is covered by groundwater, a bulk of which is said to be in north Gujarat. Scanty rainfall in the last one and half years has not only depleted groundwater level but also affected dams.
The winners of the Natural History Museum's prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced at an awards ceremony in London. American photographer Karine Aigner was announced as this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year.
'Tiger reserves were created to protect areas from developmental activities.' 'If we go ahead with these projects, then it is a complete mockery of our institutions and our laws, it is against everything we have stood for, our Forest Conservation Act, our Wildlife Biodiversity Act.'
100 square kilometre of Panna Tiger Reserve could go under water, writes Nitin Sethi.
While the IMD had forecast a 'normal' monsoon for the entire season, Skymet stated that rain this year would be 'below normal', report Sanjeeb Mukherjee and Sahil Makkar.
Two major hydel projects being built by construction majors GVK and L&T have suffered severe damages in the floods which hit Uttarakhand last week.
The CM also said that the Parliament Secretariat had issued a circular to the MPs stating that they can allot Rs 1 crore worth renovation and rehabilitation efforts in the flood-affected districts from Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
Modi assured to extend all required assistance to the state to face the situation, the Chief Minister's office said.
The floods so far have claimed 21 lives, official sources said. Eleven people drowned in the floods, seven died in wall collapses and three deaths were caused by snake bites.
'Drought in the 1990s was essentially the drought of a poor India.' 'This 2016 drought is of a richer and more water-guzzling India.' 'The severity and intensity of the drought is not about lack of rainfall.' 'It is about the lack of planning and foresight, and criminal neglect.'
Thousands of emergency rescue teams officials remained on their toes, helping people affected by the deluge. Weather official said parts of state are expected to receive rainfall again.
Agriculture activity, according to recent channel checks by Prabhudas Lilladher, is expected to continue at a strong pace in FY22.
In many parts of central and north India, monsoon reaches only in July.
Given the intensity of the rain, at least a third of this crisis could have been averted, had Tamil Nadu heeded Kerala's requests.
Jayalalithaa, recuperating at a corporate hospital in Chennai, said she could not attend the meeting as she was hospitalised.
Karnataka government on Saturday moved the Supreme court seeking a review of its order directing the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu even as it faced strident calls from opposition parties not to release the water "at any cost".
The major cause of the floods in Mumbai in 2005 and in Chennai in 2015 has been the reclamation of reservoir areas and rapid, unplanned, urbanisation.
The state government has declared a holiday on Wednesday and Thursday for all private institutions, offices, non-essential services within Outer Ring Road here in view of rains.
'Coordination between our 50 teams, each with a strength of 45 men, played a key role in rescuing flood-affected people in Chennai. In all, we succeeded in rescuing over 20,000 people.'
"The reservoir capacity of the project is less than 0.02 per cent of the average annual runoff of the Yarlung Zangbo-Brahmaputra. It cannot have an adverse impact on the downstream," Chinese foreign ministry said to a question on concerns over the dam.
'Instead of doing ground work they are sitting and monitoring the drought through Mantralaya and trying to solve the problem with Aamir Khan.'
In less than an hour, seven of the top 10 India trends were fuelled by wishes pouring in for Prime Minister Modi from different quarters.
Officials said good rain in August - though it might not improve acreages much for most crops except urad, moong, and paddy - would help in improving yields in the crops already planted.
Agriculturally important UP, MP, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab received 20-30% shortfall in rain
Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala demanded a judicial probe into the circumstances that led to opening of shutters of 40-odd dams at a time in the state.
Recent estimates show that foodgrain production in 2016-17 has touched a new record of 273.4 million tonnes or 8.7 per cent higher as compared to last year.
S Saraswathi profiles the trauma faced by two families in the Chennai floods.
Verifiable 'distress-sharing' of available water may still be the way out of the Cauvery water row, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
