Over 1K dead in rains till July 16; Andhra logs most monsoon deaths

The country recorded a total of 1,297 deaths due to intense rainfall between ‘April land July 16 this year, with the highest number of deaths in Andhra Pradesh at a toll of 258, followed by 171 deaths in Hima-chal Pradesh, 148 in Madhya Pradesh, and 101 in Bihar, ministry of home affairs informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

- Jayashree Nandi

Itadded a total of 51,699 cattle were lost, 92,663 houses damaged and 154,394.27 ha cropped area affected during the period.

Minister of state for home Nityanand Rai, responding to questions by BJP MPs Sudheer Gupta and Manish Jaiswal and Shiv Sena MPs Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane and Ravin-dra Vasantrao Chavan Patil, said, “An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has been constituted for Himachal Pradesh, without waiting for the memorandum, to visit the affected areas of the State for assessment of damages caused by the flash flood floods, cloudburst and landslides.”