Rains continued to wreak havoc in many parts of India, including Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, with 20 more deaths reported on Monday, even as life in Mumbai returned to normal after days of chaos and destruction.

Heavy rains led to a flood-like scene in Gujarat with 14 new deaths reported and army put on alert. The state administration has evacuated over 6,000 people from low-lying areas in Bharuch, Narmada and Surat in the southern parts and Bhavnagar and Surendranagar in Saurashtra region being the worst-hit districts. All these places received over 400 mm of rains since Sunday, according to officials.

The administration is mobilising the army in the rural areas of Ahmedabad, as several pockets of the district are still inundated even though rain has subsided since Monday morning, according to  District Collector of Ahmedabad D Thara.

Wall collapse
Of the 14 deaths, nine were reported in Vadodara alone, while four persons died in a wall collapse in Bharuch. A constable was swept away by flood waters in Botad town of Bhavnagar.

In Junagadh in Saurashtra region, about 700 schoolchildren who were stranded in Alfa school due to flooding have been rescued. Twenty-two children of Swaminarayan school, who were trapped in a bus marooned by flood waters in Jasapar village of Jamnagar, were also rescued.

Five persons, including a woman and two boys, were killed in rain-related incidents in Betul and Jhabua districts of Madhya Pradesh, as heavy downpour battered several parts of the state.

In Maharashtra, a boy was killed in a wall collapse on Sunday night in Pune, even as heavy showers continued to lash the city and surrounding areas for the third consecutive day on Monday. Rain waters gushed in several residential societies in the city and streets were water-logged, throwing vehicular traffic out of gear. The toll in rain- related incidents in the city has now gone up to 16.

The train services between Pune and Mumbai too have been affected. The catchment areas of various dams around Pune including Panset, Varasgaon, Temghar, Pawna and Koyna dam in Satara district recorded heavy rainfall, registering a rise in the water levels.

Normalcy in Mumbai
However, after two days of heavy rains, life returned to normal in the country’s financial capital, with all transportation services back on track and business being carried as usual. Flood water receded from most parts of the city, bringing respite to office goers, vegetable vendors and school children.

KERALA suffers extensive loss

Thiruvananthapuram, pti: Torrential rains that hit many parts of Kerala in the last 24 hours have caused extensive losses and destruction, while about 200 families were shifted to relief camps, mostly in Idukki and Wayanad districts.

Four persons were injured in landslips in Idukki and Palakkad where 15 houses were destroyed completely, official sources said here on Monday. Traffic on the busy Munnar-Udumalpettai and Kumali-Theni roads linking Idukki with Tamil Nadu came to a halt as mounds of earth rolled down to the roads.

Eight relief camps had been set up  in the district to lodge affected families. A holiday has been declared for educational institutions in the area.