508 killed, thousands displaced due to floods, landslides across India

NEW DELHI, July 27 (KUNA) -- Indian government on Thursday announced that 508 people lost their lives and hundreds of thousands were displaced due to floods, landslides and other calamities caused by incessant rains across the country.
Indian Home Ministry said in a statement quoting Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju that death toll due to floods in various parts of the country touched 508 as Gujarat, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand are considered worst hit states.
Various parts of Indian states including Gujarat, Assam, Rajasthan, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were affected by the torrential rains and resultant floods and landslides during the current south west monsoon season, the minister stated.
According to the Indian authorities, the death toll in the state of Gujarat, considered to be the worst hit by the floods, rose to 123 yesterday while some 50 thousand people mostly from the Banaskantha and Patan districts were moved to safer places. The North Eastern Indian state of Assam also reported 77 deaths and displacement of hundreds of thousands due to floods and landslides.
The government statement said that apart from 508 persons who lost their lives, "24,811 cattle heads have perished, 63,215 houses have been damaged and about 2.8 lakh hectares of crop area have been reported affected due to heavy rains, flood or landslides." The National Disaster Response Force along with the Indian security forces including the Ari Force and military are engaged in rescue and relief operations in the flood hit states using helicopters and boats as hundreds of thousands are still stranded inside villages in the flood-hit regions in various states. (end) atk.mt