Rahul demands immediate rain relief packages from Centre for North India

Rahul Gandhi, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for immediate intervention and the announcement of a special relief package to help flood-affected states, particularly Punjab.

Addressing the widespread devastation, Gandhi posted on X [formerly Twitter], “Modi ji (sic), the floods have caused devastating destruction in Punjab. The situation is also extremely concerning in Jammu [and] Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand".

"In such difficult times, your attention and active assistance from the central government are absolutely necessary. Thousands of families are struggling to save their homes, lives, and loved ones. I urge the immediate announcement of a special relief package for these states, especially for farmers, and for relief and rescue operations to be intensified,” he added.

Punjab battles worst floods since 1988, with Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir struggling upstream

Punjab is grappling with its most severe floods in over three decades, with all 23 districts affected and at least 30 lives lost so far. A fresh spell of heavy rainfall has compounded the crisis, intensifying the challenges faced by over 350,000 residents seeking shelter and aid.

Rescue and relief operations are underway on a war footing, involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Army, Border Security Force, Punjab Police, and district authorities. Authorities have sounded alerts in Rupnagar and Patiala districts, urging residents to remain vigilant.

Educational institutions across the state have been closed until 7 September.

The Indian Army’s Western Command has been carrying out extensive Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations for more than two weeks under Operation Rahat across the flood-affected regions of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Punjab.

So far, the troops have rescued over 5,500 civilians along with 300 personnel from paramilitary forces, per a statement on 3 September, Wednesday.

In addition, more than 3,000 people have received medical assistance, while over 27 tonnes of rations and essential supplies have been delivered to communities in need.

The statement added that more than 50 Army columns have been deployed on the ground, working around the clock to rescue stranded residents, restore key infrastructure and provide critical relief materials.

The flooding follows rising waters in the Sutlej, Beas and Ravi rivers — which originate in the Himalayas — even as seasonal rivulets also inundate towns, villages and agricultural lands. And there is nowhere left to hold the water. The Bhakra dam, a crucial hydropower and irrigation source, stood at 1,677.84 feet at 6 a.m. on 3 September, just below its maximum capacity of 1,680 feet.

Given the persistent heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh, officials announced that its outflow would likely be increased to 75,000 cusecs — inundating villages near Nangal.

Meanwhile, Punjab cabinet minister Harjot Bains has appealed to residents of Sri Anandpur Sahib who live near riverbanks and low-lying areas to move to safer places or relief camps.

With workers from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well as other political parties actively engaged in relief work as well, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to visit the flood-hit areas with Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann to assess relief operations and interact with affected residents.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha announced a contribution of Rs 3.25 crore from his Local Area Development Scheme funds for relief efforts.

Nearby, Delhi NCR is swamped by Yamuna, and finds cremations are washed out as well

On 3 September, the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi too continued to experience heavy rainfall, leading to severe waterlogging and rising river levels that forced evacuations and disrupted daily life.

Intermittent showers persisted through the day, with rainfall totals including 28.2 mm at Ridge, 19.8 mm at Safdarjung, 11.4 mm at Lodhi Road, 9.1 mm at Palam, and 5.7 mm at Ayanagar. While Noida and Greater Noida enjoyed a rare sunny morning, skies darkened again in the afternoon. The Hindon and Yamuna rivers continued to rise despite a lull in rainfall, prompting the Hathni Barrage to release excess water.

Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta had a late-night phone call with her Haryana counterpart Nayab Singh Saini the evening before regarding the breach of the Mungeshpur drain in Bahadurgarh, Jhajjar district, which caused flooding in several areas of the national capital.

On the afternoon of 3 September, the flooding of Delhi was sought to be arrested with sandbags being stuffed into the drains near Outer Ring Road, with low-lying parts of the Yamuna plains already submerged.

The Mungeshpur breach, which occurred yesterday, on 2 September, near the Najafgarh–Bahadurgarh border, led to the inundation of villages and temporary encampments in Delhi close to the Haryana border, particularly in Jharoda and surrounding areas, resulting in the evacuation of nearly 2,000 residents from the flooded colonies.

The displaced families were relocated to temporary shelters.

Meanwhile, cremations at Nigambodh Ghat, Delhi’s largest cremation grounds, were suspended on Wednesday after floodwaters from the Yamuna entered the premises.

Situated along Ring Road, behind the Red Fort, Nigambodh Ghat is the city’s oldest, busiest and largest cremation ground, equipped with 42 platforms. On average, it handles between 55 and 60 cremations each day.

Himachal’s hills continue to look grim, but are coming back online

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has instructed the Chamba district administration to evacuate pilgrims stranded during the Manimahesh Yatra and to work with the Indian Air Force for the deployment of six MI-17 helicopters.

Around 5,000 people remain stranded in Chamba, most of them in Bharmaur, the starting point of the pilgrimage. The helicopters are expected to begin operations from 4 September, Thursday, subject to weather conditions.

Providing an update on the scale of devastation caused by the monsoon, Sukhu said the state has suffered estimated losses of Rs 3,526 crore up to 2 September. He reported that 122 landslides, 95 flash floods and 45 cloudbursts have occurred since the onset of the season, resulting in the loss of about 341 lives so far.

Heavy rains, landslides, and flash floods had caused significant damage to telecommunication infrastructure in the Chamba, Kullu and Lahaul–Spiti districts during the weekend of 25–26 August. However, as of 2 September, approximately 65 per cent of the affected telecom sites have been made functional, an official reported on Wednesday.

Per principal advisor for information technology and innovation to the chief minister Gokul Butail, of 1,761 sites operated by Airtel, Reliance Jio, BSNL and Vodafone Idea in Chamba district, 1,387 are now operational, with just 374 remaining offline.

In Kullu, around 85 per cent of Airtel sites and 65 per cent of Reliance Jio sites have resumed service, though only about 20 per cent of BSNL’s 391 sites are functional.

In Lahaul–Spiti, 96.8 per cent of Airtel sites and 84.1 per cent of Reliance Jio sites have been restored.

Jammu–Katra rail services suspended

Rail services connecting Jammu and Katra, the base camp for the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine pilgrimage, were suspended on 3 September due to heavy rains and flooding. The shuttle services, introduced on 1 September to aid locals and stranded passengers, were cancelled after tracks were flooded.

Scheduled trains from New Delhi to Katra have also been short-terminated. Rail traffic in the Jammu division has remained suspended for nine days due to track misalignment and breaches caused by flash floods and landslides on 26 August in the Pathankot–Jammu section.

Despite the disruptions, the railways have operated seven special trains in the last four days, transporting 5,784 stranded passengers to their destinations. The pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi remains suspended following a landslide near the shrine on 26 August that claimed 34 lives.

Jammu recorded its heaviest rainfall since 1910 on 26 August, with 380mm of precipitation.

In a humanitarian initiative, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) has launched a major relief operation to support more than 1,000 families affected by heavy rainfall and landslides in Katra and adjoining areas of Reasi and Udhampur districts.

On the request of the district administration, families from Purana Daroor village, whose houses were severely damaged, have been relocated to Shakti Bhawan at the Niharika Complex of the Shrine Board to ensure their safety and well-being.

Rajasthan battles waterlogging, transport disruptions

Several parts of Rajasthan, including Jaipur and Kota districts, experienced heavy rains on 3 September, causing widespread waterlogging and disruption to road and rail traffic.

Nine trains on the Kota-Mumbai route were halted due to landslips near Dara railway station, while waterlogging in the Dara stream forced suspension of traffic on National Highway-52 between Kota and Jhalawar.

In Dausa, a police van collided with a truck on the Jaipur-Agra highway amid heavy rain, injuring two police personnel.

Waterlogging of up to four to five feet inundated many roads and low-lying areas in Jaipur, including Tonk Road, Walled City, Jawahar Nagar, Raja Park, Moti Dungari Road, Gopalpura, Tonk Phatak, and Ajmer Road. The Sawai Man Singh (SMS) Hospital was flooded, disrupting patient care, and water seeped into the Kala Hanuman Ji temple. Power outages were reported in several localities.

A low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal is expected to sustain rainfall in Rajasthan until 7 September as well.

Orange alerts for very heavy rainfall were issued for Banswara and Pratapgarh districts, while a yellow alert was in place for Alwar, Baran, Bundi, Bharatpur and about a dozen other districts. Rainfall activity is expected to intensify in the Jodhpur and Bikaner divisions between 5 and 7 September.

Jharkhand under orange and yellow alerts

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall in Jharkhand’s Gumla, Simdega and West Singhbhum districts until 8:30 a.m. on 4 September. Seven other districts — Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Lohardaga, Khunti, Saraikela Kharsawan and East Singhbhum — are under a yellow alert for rainfall during the same period.

The Ranchi Meteorological Centre reported that widespread rainfall will continue under the influence of a low-pressure system, with possible thundershowers in some areas.

Jharkhand has received 1,034.9 mm of rain between 1 June and 3 September, representing a 26 per cent surplus compared to the normal 823.7 mm for this period. The Seraikela–Kharswan district recorded the highest surplus, at 65 per cent, followed by Ranchi at 54 per cent. Conversely, Pakur and Deoghar districts faced rainfall deficits of 19 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.

With PTI inputs