9 dead as incessant rains pound Punjab, Haryana; Army called for rescue operations

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The Punjab government has ordered the closure of schools till July 13 while in Chandigarh schools are closed till Thursday. Haryana too has ordered the closure of schools in some worst-affected districts till Wednesday. In other places of the state, the government has left it to the deputy commissioners to take a call on the matter after assessing the situation. Tracts of land near the Sutlej and Ghaggar rivers were inundated while distributaries and major canals were breached in some places in Punjab and Haryana damaging crops. As water gushed into houses in parts of the two states, authorities raced to bring affected people to safety. Breakdown in power and water supply in some of the worst-affected areas of Punjab and Haryana escalated people's problems. Mohali, Patiala, Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Panchkula and Ambala are some of the worst-hit districts in the two states.

Flood situation grim at some places as rainfall continues in Punjab, Haryana

The civic administration of the two neighbouring states gave out a call for help in rescue operations to the Army which pressed its Western Command's flood relief columns into service. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) too assisted the civic authorities in rescue and relief operations. Punjab Police Chief Gaurav Yadav said 15 NDRF teams and two units of SDRF have been deployed in the worst-hit districts to plug breaches and carry out evacuation and rescue operations. Additionally, 12 columns of the Army have been called in for Rupnagar, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Jalandhar, SBS Nagar, Mohali and Pathankot districts, he said. The Army rescued 910 students and 50 civilians from a private university in Punjab after heavy rains led to