Infrastructure takes battering across India in wake of widespread rains

THe sw monsoon covered the intact rural area on th, scoring its most delayed full coverage since 2021 as torrential rains damaged critical infrastructure, flooded roads, and triggered fatal landslides across multiple states.According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon reached the final remaining parts of the north Arabian Sea, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Punjab one day later than its normal structural date of July 8.Despite arriving three days late over Kerala on June 4 and enduring a sluggish two-week break period, the monsoon accelerated significantly in late June, bringing excess rain into early July.Also Read | Boats out, car and scooter plunge into roadside ditch: Ghaziabad battered by over 160mm rain | VideosKerala to MaharashtraIn Kerala, the death toll from the July 7 Wayanad landslide rose to six on Thursday after emergency workers recovered three more bodies. Three individuals remain missing. The landslide occurred following heavy downpours at the construction site of the Anakkompoyil-Meppadi tunnel project, which connects Wayanad and Kozhikode districts.In Maharashtra, rescue operations continued in Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune after a building collapsed Wednesday at a waste-to-energy plant. The collapse occurred when a massive mound of rain-soaked garbage gave way. Rescuers recovered one body on Thursday. Approximately eight individuals remain trapped under the debris. Also Read | Three-year-old dies after slipping into rainwater outside Ghaziabad homeUttarakhand remains among worst-hitUttarakhand remains among the worst-hit states. Incessant downpours blocked more than 185 roads, triggered widespread landslides, and disrupted the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage across several sectors. In Tehri district, a landslide on the Chamba-Mussoorie highway near Kaddu Khal caused a vacant, aging building to collapse.In Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, flash floods triggered by heavy rains on Thursday submerged a 100-foot iron bridge, completely cutting off some villages. IMD extended its yellow alert, predicting thunderstorms, lightning, and gusty winds in the state until July 15.In West Bengal, IMD issued landslide warnings for the hilly regions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong, advising fishermen in coastal districts to stay ashore until Friday. “The wind pattern is favourable and moisture-laden winds are gushing in from the Bay of Bengal. There is a forecast of heavy rain in some districts of West Bengal,” an IMD official in Kolkata said.In northeastern states, more than 300 passengers heading toward the southern Mizoram towns of Siaha and Lawngtlai were stranded in Bualte village after two major landslides blocked National Highway 54. In Tripura, continuous rainfall rendered more than 2,500 people from 434 families homeless. Displaced residents were moved into relief camps across Dhalai and Khowai. Floods affected six districts in Arunachal Pradesh.Rainfall eased significantly across Chhattisgarh, shifting to light-to-moderate showers in southern districts. Over a 24-hour period, Dantewada recorded 22.6mm of rainfall, followed by Geedam at 19.4mm, Dhanora at 11.5mm, Katekalyan at 7.6mm, Baderajpur at 7mm, Barsur at 5.2mm, and Bade Bacheli at 4.5mm.