Torrential rain and floods in India kill more than 50

Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) arrive to rescue stranded Sikh devotees from Hemkunt Sahib Gurudwara, a religious Sikh temple, to a safe place in Chamoli district, in northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Monday, June 17, 2013. Torrential rain and floods washed away buildings and roads, killing at least 23 people in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said Monday. (Photo : AP Photo)

Over 50 people have been killed and hundreds marooned by flooding as early monsoon struck northern India, including capital Delhi, since last weekend, said officials on Monday.

Most of the deaths occurred in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, while another state Haryana saw widespread flooding which submerged dozens of villages, said the officials.

In Uttarakhand, over 30 were killed by flash flood from the Ganga and its tributaries after being washed away by the torrents, disaster relief officials at Dehradun, the state capital, told the media.

Bulldozer and other vehicles flow in a flooded river in Uttarkashi district, India, Monday, June 17, 2013. (Photo : AP Photo)

Meanwhile, over 15 were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur district, while about 10 were killed in Himachal Pradesh by landslides and flooding, reported Press Trust of India.

Over 700 people, including the state’s Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh who was campaigning for a national parliamentarian poll, were stranded by flood and the Election Commission has given permission for his evacuation by a state chopper.

In Delhi, the heavy rains relieved the city of heat but water logged many areas and flooded some low lying areas near the Yamuna River. <Xinhua/NEWSis>