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India monsoon kills 131, thousands stranded
June 19, 2013, 4:17 am

27,000 pilgrims were stranded in the remote mountainous regions of northern India. (AP Images)

27,000 pilgrims were stranded in the remote mountainous regions of northern India [AP]

The death toll from the incessant rain and subsequent landslides across north India reached 131 by Tuesday.

More than 12 teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) had been dispatched to the affected areas to join the army in relief operations.

Fifty-two people have died in the worst affected northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

Some 27,000 pilgrims were stranded in the remote mountainous regions of the area.

Uttarakhand has also set up 32 camps to provide food and water, while the local state government is readying food parcels and drinking water to be dropped by helicopters to remote villages.

The Indian army is at the forefront of the disaster management efforts with over 5,000 personnel deployed in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, to help those affected by the rains, army officials said.

The spate of torrential rains was 48 percent above normal across India.

The Indian monsoon spans June to September aiding the planting season.

Source: Agencies