• Source:JND
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The Supreme Court on Thursday took note of unprecedented landslides and floods in various states, issued notices to the Centre, NDMA and others. The court observed that illegal felling of trees has led to disasters in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and J-K. The plea has been listed for hearing after two weeks, with the Solicitor General asked to ensure remedial measures.

A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and the governments of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, and Punjab.

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The notices came in response to a plea alleging that illegal felling of trees is a key reason behind such disasters. The bench listed the plea, filed by Anamika Rana, for hearing after two weeks and directed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to ensure remedial measures.

“We have seen unprecedented landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. From the media reports it is noticed that in the flood a huge number of wood was flowing along. Prima facie it appears that there has been illegal felling of trees. Thus issue notice to respondents. Returnable in two weeks…” the CJI said.

India Flood Updates 

1. Twenty-one monitoring stations, including one in Delhi, have reported rivers in "severe flood situation."

2. Thirty-three other stations recorded rivers flowing above the normal level, according to the Central Water Commission (CWC).

3. The nationwide flood alert comes amid heavy rainfall forecasts for several states in the coming days.

4. The 21 severe flood locations, nine are in Bihar, eight in Uttar Pradesh, and one each in Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.

5. The 33 above-normal sites are spread across Uttar Pradesh (9), Bihar (7), Assam (7), Uttarakhand (2), Odisha (2), Telangana (2), and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and West Bengal.

6. In Delhi, the Yamuna at the railway bridge site is in severe flood conditions.

7. Northern hill states remain on high alert, with Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand set to receive very heavy to extremely heavy rain.

8. Sudden water level rises are expected in the Beas, Sutlej, Chenab, Ravi, Alaknanda, and Bhagirathi rivers.

9. In Jammu and Kashmir, flooding risks are high in the Chenab, Tawi, Jhelum, and Indus basins, particularly in Kishtwar, Doda, Kathua, Anantnag, and Pulwama districts.

10. Punjab and Haryana are bracing for inflows in the Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Ghaggar, and Yamuna rivers.

11. In Uttar Pradesh, the Ganga, Yamuna, Ghagra, Ramganga, and Sharda rivers are expected to continue rising across multiple districts.

12. In Bihar, several stretches of the Ganga, Kosi, Gandak, and Burhi Gandak remain in severe flood, especially in Bhagalpur, Patna, Khagaria, and Siwan.

13. Assam is witnessing above-normal to severe conditions in the Buridehing and Beki rivers.

14. Jharkhand has reported a severe flood in the Ganga at Sahibganj.

15. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh are reporting rising levels in the Tapi, Narmada, Mahi, Krishna, and Mahanadi basins.

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16. Major reservoirs such as Ukai, Sardar Sarovar, Tehri, Hathnikund, Koyna, and Hirakud are expected to receive above-threshold inflows.

17. In the south, dams in the Cauvery basin, including Mettur, Kabini, Hemavathi, and Krishnarajasagar, are nearly full, raising concerns of downstream flooding if heavy rainfall persists.

(With PTI Inputs)