Continued monsoon rains in India leave millions homeless
At least two million people in northern India have been left homeless as the Ganges
and other rivers, swollen by heavy monsoon rains, broke embankments and submerged
villages, fields and religious sites. State officials said 500,000 hectares of
agriculture land in top cane growing state Uttar Pradesh were flooded and the heavy
rains could affect cotton output from Punjab and Haryana states. Spokesman for
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, Fr Babu Joseph, says this year has seen
an unusually long monsoon season.
“Normally by the […] middle or end of September,
rains come to and end,” Fr Babu told Vatican Radio.
“There has been unprecedented
damage due to the heavy flooding.”