Rains hamper Indian flood rescue

Millions of people have been displaced from their homes

Heavy rains are hampering efforts to rescue survivors after flash floods killed at least 19 people at a construction site in India's northern state of Himachal Pradesh.

An early morning downpour triggered the flood in Shilagarh village, near the summer resort of Kullu, about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Delhi on Wednesday.

Police said up to 400 workers were asleep in shanties at the site and that more than 450 police personnel were searching the area downstream in search of survivors.

There were fears that the death toll could be much higher, but the chief minister's office now believes the toll may not exceed 35.

AK Puri, Director General of police in Himachal Pradesh, told AFP news agency: "Rescue operations are being hampered by the intermittent rains in Kulu... There has been a complete disruption of road links and this is adding to our problems."

Reports suggest there is still some confusion over the total number of people who have gone missing, apparently because the contractors are unable to supply a full list of all workers who are unaccounted for.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Vir Bhadra Singh said supplies of blankets, essential rations, shrouds for the dead and money to provide immediate relief had been sent to the disaster site.

The migrant workers, from Nepal and the Indian states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, were working on the Parvati hydroelectric project, one of the largest in Asia.

A bridge connecting the disaster site to the rest of the state had also been swept away, state government officials said.

Police said villagers had reported seeing bodies floating down the Parvati river.

Kullu is situated in the foothills of the Himalayas and is popular with Western tourists.

Millions displaced

Meanwhile in north-eastern Assam state, chief minister Tarun Gogoi sent a letter to Delhi pleading for emergency funds to tackle some of the worst flooding in 50 years.

"There may be further devastation in the coming days because flood-management structures throughout the state have been damaged," his letter warned.

The minister called for the urgent supply of tarpaulins, water purifying tablets, mosquito nets and utensils.

Officials reported another two flood-related drownings in Assam on Thursday, taking the death toll there to 80. Both the deaths were reported from the worst-affected eastern Dhemaji district.

Up to four million people have been displaced in Assam and a further 2.5 million have been marooned by overflowing rivers in Bangladesh.

India's eastern state of Bihar has more than one million people affected by flooding. The state has lost four million rupees ($85,500) worth of crops.