Schools shut in rain-hit areas of India

NEW DELHI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Schools and other educational institutions have been shut in several Indian states due to incessant rains, local governments announced Thursday.

The southern state of Telangana, parts of the northern hilly state of Himachal Pradesh and several districts of the southwestern state of Maharashtra have been receiving heavy downpours for the past 24 hours, and heavy to very-heavy rains are expected to continue for the next couple of days too.

The Telangana Government has decided to declare holidays for two days from Thursday in the state's all education institutions due to heavy rainfall, tweeted the state's Education Minister Sabitha Reddy.

Long traffic jams were reported from Telangana's capital city Hyderabad amid water-logging on Thursday morning.

Similarly, all schools and educational institutions have been shut from July 20-22 in part of Himachal Pradesh amid fears of flash floods and landslides due to incessant rains, according to an official order.

Considering the heavy deluge over the past few days, schools and other educational institutions in Maharashtra state have been shut for the past couple of days, particularly in Raigad district, parts of the financial capital Mumbai and its adjoining areas.

At least five people died and several were still feared trapped in a landslide accident in Raigad as rescue and relief work was being carried out.