EDIT CONTAINS 4:3 MATERIAL<br/> <br />36 hours of rain took a heavy toll on the lives of locals in northern India's pilgrimage town of Uttarkashi on Sunday (June 16).<br/> <br />The flooded River Ganga swept away houses and caused extensive losses for locals in and around Uttarkashi.<br/> <br />Officials from the Meteorological Department said adequate warnings measures had been issued and evacuations begun.<br/> <br />India's monsoon rains have covered the entire country a month ahead of the normal schedule, increasing the prospects for a bumper output for summer-sown crops such as rice, oilseeds and cotton in one of the world's leading producers.
