New Delhi, July 23 -- The country recorded a total of 1,297 deaths due to intense rainfall between April 1 and July 16 this year, with the highest number of deaths in Andhra Pradesh at a toll of 258, followed by 171 deaths in Himachal Pradesh, 148 in Madhya Pradesh, and 101 in Bihar, ministry of home affairs informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. It added a total of 51,699 cattle were lost, 92,663 houses damaged and 154,394.27 ha cropped area affected during the period. Minister of state for home Nityanand Rai, responding to questions by BJP MPs Sudheer Gupta and Manish Jaiswal and Shiv Sena MPs Dhairyasheel Sambhajirao Mane and Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan Patil, said, "An Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) has been constituted for Himachal Pr...