NEW DELHI (AFP) _ The death toll from a blistering heatwave racking India soared to 134 on Monday as the parched country awaited the prospect of scattered rain.

Officials said the weather claimed another 56 victims Monday. The United News of India news agency said the toll was 142.

The state meteorological department said patchy rain was expected to bring a brief respite to some regions in the next 24 hours from the ``severe heatwave'' which has disrupted life since May 12.

It said large swathes of India reeled under temperatures which shot up to around 48 degrees Centigrade (119 degrees Fahrenheit) in the northern desert state of Rajasthan on Monday.

Officials said Rajasthan accounted for 63 heat-related deaths. A total of 33 people have also died in the state of Uttar Pradesh in the past 14 days.

Jalaun district in Uttar Pradesh was the hottest spot on the Indian subcontinent with temperatures around 50 degrees Centigrade (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.

In the Indian capital Monday the mercury shot up to 46 degrees Centigrade (114 Fahrenheit), making it the hottest day in May for four years.

The weather office said summer resorts in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala were also overheating, despite their higher altitude.

Thousands of Indians and foreigners have left for the hill resorts in a bid to beat the heat, which has also led to rolling power cuts and water shortages across India including in the capital of 10 million people.

An executive from Sita Travels said they were swamped with calls for bookings in the hills while the state railway said its trains leaving Delhi were jammed.

Indians desperate to escape the heat were travelling to the Himalayan foothills of Kashmir, unmindful of a Moslem secessionist rebellion in the region, officials said in Srinagar.

They said the number of tourists visiting Kashmir had already exceeded last year's total of around 20,000.

The scorching sun has also killed animals in Delhi's main zoo and disrupted passenger train services and domestic flights.

Around 1,000 women, meanwhile, clashed with the police in New Delhi on Monday to protest the prolonged power cuts and water shortages here, witnesses said.

The protesters carrying empty water pitchers and candles were stopped when the tried to march to the home of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to demand improved facilities.

Witnesses said some protesters were detained by the police following the brief clash.

In a memorandum they said while Vajpayee and his colleagues were ``busy politcizing'' the five nuclear tests conducted by India this month, thousands went without water or power.

The city's electricity department rationed supplies last weekend and banned the use of air-conditioners in commercial complexes to prevent a crisis.

It ordered hotels to generate their own electricity and sent out armed squads of inspectors to detect and arrest violators.