Madhya Pradesh home minister Narottam Mishra to visit flood-hit villages in Datia district

Madhya Pradesh floods: As many as 1,171 villages in the Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh have been affected due to excessive rainfall, according to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Madhya Pradesh has witnessed overwhelming floods over the past day and a half as heavy rainfall in the Gwalior-Chambal region marooned as many as 200 villages, especially those in the Sheopur and Shivpuri districts. The state's home minister Narottam Mishra has announced that he will personally visit the flood-affected areas in the Datia district on Wednesday to take stock of the ground situation.

Two bridges on Datia-Gwalior road were damaged due to strong currents of the Sindh River in Datia on Tuesday. (ANI Photo)

"Due to heavy rains in the Gwalior-Chambal region, a number of districts are reeling under flood," the Madhya Pradesh home minister tweeted from his official handle on the microblogging website. "Several villages in the Datia district have also been affected by floods. I am going to personally visit this region today to take stock of the ground situation myself. On Wednesday, I will review the situation in the flood-hit villages of the district."

As many as 1,171 villages in the Gwalior-Chambal region of Madhya Pradesh have been affected due to excessive rainfall, according to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. In the case of the Shivpuri and Sheopur districts of the state, an "unprecedented" 800mm rainfall in the past 24 hours resulted in flooding, Chouhan said while speaking to reporters earlier on Tuesday.

Notably, the Indian Army has been helping out with relief operations in the districts of Shivpuri, Sheopur, Gwalior, and Datia, according to state additional chief secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora. He said that despite the bad weather, the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted as many as four sorties on Tuesday to rescue stranded people from the flood-hit areas.

Three people were stranded atop a tree for about 24 hours in the Beechi village, while five others were reported to be stranded at Piproudha in the flood-hit Shivpuri district, it was reported earlier in the day. According to disaster management officials, these stranded people were rescued later by the armed forces.