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MP, Rajasthan flood situation remains grim; Army, IAF step in
Close to 400 stranded were rescued and about 5,000 people in several villages were shifted to safer locations in Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan, about 10,000 persons in five districts were shifted to safer locations, the officials said.
More than 400 stranded people were rescued in Madhya Pradesh while two people were washed away in Rajasthan as heavy rains battered the two states in the last 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday.
Close to 400 stranded were rescued and about 5,000 people in several villages were shifted to safer locations in Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan, about 10,000 persons in five districts were shifted to safer locations, the officials said.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) will deploy two medium-lift helicopters for disaster relief operations in Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha district, where a flood-like situation prevails in many areas, they added.
There was some respite in central Madhya Pradesh as the monsoon trough shifted towards western Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
According to an official statement from Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Shivraj Chouhan said that rains in Vidisha, Bhopal, Rajgarh, Guna, Sehora and Narmadapuram districts have broken all previous records, and the district officials have been directed to provide immediate relief to people.
The statement also said that around 2,300 people have been shifted to safer places. “Two helicopters of Air Force have been arranged for airlifting. People living in low-lying places are being brought to safer places,” said Rajesh Rajora, additional chief secretary, home.
Chouhan, who monitored the flood situation at the control centre in the state secretariat, said overflowing Betwa and Parvati rivers inundated around 25 villages in Vidisha, Guna and Rajgarh districts. “The assessment of damage to crops and property will be done later. Right now, the priority is to save people safely,” he said.
At least eight trains were diverted on Tuesday following the inundation of tracks due to heavy rain, which disrupted the rail traffic between Guna and Maksi in Madhya Pradesh, an official said.
“Due to incessant rains, flood water reached the railway tracks in Biaora and Kumbhraj, leading to disruption of the rail traffic on the Guna-Maksi route,” said Guna station master RS Meena. He said while the eight trains were diverted, the Bina-Nagda train was cancelled.
In the Gwalior district, a bridge constructed on the Sindh River collapsed due to overflowing water. Electricity was restored in about 70% of areas of Bhopal, after almost 24 hours of a power cut.
In Rajasthan, two people were washed away in floods and two others went missing in Baran and Bundi districts, as heavy rains continued to lash the region on Tuesday.
“Talked to the Principal Secretary to the CM and apprised him about the flood situation. Many villages have become islands. Villagers need help,” Rural Development and Panchayti Raj Minister Ramesh Meena tweeted. He instructed officials to arrange food and drinking water for the affected people.
The body of 35-year-old Premnarayan Suman, a resident of Dabri Kakaji village in Baran district, who had been swept away in the flood on Monday evening, was recovered Tuesday from near his village, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Anta circle) Tarun Kant Somani said.
In Bundi district, Satyanarayan Prajapat, 50, a resident of Suwasda village fell into an flooded anicut on Tuesday morning while he was on his way to collect fodder for cattle near his village.
Prajapat was found dead, Circle Inspector at (Nainwan) Babulal Meena said.
Bodies of both, Suman and Prajapat, were handed over to their families after post mortem later in the day.
Meanwhile, the water released from Gandhi Sagar Dam in Rajasthan has led to the Chambal River flowing above the danger mark after which 200 villages in Morena have been vacated. The 30 dams out of 52 are full and sluice gates have been opened to release additional water, officials said.
In Rajasthan, two people were washed away in floods and two others went missing in Baran and Bundi districts, as heavy rains continued to lash the region on Tuesday.
Torrential rains have created a flood-like situation in Rajasthan’s three districts - Jhalawar, Dholpur and Baran -- where the army has been called to carry out rescue operations, officials said.
An IAF helicopter is also being deployed to airlift more than 50 people stuck in the waterlogged areas in Baran and Jhalawar districts while schools in all four districts of the Kota division -- Kota, Baran, Jhalawar and Bundi – have been closed, they said.
Rajasthan’s secretary of disaster management and relief department Ashutosh Pednekar said army columns have been deployed in Dholpur and Jhalawar districts.
“Rivers like Chambal, Parvan, Parvati, and Kalisindh are flooded and excess water from overflowing dams is being released by opening their gates. Because of the opening of dam gates in Rajasthan, especially the Kota barrage, flooding of some villages was reported from Agra in Uttar Pradesh.”
On Tuesday, 350,000 lakh cusec of water was released from Kota barrage till 9.30 am, and another 200,000 cusecs are now being released, an official said. Similarly, 585,000 cusec water was released from Kalisindh dam in Jhalawar, another official informed.
Many villages in the division are cut off from district headquarters due to water logging. Some of the villages near the catchment area of rivers have turned into islands, the official added.
