Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Rescue teams set up by the administration rescued more than 1,600 people from the rain-ravaged areas in the Gwlior-Chambal region on Tuesday.
Constant rain in the past 48 hours ravaged 1, 171 villages in the region and destroyed properties and crops worth crores of rupees.
Shivpuri, Sheopur and Datia were, however, the worst-hit. The overflowing rivers in the region, including the Chambal, triggered the floods.
The people of 200 villages in Shivpuri and Sheopur are still marooned. The two districts received 80cm rainfall last night.
The Parvati River is overflowing inundating Kupwada, Harayee, Akurni, Barkhedi, Chilpai and Raipur villages in Bairad Tehsil in the district.
The police, the officials of the district administration and some villagers rescued hundreds of people in Kupwada, Haryee and Akurni villages and sent them to safety.
On the other hand, the residents of Barkhedi, Chilpay and Raipur villagers are still marooned.
In the meantime, the helicopters of the Indian Air Force, ready to launch a rescue operation, failed to take off because of the heavy rain on Tuesday.
Three villagers who took shelter atop a tree are still there, and all of them are safe, said the officials of the district administration, adding that they were making efforts to rescue those three people.
In the meantime, they rescued five people from the flood-hit areas.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was in constant touch with the officials of the rain-ravaged Shivpuri, Sheopur, Bhind and Datia districts and took feedback on the rescue operation.
In charge minister of Shivpuri Mahendra Singh Sisodia, local MLA and minister Yoshodhara Raje Scindia were camping in the district and supervising the rescue operation.
A villager from Harayee, Rajesh, told the Free Press that he had never seen such torrential rain in the past 20 years.
He said his home was suddenly flooded and came under almost a foot of water.
Rajesh and his family members frantically tried to hold back their household goods, but it came to naught, as their feet suddenly dipped into two-feet water that was entering their house.
They immediately went upstairs and saw water everywhere. Power also went off. All were in the darkness.
Except for the sounds of heavy rain, nothing was heard. A police boat then came to rescue them.
The real scary thing was how quickly it happened, he said.
Morena, which, though has not received as much rainfall as other districts have had, witnessed several monsoon-related problems on Tuesday.
The Chambal and the Kwari were nearing the danger mark after the heavy rainfall in other districts in the region.
It poured down so much in the past 24 hours that Sabalgarh and Pahadgarh received 120mm rainfall.
The boundary wall of girls’ high school in Sabalgarh and a portion of a primary school in Dhobipura village caved in, as a result of torrential rain.
There was, however, no loss of life in the incidents.
