BHOPAL: Heavy rains in various parts of Madhya Pradesh have triggered rise in rivers and other water bodies in the state, particularly in Mahakoshal and Gwalior-Chambal regions.
Continued rise in the river Narmada due to heavy rains in the Mandla and Dindori districts (located on the banks of the river’s upstream), have prompted the authorities to open nine gates of the Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district.
Police and local administration have sounded a flood alert to people residing in the low-lying areas and ghats, including the riverside areas of Jabalpur.
Continuous rain over the last 72 hours and heavy rains since Saturday night have caused flooding in many parts of Shahdol city. Three wards of the Shahdol district hospital, including the surgical ward, was inundated with rain water, forcing the hospital staff to shift patients to other wards.
The tracks at the Shahdol railway station too got submerged, reportedly affecting the movement of trains for some hours.
An elderly couple, living in a thatched hut instead of their neighbouring pucca PM Awas Yojana, were buried alive when a major part of the hut they were presently living in collapsed in Shahdol’s Burhar area due to heavy rains.
Teams of State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) have been deployed in villages of Shahdol district to shift villagers to safer places.
In Katni district, heavy waterlogging was reported under the main railway overbridge.
In Shivpuri district of Gwalior-Chambal region water bodies, like Bhadaiya Kund and Pawa Waterfalls are replete with water and at their full might.
Earlier, on Saturday, part of a culvert on the state highway connecting Narsinghpur district to Jabalpur district collapsed in Narsinghpur district following heavy rains. No human casualty or injuries, however, were reported.
The weather department has sounded an orange alert of very heavy rains in districts of Mahakoshal region, including Seoni, Balaghat, Betul, Dindori, Narsinghpur, Chhindwara, Mandla and Pandhurna. Heavy rain alert has been sounded for 17 other districts of different regions.