Army and Air Force personnel have been pressed into service to speed up relief work in Hoshangabad district where heavy rains inundated low-lying areas of the town. Narmada river is flowing 18 feet above the danger mark.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan chaired a high-level meeting on Friday to review the situation and directed collectors of the affected districts to take all possible measures to prevent any untoward incident.
Talking to media persons, Chouhan said that 17 persons, including 12 in Narsinghpur district and five in Sagar district, had lost their lives during the last 24 hours. State Chief Secretary R Parsuram and Director General of Police (DGP) Nandan Dubey, among others, were present on the occasion.
Besides the army, two Indian Air Force helicopters were pressed into service to rescue the marooned people in Hoshangabad, Harda, Sehore, Raisen, Dewas, Khargone, Khandwa, Barwani and Alirajpur districts, he said.
In Hoshangabad district, 3,000 home guards and 70 boats have been deployed to rescue people stranded in villages cut off by road link, Mr Chouhan said. Crops have been damaged in about 6000 hectares of land in 50 villages of the affected districts.
After the meeting, Chouhan, the Chief Secretary and DGP left for an aerial survey of the affected districts. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) IS Dani, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Manoj Shrivastava and Narmada Valley Development Authority (NVDA) Principal Secretary Rajnish Vaish were among others present at the meeting.
It was informed that Hoshangabad, Harda, Sehore, Raisen, Dewas, Khargone, Khandwa, Barwani and Alirajpur districts were affected by excessive rains. All big and small dams in these districts are brimming. All gates of Bargi, Barna and Kolar dams have been opened. Water is flowing 18 feet above danger mark due to release of water from Tawa dam in Hoshangabad district. People are being rescued from marooned villages.
Army teams are arriving on motorboats from Sohagpur side. Three thousand Home Guard jawans and 70 motorboats have been pressed into service in these districts. Excessive rains last night killed 12 persons at Gadarwara in Narsinghpur district and 5 in Sagar district. A sum of Rs 1 lakh each has been sanctioned to kin of the deceased, Rs50,000 each to seriously injured and Rs10,000 each to other injured persons. Crops in about 6,000 hectare in 50 villages have been affected. A two-day holiday has been declared in the schools in affected areas.
CM undertakes aerial survey
Bhopal: Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan undertook aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in the State for about five-and-a-half hours on Friday. He took stock of the flood situation in Hoshangabad, Sehore, Raisen, Harda, Dewas, Khargone, Barwani and Khandwa districts in three phases. He was accompanied by Chief Secretary R Parasuram and DGP Nandan Dube. Following the aerial survey, Chouhan called a meeting of officers at the State hangar. He directed that people in affected villages be shifted to relief camps and that proper food arrangements be made for them. He said that constant watch on the situation should be maintained. It was informed that first Army team has arrived for relief and rescue works.
Two Air Force helicopters have also been requisitioned. It was informed that 12 villages in Harda district have been affected and 200 people have been put up in relief camp. Similarly, 5000 people of 25 affected villages in Hoshangabad have been brought to relief camps. Nine villages in Dewas district and 12 villages in Sehore district have been affected by heavy rains. Chief Minister Chouhan has urged all MlAs and public representatives to cooperate in relief operations.
Rail, road traffic disrupted
Betul: Heavy rains played havoc in Betul district on Thursday night washing away a portion of the railway track support between Magardoh and Barbatpur stations on the New Delhi-Chennai route.
Traffic on the National Highway-69 (Nagpur-Bhopal) and National Highway 59 (Indore-Ahmedabad) too was halted because of flood waters overtopping the roads since the last 12 hours. Heavy rains are continuing in the area since the last five days.
“Nearly 30-meter of support base has been washed away on the Up line affecting rail traffic in the section,” Central Railway spokesperson PD Patil said, adding that trains were moving on the Down line. The damage to the tracks was extensive, Patil said, adding that authorities were not in apposition to say how long the restoration would take. Divisional Railway Manager Brajesh Dixit and a technical team left for the spot by a special train, he said.
Parts of NH 59 passing through Betul were under floodwater of Machna river, while parts of NH 69 were flooded by waters of Sukhi River. Vehicles were parked on both sides of the submerged stretches of the roads, officials said.