Senior Special Correspondent
Monsoon activity has intensified in many parts of the State. Among them Malwa and adjacent areas are the worst hit. In view of incessant rains, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held a virtual meeting with his officials at 1:30 on Saturday-Sunday intervening night and gave instructions to oncerning collectors to deal with the situation and complete rescue and relief operations. Chouhan said that if felt necessary, help of Army and Air Force will be taken for relief in the affected areas. The collectors concerned have assigned responsibility to disaster teams in the affected areas. A total of 610 personnel and 801 Home Guard personnel have been deployed for relief work in flood affected districts.
Chouhan reviewed the situation caused by heavy rains in Khargone, Barwani, Dhar, Khandwa, Burhanpur, Alirajpur and Indore and spoke to officials of these districts. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said the Army and Air Force will be called in if required for flood relief operations amid heavy rains in the state. He held a virtual meeting with his officials at 1:30am and gave instructions to deal with the situation. Chouhan reviewed the situation caused by heavy rains in Khargone, Barwani, Dhar, Khandwa, Burhanpur, Alirajpur and Indore and spoke to officials of these districts. “The situation is under control but the people are on alert and the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) and NDRF are working in these areas, while the flow in water bodies as well as rain has reduced. Water level has started receding in the affected areas. Our efforts are on to keep people safe. If required, the Army and Air Force will also be called in,” CM Chouhan added.
As the monsoon activity picking up over east and several parts of the Central India, the State has received extremly heavy rainfall in past 36 hours. India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday said south-central Madhya Pradesh witnessed a downpour, with Bhimpur village in Betul district receiving 445 mm of rain in the last 24 hours, beating the earlier record of 410 mm in Chaurai town of Chhindwara in August 2020. “Those rescued include 21 villagers stranded on an island in Gambhir river after flooding in Kalaria village of Rau tehsil,” he said. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) said 21 people, comprising women, children, fishermen and farmers, were rescued by sending lifeboats. According to the official statement, more than 200 persons were rescued from low-lying areas amid heavy rain in Indore in the past 24 hours till the report is being filed. India Meteorological Department stated that till Saturday morning, 171 millimeters (6.73 inches) of rainfall was recorded in Indore city in 24 hours. Due to heavy rain, the administration has ordered suspension of classes from nursery to class XII on September 18. Schools will remain shut on Monday also as per district administration order. While the State capital received light to moderate rainfall on Saturday and Sunday.