2 die as heavy rains lead to flood-like situation in parts of Rajasthan, schools closed

India

pti-PTI

Kota/Jaipur, Aug 22:
A
couple
died
as
heavy
rainfall
and
subsequent
release
of
excess
water
from
dams
led
to
a
flood-like
situation
in
parts
of
Rajasthan’s
Kota
and
Jhalawar
districts
and
surrounding
areas,
officials
said
on
Monday.

Thousands
were
evacuated
from
low-lying
areas
across
districts,
they
said.

In
Kota,
Jhalawar
and
Bundi,
the
administration
declared
a
holiday
in
government
and
private
schools
on
Tuesday.
Schools
were
closed
on
Monday
also.

Kota
was
the
worst
affected
among
the
three
districts.

In
Tonk
district’s
Mandawara
village,
a
40-year-old
woman,
Samodara
Meena,
slipped
into
a
flooded
drain
behind
her
house.
Her
husband
Babu
Lal
Meena,
45,
jumped
into
the
drain
to
rescue
her
but
both
of
them
died,
Deputy
Superintendent
of
Police,
Uniyara,
Khalil
Ahmed
said.

In
Kota,
approximately
3,500
people
were
shifted
from
low-lying
areas
to
safer
places
and
temporary
shelters
as
the
areas
were
submerged
following
rainfall
and
release
of
water
from
the
Kota
barrage.

“As
many
as
1,500
people
have
been
shifted
to
safer
places
from
low-lying
areas
in
Kota.
School
buildings
are
being
used
as
temporary
shelters,”
Kota
District
Collector
O
P
Bunkar
said.

State
Disaster
Response
Force
(SDRF)
teams
have
also
been
pressed
into
service,
he
said.

Earlier
in
the
day,
Bunka
visited
the
low-lying
areas,
including
Nayapura
Kacchi
Basit
and
Balita
road,
and
directed
officials
to
make
all
necessary
arrangements
in
view
of
the
heavy
rains
and
release
of
water
from
the
Kota
barrage.

The
inflow
of
water
in
the
Kota
barrage
over
the
Chambal
river
increased
due
to
rainfall
in
the
catchment
area
of
the
Rana
Pratap
Sagar
dam
(Chittorgarh)
and
the
Jawahar
Sagar
dam
(Kota),
a
Kota
district
administration
official
said.

According
to
the
official,
14
of
the
19
gates
of
the
barrage
have
been
opened
so
far.

Nearly
3.83
lakh
cusecs
of
water
has
been
released
from
the
barrage.
The
authorities
plan
to
release
5.75
lakh
cusecs,
the
official
said.

Alerts
were
sounded
before
the
barrage
gates
were
opened.
After
the
water
was
released,
several
low-lying
areas
were
submerged,
he
said.

Water
also
entered
houses
in
Talwandi,
Purana
Kota,
Bajrang
Nagar,
Jawahar
Nagar,
Station
Road
and
Balaji
Nagar
areas
and
people
had
a
hard
time
commuting,
he
said.

A
seven-ft-long
crocodile
entered
a
residential
area
in
Pragati
Nagar,
triggering
panic
among
residents.
The
reptile
was
later
rescued,
the
officials
said.

Schools
and
coaching
centres
were
closed
in
Kota
and
Bundi
on
Monday.
Schools
will
remain
closed
on
Tuesday
as
well,
they
said.

In
Jhalawar,
2.8
lakh
cusecs
of
water
was
released
from
the
Kalisindh
dam
and
25,200
cusecs
from
the
Bhim
Sagar
dam,
they
said.

According
to
the
meteorological
department,
extremely
heavy
rainfall
was
recorded
in
isolated
areas
in
Kota
and
Jhalawar
during
the
24-hour
period
that
ended
at
8:30
am
on
Monday.

Dag
in
Jhalawar
recorded
the
highest
rainfall
at
234
mm,
followed
by
224
mm
in
Kota
city
during
this
period,
the
meteorological
department
said.

On
Monday,
Kota
recorded
24.7
mm
of
rainfall,
Anta
in
Baran
25.5
mm,
Bundi
24.4
mm
and
Chittorgarh
24
mm.
Several
other
areas
recorded
less
than
24
mm
of
rainfall.

Many areas in Bundi, Baran, Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Dausa and Karauli also recorded heavy to very heavy rainfall.