The flood situation in north Madhya Pradesh turned "grim" where more than 1,250 villages were affected by the deluge following heavy rains while nearly 6,200 people were shifted to safer places with the help of the Army, NDRF, BSF and state agencies, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Wednesday. The CM, who conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas in the afternoon, said 1,950 people were still stranded and efforts were on to rescue them.
Rail services between Shivpuri and Gwalior and telecom services in Morena district were badly affected due to the monsoon fury, the CM said. The rescue operations using helicopters resumed again in the day after being affected due to bad weather on Tuesday.
"The flood situation in north Madhya Pradesh is grim -- 1,225 villages in Shivpuri, Sheopur, Datia, Gwalior, Guna, Bhind and Morena districts are affected," Chouhan said. The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army and the BSF together have succeeded in evacuating 5,950 people from 240 villages, he said.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra also experienced the rain fury. He got stranded when the boat carrying him to flood-hit Kotra village in Datia district developed a glitch while trying to move out local residents, an official said, adding that Mishra was rescued by an IAF helicopter. Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora on Wednesday evening informed that 6,220 people have been rescued so far. As many as 1,281 villages are affected due to floods in the state, he said, adding that efforts are underway to rescue 1,060 people from the flood-affected areas. "Four columns of the Army, BSF, NDRF teams and 70 teams of the SDRF have been deployed for the rescue work. More teams of the NDRF are coming -- five helicopters of the Air Force, including four in Gwalior and one in Shivpuri, have also been pressed into the rescue operations," the CM had said, adding that the water level is coming down in some places.
Some villages in the Sheopur district were completely submerged, but the people stranded there were safe. The Army was reaching those villages for the rescue operations, he said. Army jawans reached Datia, where 1,100 people were rescued from 36 villages, he added.
Some people were airlifted from a place in Datia district where all the main roads are shut due to inundation, he said. "Two bridges in the Datia district collapsed due to flooding. A bridge over the National Highway no. 3 developed a crack, following which traffic was suspended as a precaution," he said.
Nearly 3,000 people were shifted to relief camps in Gwalior, where 46 villages were affected. In Shivpuri, 800 people were rescued from 22 villages, the CM said. Chouhan added there was a danger of flooding in the Bhind and Morena districts as the water level of the Chambal river was rising due to heavy showers.
The water level will go up further in these districts as the water was released from a barrage over the Chambal river, he said. People from low-lying villages in these districts were being evacuated, he added.
Chouhan said that the infrastructure was completely damaged at several places in these districts. "The telecommunication infrastructure in Morena and other places was completely destroyed due to the floods. I have spoken to officials of the Union telecom ministry in this regard," he said.
Train services between Shivpuri and Gwalior were halted as the rail infrastructure was badly damaged on the section, he said. Chouhan also spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and apprised them about the flood situation in the state.
Later in the evening, Chouhan said he conducted the aerial survey of several villages in Gwalior, Shivpuri and Datia districts, where rescue operations are underway. "I have seen the severe flooding. The water current is so strong that even bridges have been swept away. Several villages are still flooded. The danger is still there and we have to stay cautious for the next 48 hours due to the rain forecast," he said and added that no casualty has been reported due to the alertness of the administration. He said that the administration is directed to arrange the food, medicines and housing for the affected people. The road between Gwalior-Jhansi is closed and vehicles are queued on both sides as the bridge on the national highway passing from Dabra is closed, he said, adding that the bridges will soon be repaired. ACS (Home) Rajora informed that the Chambal River is flowing about 5.25 metre above the danger mark in Morena district and in Bhind's Udi Ghat.
Due to the rising water level of the Chambal river, the people from 15 villages in Morena have been evacuated while residents of 14 other villages are also being shifted, he said. Meanwhile, two trucks fell into a pit after a portion of the new Shivpuri-Gwalior bypass road caved in, Shivpuri's Traffic Police in-charge Ranveer Singh Yadav, adding that one side of this road has been shut after the incident. Except for Guna, Shivpuri's contact with all other places is affected due to the flood and bridge collapse incident. Some bridges, including an old bridge on the Kuno River on Shivpuri-Sheopur Road, Buddha bridge on the way to Mohan Bairadh and Budhna bridge at Khaniyadhana were also damaged, local officials said. Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, who is MP from Morena, also discussed with Chouhan about the relief measures.
