Bhopal/Sehore/ Shimla/Kota/Bhubaneswar: Incessant rains and landslides triggered by them continue to wreak havoc in Madhya Pradesh resulting in the death of two people. A youth died after a tree fell on him while he was passing by on a bike while an auto driver died after his vehicle was washed away in the river from Karbala bridge on Monday.
Meanwhile, the death toll in flash floods and landslides triggered by rains in Himachal Pradesh since Friday night has risen to 32, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur informed the state cabinet on Monday. Six people are still missing while 12 were injured in the calamity, according to an official release.
Charing a meeting of the state cabinet, Thakur expressed grief over the death of 32 people and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. After visiting the flash flood and landslide-hit areas in the Mandi district, the chief minister announced that the state government will provide Rs 4 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.
In Rajasthan, a couple died as heavy rainfall and subsequent release of excess water from dams led to a flood-like situation in parts of Kota and Jhalawar districts and their surrounding areas, officials said on Monday. Thousands were evacuated from low-lying areas across the state, they said.
In Kota, Jhalawar and Bundi, the administration declared a holiday in government and private schools on Tuesday. 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 Odisha, the flood situation in several northern districts was alarming on Monday, as the swollen Subarnekha river inundated low-lying areas and left people in over 100 villages marooned, officials said. The water level in all the rivers located in north Odisha is in spate due to heavy rain caused by a deep depression over the Bay of Bengal, and subsequent flood-water release from Jharkhand, they said.
Authorities in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts had on Sunday launched a massive evacuation drive to shift people from vulnerable areas to safer locations, which is continuing on Monday, they said. Subarnarekha has been rising significantly since Sunday evening, inundating many areas in Baliapal, Bhograi, Basta and Jaleswar by 11 am, the officials said.
