Jaipur/Kota: Large areas in several districts of Rajasthan were flooded after water was released from dams, forcing evacuation of thousands of stranded people, including school children.
Teams of the army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies are conducting rescue operations in Chittorgarh district and Kota city, where many people are marooned on rooftops after nearly 7 lakh cusecs of water was discharged from the Kota barrage on Sunday.
In Chittorgarh's Rawatbhata town, efforts are being made to evacuate 318 children and 25 teachers of a private school, who got stranded after water was released from 17 gates of the Ranapratap Sagar dam on Saturday.
Flood relief columns of the Sapta Shakti Command of the Indian Army were called upon by the State Administration for rescue operation in the heavily flooded areas in Kota and Jhalawar.
"The children and teachers are safe and the school management has shifted them to another building of the school. They can be rescued when the water level comes down, a district administration official said, adding that arrangements of food and water have been made.
If the water level does not come down by Monday, they might be airlifted, he said.
The meteorological department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Baran, Chittorgarh, Jhalawar and Kota districts during the next 24 hours.
Kota is facing an unprecedented situation as it is the first time since the construction of the Gandhi Sagar dam that a record 6.93 lakh cusecs of water has been discharged from 19 gates of the Kota Barrage in a day, Kota district Collector Muktanand Agrawal told reporters.
Over 5,000 people have been evacuated so far in Kota and teams are conducting operations to rescue those stranded and take relief to the affected, officials said.
He said more water is likely to be discharged from the Gandhi Sagar dam which is currently overflowing at 1,314 ft and needs to be brought down to 1,308 ft.
"The army, administration, NDRF, SDRF and civil defence teams are on alert to meet any eventuality," he said, and appealed to people to ignore rumours of damage to dams. Both Gandhi Sagar and Kota Barrage are fully safe and secure, the official said.
The down stream localities in Kota city were the worst affected by the deluge, as water reached even the second floor of houses and people were taking shelter on the third floor of buildings to save themselves, officials said.
