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After unprecedented flooding in the desert state of Rajasthan, a central team is conducting an assessment of the flood situation there. Meanwhile, the government has announced immediate relief of Rs 3.5 billion for Barmer and Jaisalmer, two districts that were badly hit by the recent floods
Districts in south Rajasthan have become the latest in the state to be affected by unprecedented flooding in the desert state. The Indian government has announced immediate flood relief of Rs 3.5 billion for the districts of Barmer and Jaisalmer that were ravaged by the previous bout of floods. A central team is currently visiting the state to conduct a spot assessment of the situation in these and other flood-affected areas.
On September 4, though the rains eased in Banswara, Dungarpur and Udaipur they continued to beat down on Jhalawar and Kota districts. Around 300 people trapped in a temple in Chapiheda village were shifted to safety.
With rivers and dams overflowing, over 5 lakh cusecs of water have been released from the Kota barrage into the Chambal river, which is now in spate. The government has asked people to evacuate low-lying areas and villages on the banks of the Chambal.
Since September 1, heavy flooding due to incessant rains has disrupted life in the districts of Kota, Jhalawar, Baran, Dungarpur, Udaipur and Banswara. Road links to over two dozen villages in Jhalawar district and the highway between Kota and Indore in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh have been badly damaged.
On September 3, a nine-member central team began a visit to assess the damage to crops and property and loss of human lives in 12 flood-affected districts of Rajasthan. Arriving in Udaipur, the team, led by senior home ministry official D K Sikri, was divided into two groups. Five officers started their survey in Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara and Chittorgarh; the other four went to Barmer, Sirohi, Jalore and Pali. After an aerial survey of flood-hit areas in Barmer district, the second team went on to Jaisalmer.
Team members also interacted with the district administration and received memoranda from various groups of villagers. Relief and Disaster Management Secretary R K Meena is accompanying the central team on its tour.
According to Meena, relief operations had been stepped up in Barmer where life was returning to normal. Efforts were also on to drain water from Malva and Kawas villages. Ten days after the worst floods in living memory, Kawas and Malva are still submerged in over eight feet of water. The state government is planning to relocate these villages.
This monsoon, 12 districts in Rajasthan -- Udaipur, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Rajsamand, Jhalawar, Kota, Barmer, Jalore, Pali, Sirohi and Jaisalmer -- were affected by some of the worst ever floods to hit the state.
The desert district of Barmer was the worst affected -- over 800,000 people out of a total population of 2 million were affected by the heavy rains.
The overflowing Chambal has also caused thousands of people to flee their homes in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Over a dozen villages have been cut off in the Raya area that borders Rajasthan, where unexpected floods have led to 300,000 cusecs of water being released from dams.
On September 4, locals said they were caught unawares as water from the river rushed into their homes, forcing them to climb hillocks. The floodwaters swept away livestock, and with water levels continuing to rise people have started trekking miles, carrying children and luggage on top of their heads to reach safer ground.
The villagers say they have received little help from the government and are surviving on wild roots. Others like Lakhan Singh, a debt-ridden farmer, fear worse times ahead as they watch the destruction of acres of pearl millet crop, the main harvest in the region. "Our village is submerged. Our cattle was washed away. There is no relief, no food. People are sitting atop small hills to keep safe," Singh said.
Source: ANI, September 4, 2006
The Hindu, September 3, 2006
www.ndtv.com, September 2, 2006
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