The heaviest downpours in more than three decades flooded large parts of the capital of the desert state of Rajasthan , leaving eight people dead and forcing the administration to shut down schools.
At least 14 people, including eight in Jaipur, two each in Jaipur rural and Dholpur and Dausa, were killed in the rain across the state.
The downpour in Jaipur that lasted for two hours on Tuesday midnight saw 17cm rainfall, the highest in a day since July 23, 1981 when 32.6cm was recorded. Flights were disrupted early on Wednesday as Jaipur airport was flooded. The runway was cleared later in the day.
Besides the Pink City, several other places in Rajasthan witnessed heavy rains with Niwai near Tonk receiving the highest rainfall of 25cm, followed by Sapotara and Sawaimadhopur 21cm each, Udaipurwati and Lalsoth 19cm, Laxmangarh 18cm, Neem Ka Thana 16cm, Shahpura 15cm, Amer and Malsidar 14cm each, Viratnagar and Behror 13cm each.
Rail and road transport was disrupted across the state. While trains were running late, several buses were cancelled, especially the ones going to Agra as the highway was flooded. District officials were put on alert with the Met department predicting more rainfall in the coming days.
The heavy rain washed away the railings of the Man Sagar lake near the Jal Mahal in Jaipur. Several vehicles got stranded near Jal Mahal. Many low-lying areas in Jaipur were flooded and power supply was hit. At least 200 houses in and around Jaipur collapsed and more than 2,000 people were evacuated.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called up CM Ashok Gehlot, who directed senior state officials to speed up relief operations.
No comments:
Post a Comment