« July 2006 | Main | September 2006 »

August 19, 2006

Floods grips western Madhya Pradesh, three killed

THE HINDU, AUGUST 19, 2006

Bhopal, Aug. 19 (PTI): The fury of floods gripped western Madhya Pradesh, throwing life out of gear today as three fresh casualties were reported from Ratlam, taking the death toll in rain-related incidents to 84.

Though rains abated in the eastern region, the western part of the state was pounded by heavy downpours, inundating low-lying areas in Mandsaur, Ujjain, Ratlam, Shajapur, Neemuch and Indore, officials said.

An 18-year-old youth, identified as Laxman, drowned in a canal near Sarvan village of Ratlam district, while a woman died in a wall collapse at Barkheda village, they said, adding that the body of a man swept away by gushing rain water was recovered near Pichwada village in the district.

Passengers of a bus trapped in a flooded rivulet were rescued by villagers near Sailana in Ratlam, officials said.

Three persons were saved by local residents at Basodia village after their jeep was washed away by strong currents of a canal.

Following incessant rains, 18 big and nine small gates of Gandhi Sagar dam in Mandsaur district were opened, flooding many villages and low-lying areas nearby, they said.

While volume of rainfall recorded in Mandsaur district was 171 mm since yesterday, it was 153 mm in Ujjain, 107 mm in Shajapur, 104 mm in Neemuch, 92 mm in Hoshangabad, 76 mm in Indore, 55 mm in Bhopal and 38 mm in Raisen.

Posted by bhola at 06:47 PM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2006

Catholic Church brings relief to Indian flood victims

UCANEWS, AUGUST 18, 2006

JABALPUR, India (UCAN) – A Catholic prelate has asked his people to contribute generously to flood relief in their central Indian state.

Jesuit Archbishop Pascal Topno of Bhopal told UCA News the Church is now busy helping people affected by what he said is the worst flooding he has seen there, brought on by heavy rain beginning Aug. 13.

As of Aug. 17, the rain and floods had claimed 73 lives in the state, including 21 in Bhopal, the most severely affected area. The city, 750 kilometers (about 465 miles) south of New Delhi, is the Madhya Pradesh capital.

Archbishop Topno, 74, heads the Catholic Church in the state. Under his direction Bhopal Archdiocese has focused all its resources on relief work among the more than 500,000 affected people in its territory. According to government reports, flooding has destroyed more than 5,000 shanties.

The Church, Archbishop Topno said, has focused its efforts on the impoverished shanty areas. He cited lack of funds as a major handicap. "I have sent letters to all Catholic institutions in the archdiocese to contribute generously to help the affected people," he reported, adding that the archdiocese would ask district authorities to designate areas for the church to conduct relief work or assist in other ways.

Father P. Soosai, who directs the archdiocese's social-service agency, told UCA News the church has opened two temporary shelters and provided food and clothing. It now is trying to arrange medical help for the people, he added.

The priest said he has asked various donor agencies for urgent assistance. According to him, rebuilding houses is "a big task," since the people have nobody else to help them.

Sister Annie Joseph, who works among the flood victims, said church people now fear an epidemic could break out and have found no proper place to set up a medical camp. The Dominican Missionary Sisters of the Rosary nun told UCA News the people affected the most are poor slum dwellers.

Even where floodwaters have receded, dirt, silt and debris make it difficult to reach people, according to Deepak Ekka, who works with the archdiocesan social-service center.

Some displaced people talked with UCA News about their plight.

Laxmi Bai said she was grateful to the church for providing them food and clothes. The 30-year-old mother of five said that after the water level rose suddenly and destroyed their hut, they had nowhere to go. Her family now stays with about 2,000 other people at a church shelter.

A daily-wage earner, Ranjita Khoge, said the only help they received came from church people. The 30-year-old mother of two bemoaned that no one from the government "bothered to visit us," even after two days of flooding.

Sabhir Bai, 55, another woman at the Church shelter, said she had gone to the local member of the municipal council for help. "He asked us to provide him with photographs of the destroyed house along with photos of each family member," she reported. She added that her 10-member family stayed in the open before coming to the church shelter.

Posted by bhola at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)

Chouhan's flood sops ridiculed by even BJP

INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE, AUGUST 18, 2006

Bhopal, Aug 18 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's announcement of a Disaster Management Authority to provide immediate relief to the flood-hit has had quite the counter effect with even his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) colleagues mocking him for it.

'The details for constituting a Disaster Management Authority would be worked out in a month,' the chief minister declared earlier this week after visiting flood-hit areas in this state capital.

But the problem is immediate with about 75 people being killed in heavy rains that have lashed Bhopal and surrounding areas since Sunday.

Asked an indignant leader of Chouhan's BJP: 'The problem is staring at you in the face and you are talking about something that will take months to take concrete shape. What about the present?'

For former chief minister Uma Bharati, who broke away from the BJP to form the Bharatiya Janashakti (BJ) party, Chouhan's announcement gives her the ammunition she needs.

'If the government fails to provide succour to the flood victims in 24 hours, BJ workers led by their state president Raghunandan Sharma will demonstrate outside the state secretariat,' she said.

'Disaster management is thought of and done in advance and not after the problem has assumed epidemic proportions,' said Bharati, who reached Bhopal after touring flood affected areas.

Charging the government with doing nothing to redress the grievances of the 'have-nots' uprooted by the deluge, she added: 'See their plight. They are starving and this government has not been able to provide them food and shelter. It is worse than Congress rule. I am shocked.'

While unofficial estimates put the death toll of the floods at 75, including about 15 in Bhopal alone, and 12 missing, the government admits to only 63 dead with 10 missing.

'Over 1,000 cattle are also reported dead and 27,488 houses have been fully or partially damaged following heavy rains that have lashed most parts of the state since Sunday night,' said an official.

Scores of villages in Hoshangabad, Guna and Balaghat districts are still surrounded by floodwaters.

About 40,000 people have taken shelter in relief camps put up by the administration across the state. And with the weather office predicting more rains, their woes are only going to deepen.

In such a scenario, Chouhan's announcement of permanent authority that will come into effect much, much later is just too little too late.

Posted by bhola at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)

August 17, 2006

Rain-related death toll in Madhya Pradesh rises to 73

ZEE NEWS, AUGUST 16, 2006

Bhopal, Aug 16: The death toll in rain-related incidents in Madhya Pradesh rose to 73 today with two fresh casualties due to lightning in Seoni district and recovery of six bodies in Bhopal.

While moderate rainfall was reported in Ujjain division, rest of the state remained almost dry allowing water level in swollen rivers to recede and road traffic to resume, sources said here

Amidst relief operations, helicopters were used to shift around 46 of the 200 villagers of Kheda in Guna district, marooned by Parvati river, they said adding two persons were moved to safer places by helicopter in Hoghara Ghat in Rajgarh district.

A woman and her nine-year-old son were killed after being struck by lightning in Barsoda village of Seoni, police said.

Six bodies were fished out from different rivulets here raising the death toll in Bhopal to 21, Superintendent of Police A K Singh said.

As rains ebbed, water receded in low-lying areas and people were moving out of relief camps while road traffic was restored in Sehore, Sagar, Vidisha, Chhindwara and Seoni districts.

Neemuch received a maximum rainfall of eight cm since yesterday, while six cm rainfall was recorded in Javad, five cm in Lanjhi, four cm in Bhanpura and three cm each in Jaora and Sailana, MET department said, issuing a warning of heavy rainfall in Jabalpur division in next 24 hours.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reviewed relief measures and asked officials to ensure proper electricity and water supply to flood-affected areas, besides seeking assistance of ngos in relief work.

Water from Narmada river gushed into three villages situated on its banks after 12 gates of Indira Sagar dam were opened yesterday, sources said.

Road connection to gujari village was cut off as a bridge in Punasa block was damaged due to rising water level, they said adding administrative officials were keeping a vigil over the situation and adequate precautions have been taken to prevent any loss of life or property.

MP seeks Rs 650 crore crore from Centre for rain relief

Madhya Pradesh, hit hard by the recent devastating rains, on Wednesday sought Rs 650 crore financial assistance from the Centre for immediate relief and reconstruction work in 18 affected districts.

"I am sending a letter to the centre seking Rs 650 crore assistance for relief and reconstruction operations on the basis of preliminary estimates of loss caused by heavy rains," Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told reporters here today.

In order to press the demand for central help to deal with the `crisis`, Chouhan said he will visit Delhi on August 18 to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and apprise them about the destruction caused by heavy downpour.

While a detailed survey was being carried out to assess exact loss, according to preliminary estimates, the loss caused by the week-long rains amounted to Rs 650 crore, he said adding crops worth Rs 200 crore and private properties valued at Rs 200 crore were destroyed in the rains.

Similarly, Rs 100 crore loss was caused due to damage to roads, while government properties worth Rs 50 crore and were damaged and other loss amounted to Rs 100 crore, Chouhan said.

Stating that relief was being carried out on a war footing the Chief Minister said financial assistnce to each affected family had been raised from rs 1000 to rs 2000 and every family will be given 50 kg foodgrains and five litres of kerosene.

An amount of Rs 18,000 each would be given to people whose houses were destroyed and Rs 20,000 each to the landless who were left shelterless due to rains in 18 affected districts.

BHOPAL CENTRAL CHRONICLE, AUGUST 16, 2006

MP seeks Rs 650 crores central aid

Bhopal, Aug 16: In view of the flood situation in Madhya Pradesh, the state government has sought Rs 650 crore central assistance of which Rs 300 crore are required immediately. "A letter is being prepared and I will endeavour to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on August 18. I hope that the Centre will impartially extend assistance as it has done for Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh," Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan told journalists here this evening.

Crop damage is in the range of Rs 200 crore, private property - Rs 200 crore, bridges - Rs 100 crore and Rs 150 crore worth of other property.

1 crore = 100 lakhs = 10 million rupees. For comparison, UK £1 is today trading at 88.25 rupees, the US $ is worth Rs 46.55 and the Euro is worth Rs 59.76.

Posted by bhola at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2006

Toll in rain and flood related incidents in MP reaches 55

THE HINDU, AUGUST 15, 2006

New Delhi, Aug 15. (UNI): Overnight downpours that lashed Bhopal and the surrounding districts of Madhya Pradesh killed twenty more people taking the toll to 55 today, while the flood situation remained grim in North Karnataka with Krishna river still in spate.

Six people remain missing in Madhya Pradesh and with three more bodies recovered overnight, the number of deaths in the State Capital alone climbed to 15. Five people were killed and seven hurt in Hoshangabad district.

With the wet spell slackening in Bhopal and the neighbouring districts, the situation has improved but scores of villages are surrounded by floodwater in Hoshangabad, Guna and Balaghat districts.

Soldiers are aiding the civil administration in Hoshangabad as water from the Hathedi, Kevlari and Khedi rivers cut off Rajeda, Bamangaon and Khediahir villages trapping at least 1,000 people.

In eastern Madhya Pradesh, about 50 villages are cut off in Balaghat district. The water level in the area's chief river Benganga rose followed by release of water from the Bheemgarh dam in neighbouring Seoni district.

Following an increase in the release of water from Maharashtra, the inflow into Krishna river rose to 3.92 lakh cusecs. 58 villages continued to remain marooned, while 28 others were partially affected. The situation remained grim as 4.26 lakh people were affected in the taluks of Chikodi, Raibag and Athni.

Meanwhile, Vadodara district administration today dispatched a truck-load of food packets to the flood-affected people in Surat.

As many as 14,686 food packets, 1,115 packets of biscuits and 11,287 water pouches were dispatched. Cash doles, totalling Rs 38.88 lakh, were disbursed to 82,500 flood-affected people in the district. Apart from this, a total amount of Rs 109.50 lakh was disbursed to those whose houses had been damaged in the floods. An average of Rs 1,250 per person has been given as cash dole so far.

Posted by bhola at 08:14 PM | Comments (0)

Record rain kills 11 in Bhopal

ISTTIMES NEWS NETWORK, AUGUST 15, 2006

BHOPAL: Eleven people were killed and more than 12 went missing following heavy rains since Sunday night. Bhopal received 29 cm of rain in a span of five hours, a record unheard of in the past 70 years, MET sources said.

The Madhya Pradesh government has sought Army's help to evacuate people from the low-lying areas which have been inundated. Power supply to many areas of the state capital has been snapped.

To protest against the local administration's inept handling of the situation, local residents of the city came out on streets.

At Kachchi Chhola in old Bhopal, angry mob indulged in stone pelting when a relief operation team reached the spot on Monday.

Meteorological office said more rainfall is expected as a depression in Bay of Bengal is advancing in the north-east direction. In the next 48 hours, Bhopal is likely to get more heavy rains.

Met office said in 1973 Bhopal had recorded 27 cm of rainfall in 24 hours. It started drizzling around 10 pm on Sunday. By midnight, rains lashed across the city of lakes, sweeping away people and animals.

Five hours later, the massive lakes were overflowing. Though the meteorological office had warned of heavy showers 72 hours before it started, the state administration was not prepared for such a situation.

CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 for family members of each killed person. In Bairagarh area, a wall of the Sadhu Baswani College collapsed, killing five persons of a family.

At Barganga slum areas, a woman and her two children were washed away. Bodies of the infants were recovered, but the woman is still missing. Bodies of two more children were found in Panchsheel Nagar.

Sixty-five km away, the engine of the Mumbai-bound Gorakhpur Express derailed near Midghat railway station as rain waters flooded the tracks. No one was injured.

Posted by bhola at 05:32 PM | Comments (0)

August 14, 2006

11 killed in rain havoc, Army deployed in Bhopal

THE HINDU, AUGUST 14, 2006

Bhopal, Aug 14. (UNI): Army has been deployed in the State Capital today to assist the civil administration due to a grim situation caused by overnight heavy rains, killing at least 11 people and disrupting normal life across Madhya Pradesh.

Army jawans were deployed in resuce and relief operations in the flooded lowlying areas. At least 11 people were killed when the walls of their houses collapsed and in other related incidents. Six bodies had been recovered and five apprehended drowned as they were washed away in rain water, Bhopal Collector S K Mishra said.

Several houses had collapsed as the city received a record 30 cm rainfall overnight. Five people were killed, when the walls of their houses collapsed in Bairagarh area and another in Rahul Nagar.

Agitated slum dwellers staged a road blockade at many places protesting laxity of the administration in relief works and delay in cleaning the drains causing waterlogging.

Train traffic was disrupted as the engine of Rapti Sagar Express derailed last night near Midghat station in the Bhopal division of the West Central Railway and waterlogging of tracks near the State Capital. Many trains bound for south and western part were plying behind schedule.

Vehicular traffic from Bhopal to neighbouring areas remained paralysed, as flood water was flowing over bridges and culverts on many rivers and rivulets. Vehicular traffic was suspended on many routes including on Bhopal-Indore, Bhopal-Hoshangabad and Indore-Nagpur roads.

After many years, 12 gates of the Bhadbhada dam on the State capital's Upper Lake had been opened today due to heavy inflow and neighbouring districts alerted for a possible flood. A boundary wall of the Raj Bhavan had collapsed.

In the State Capital, many schools declared holiday as students and teachers could not reach due to heavy rains and disruption in traffic this morning.

At Hoshangabad, Narmada had crossed the danger mark. Few other rivers, including Parvati and Kalisindh, were in spate.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan is constantly monitoring the situation, official sources said.

Posted by bhola at 03:06 PM | Comments (0)

22 feared killed in Bhopal floods

INDO ASIAN NEWS SERVICE, AUGUST 14, 2006

Bhopal, Aug 14 (IANS) Incessant rains in the Madhya Pradesh capital caused havoc Monday with 22 people feared dead, several areas submerged and major trains halted outside the city as water flowed through the streets.

The army has been called in in several areas of flooded Bhopal, where several low-lying localities have been inundated and a wall of the governor's residence caved in. Three people are reported missing following the downpour that started Sunday midnight.

The capital has recorded over 4.5 inches of rainfall in the past 12 hours.

The situation is so grave that over a dozen trains, including the Rajdhani Express, the Bhopal Express, the Karnataka Express, the GT Express and the Kamayani Express have been stopped outside the city.

'They have been stopped because water at several places was overflowing. They would be allowed to enter Bhopal station only after the rainwater recedes,' said a railway official.

Irate people in several localities have taken to the streets and blockaded roads to protest the lack of amenities and proper drainage.

Water is as high as three to four feet in about 15 low lying areas.

Elsewhere in the state, three villages in western Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain district are partially flooded though the situation has improved in other parts with water levels receding.

According to the met department, heavy rains are expected in Sagar, Rewa and Jabalpur divisions over the next 24 hours.

Ujjain Sub-Divisional Commissioner Jaideep Govind said assessment of losses had begun and directions been given to disburse the relief amount today.

The town of Seoni has been cut off with water flowing four feet above the Seoni-Chhindwara road.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has called an emergency high level meeting to take stock the situation and discuss relief works being undertaken.

ADDITIONAL NEWS FROM NDTV

It has been raining heavily in Bhopal since morning, causing floods in at least 15 low lying areas with water as high as two feet in some parts.

Eight people have so far been killed in heavy rains while three others are reported missing.

Over one lakh cusecs of water was released from the Sanjay Sarovar dam into the Vainganga river in Madhya Pradesh through the night, due to which an alert has been sounded in Gondia.

According to the Met department this is the highest rainfall received by Bhopal in the last 30 years and more heavy rain is forecast.

Four people have also been washed away by floods in parts of Nagpur.

Posted by bhola at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)

August 03, 2006

Madhya Pradesh to woo global investors at road show

IANS, AUGUST 3. 2006

Bhopal, Aug 3 (IANS) Madhya Pradesh expects to attract additional investments of Rs.200 billion (over $4 billion) from its first road show, aimed at global players including NRIs, in New Delhi Friday.

The road show, where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will interact with industrialists and showcase the government's business potential, is a prelude to the Global Investors Summit-2007 planned here in January next year.

The chief minister will also inaugurate a website for the event.

The government hopes to attract NRI and other investors from the US, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, Singapore, China, Italy, said state Commerce and Industries Minister Babulal Gaur.

"Textile, biotechnology and processing of farm produce offer immense investment opportunities in the state," Gaur told IANS.

Similar road shows would also be organised in the US, Singapore, Japan and China and other places in near future, he said.

The task of marketing Madhya Pradesh globally has been given to industrial lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), which is preparing a strategy for a 'Second Generation Development Roadmap'.

Claiming that industrial projects to the tune of Rs.250-300 billion were going to start soon, a top official said work on some of these at Pithampur, Bina, Gwalior and Jabalpur had already begun.

By next year, the state plans to attract investments worth Rs.1 trillion while projects worth Rs.870 billion were under different phases of implementation.

The government has also constituted the Project Clearance and Implementation Board (PCIB) to speed up sanctions of proposals relating to private capital investments.

The board, headed by the state chief secretary, would comprise the principal secretaries of finance, revenue, commercial taxes, industries and employment and housing and environment departments along with the secretary to the chief minister as its members.

"We are getting a number of proposals from companies, groups and individuals for capital investments in industries, services, infrastructure and other enterprises in the state. Thus, an interdepartmental coordination and decision making body was necessary," a government official said.

"The constitution of the PCIB would enable the clearance of the proposals, submitted by the investors, in a coordinated manner," he added.

Posted by bhola at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)