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.

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