State gets flood respite after rain stops
COUNTING LOSSES The state government has assessed a loss of ₹1,563 crore in the four floodaffected districts, to seek assistance from the Centre
The situation in the flood-affected districts of southwestern Rajasthan has started normalizing and the water level has begun receding as there has been no rain for last three days.
The state government has assessed the loss of ₹1,563 crore in four flood-affected districts – Jalore, Sirohi, Pali and Barmer. The state has prepared a memorandum to be submitted to the central government demanding assistance for crop loss, agricultural subsidy etc.
“With no rains in the last twothree days, the situation has started improving. No casualty or rescue call has been reported. Road connectivity with the district has been restored and water from Jawai Dam, now is being released in a controlled manner,” district collector of Jalore Laxmi Narayan Soni said.
He said that some people are still stranded in Chitalwana, which is a low-lying area, and have refused to be evacuated as they have cattle. Food packets have been dropped at such locations by chopper.
In Barmer, the water level has started receding but despite this, thousands of people and livestock are stranded. Many villages are still inundated in water and road connectivity has been disrupted in the affected areas. Rescue and relief operations are being carried out by NDRF, SDRF and administrative teams.
Hundred cattle rearers and thousands of sheep are also stranded in the Rann of Bhakhasar for last five days. Officials said that with the beginning of the rainy season they move towards Gujarat through this area but due to heavy rainfall they got stuck. Rescue teams tried to relocate them to safer areas but they refused to leave behind their cattle. In absence of adequate resources to shift the people and their cattle, relief is being provided on the spot.
Barmercollector Shivprasad Nakate confirmed the news and said that people have refused to leave their cattle. He said that a similar situation is there in Gudamalani, Dhorimanna, Siwana
and Samdari areas in the district. He said that all measures are being taken to ensure their security.
“We have also arranged drone cameras to ensure that no one gets stuck in flood-hit areas or in sensitive zones,” he added.
“Now that rain has stopped there are chances of epidemic spreading in the region. We are taking preventive measures to control it. Various teams — medical, veterinary, revenue and agricultural —have been formed to control the situation,” he said.
Heavy rains between June 15 and July 30 has affected 8.34 lakh hectare land and 1290 villages, mostly in Jalore, Sirohi, Pali and Barmer.
Around 43 people and 5699 animals lost their life in rain related incidents. During the same period 4,618 houses were fully damaged and 5,518 partially.