Heavy rains lash Chhattisgarh, cut off villages in interiors of Bastar

Heavy rains pounded parts of Chhattisgarh over the last two days, inundating roads and cutting off several villages in the interiors of the Bastar region, officials said on Tuesday.

District authorities have been asked to remain alert to deal with flood-like situations and launch relief measures, they said.

The Raipur Meteorological Centre on Tuesday warned of very heavy rainfall in Mungeli, Balod, Kabirdham, Rajnandgaon and Khairagarh-Chhuikhadan-Gandai districts and very heavy downpours in Durg, Bemetara, Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki and Bijapur in the in next 24 hours.

Several small rivers and rivulets are in spate, disrupting normal life in Bijapur, Dantewada, Sukma and Narayanpur districts.

State Forest Minister Kedar Kashyap, who hails from the Bastar region, has asked collectors and revenue officials of these four districts to be prepared with disaster-related measures to deal with waterlogging and floods, a government statement said.

The minister has also instructed officials to keep the disaster management centres in all district headquarters and tehsils active for 24 hours and take preventive measures against the spread of seasonal ailments, it said.

Officials have been directed to regularly monitor the water level in dams, reservoirs and bridges, it added.

More than 100 villages each in Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma districts were cut off due to incessant rains over the last two days and teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with police were deployed for timely evacuation of people stranded in floods, a government official said.

Several houses and standing crops were damaged in these districts, he said.

Heavy rains have resulted in flooding in low-lying areas in Sukma, where water was overflowing at many places on National Highway-30, and the authorities have deployed motor boats and Home Guard personnel to help people cross water-logged roads.

According to officials, residents of Chintalnar village were shifted to safer locations on Monday by Home Guard personnel.

Road transport from Dantewada to Katekalyan, Sukma and Bijapur was affected as water flowed above culverts and rivulets on these routes, they said.

Heavy rains also lashed Raipur, Kabirdham, Balod and Rajnandgaon districts over the last few days.

Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma visited Kholwa and Singhanpuri villages in the Sahaspur Lohara development block to take stock of the situation, the official said.

As per the data shared by the state’s revenue department, Chhattisgarh has recorded an average rainfall of 1050.8 mm since June 1 this year.

The highest rainfall of 2263.3 mm was recorded in Bijapur district, while Bemetara witnessed the lowest average rainfall of 537.0 mm during this period.