Normal life affected in Rajasthan as heavy rainfall continues
The rains in Rajasthan have led to widespread waterlogging, diversion of major trains, closure of schools, overflow in the dams, and damage in crop production
Normal life was affected in Rajasthan on Monday due to heavy downpours in the last three days that led to widespread waterlogging, diversion of major trains, closure of schools, overflow in the dams, and damage in crop production.
The Meteorological Department, Jaipur, on Monday again issued orange and yellow alerts warnings of moderate to heavy rainfall in 16 districts across the state - Pali, Jodhpur, Jalore, Sirohi, Dungarpur, Banswara, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Ajmer, and Dausa - in the next 24 hours.
According to the weather department data, at least seven districts recorded over 100mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours- of which Dungarpur’s Nithwa had the highest 205mm of extremely heavy rainfall.
“Since the water level at the bridge no. 502 located between the Bharuch-Ankleshwar railway section in the Baroda division of the Western Railway was running over the danger mark, the Jaipur-Mumbai up and down trains were cancelled. Both up and down trains of the Jodhpur-Bandra, Ajmer-Dadar, Bikaner-Dadar, and the Chandigarh-Bandra routes were also partially suspended on Monday,” said an official of the North-Western railways familiar with the matter.
The district education officer of Jaore issued an advisory on Sunday night stating that “all the government and private schools as well as the anganwadis in the district will remain closed on Monday due to the warning of heavy rainfall across the district.”
Heavy rainfall in Banswara on Sunday night reportedly claimed the lives of around seven people. Three of the deceased died by drowning in the canals while others lost their lives when a building collapsed in the district.
The state water sector data also revealed that 72 percent of all the 688 dams in the state were already filled up to the brim due to heavy rainfall- of which 184 dams have already filled up completely.
“Eight gates of the Kota Barrage were opened up to 72 feet on Monday to release over 85 thousand cusecs of water per hour as the water level of the dam with a capacity of 260.30m reached 259.86m. Following the incident, the district administration issued an alert for the lower areas of the Chambal river,” said an official familiar with the matter.
In its first, five gates of the Gandhi Sagar Dam were also opened on Sunday to release around 95,000 cusecs of water. The water level of the dam reached 1,310.15m against its capacity of 1,312m.
Six gates of Pali’s Jawai Dam were also opened on Monday when 99.8 percent of the dam was filled up, putting the district administration and the villages in the vicinity on high alert.
The water level at Banswara’s Mahi Bajaj dam on Monday reached 280.80m against its capacity of 281.50m. At least 16 gates of the dam were already opened on Sunday to release the water, the state water sector data said.
The Tonk district administration has also been on high alert since Monday as the Bisalpur Dam with a capacity of 315.50m-reached 313.74m due to the overflow of the Tribeni River.
According to the official data, the gates of Rana Pratap Sagar Dam, Jawahar Sagar Dam, Kalisindh Dam, Som Kamla Amba Dam, and Mansi Vakal Dam were also opened to release the water.
Around 165 hectares of monsoon crop production were also reportedly damaged in the state due to the heavy rainfall in the last three days.
Meanwhile, the director of the Jaipur Met Department, Radhe Shyam Sharma said, “The low-pressure area over south-eastern Rajasthan turned into a circulation system on Monday and is currently situated over southern Rajasthan. As this system gradually moves towards southwestern Rajasthan on Tuesday, heavy rainfall is likely to continue in some parts of Barmer, Jalore, and Jaisalmer. However, the rainfall might reduce in the state from Wednesday.”