Indore : About 1,000 people, living in low-lying areas in the city, were evacuated and shifted to relief camps after their houses were inundated following incessant downpour on Sunday.
The rains that began on Saturday night and continued on Sunday threw life completely out of gear. Almost all areas of the city were submerged in rainwater and the worst-hit were low-laying areas.
“Nearly 1000 people have been shifted to relief camps in schools and community halls as low lying areas including Banganga, Chandraprabash Shekhar Nagar, Nandbagh etc were inundated,” Additional District Magistrate (ADM) Dipak Singh said.
Boats were used to evacuate the stranded people, he said. According to him, there were no reports of any casualty due to rains and the situation was under control. From 2 am to 4 pm, about 8 inch rainfall was recorded, on Sunday.
After a long dry spell, the rains had lashed the city on Saturday morning. Saturday witnessed light showers from morning to night and about one inch rainfall was recorded. About 2 am on Sunday, the rain fury began and threw life completely out of gear.
Heavy rains continued till 4 pm. After 4 pm, the rains stopped for some time but later in the evening, the showers began again.
According to Metrological Department, 463.1 mm (about 18.55 inch) rainfall was recorded in the city this monsoon so far. Last year till this date, about 176.8 mm rainfall was recorded. The weatherman predicted rains on Monday also.
Holiday declared in schools
Following the downpour and metrological department’s predication of heavy rains on Monday, the district administration sounded high alert in the city and declared holiday in schools from nursery to Class XII. Holidays were declared in aaganwadis too for Monday.
The district administration however directed the government school teachers to be present on Monday. They were told to participate in relief operations. Many people evacuated from low-lying areas are lodged in the government schools. The teachers have been told to take care of the evacuated people. Food arrangements were also made for them by the administration.
Power supply disrupted in 300 colonies
Power supply was disrupted in nearly 300 colonies following downpour. Main feeders in all the five divisions – east, west, north, south and central – witnessed technical snags due to which power supply got snapped in many colonies. Feeders in Khajrana, OPH (East), Goyal Nagar, Rajmohalla, Manoramaganj, Tilak Nagar, Satya Sai School, Sangam Nagar, Kalani Nagar, Subhash Chowk, Daly College, Electronic Complex, Sanver Road, Malwa Mill areas saw technical snags due to which power supply in colonies hooked with these feeders witnessed three to four hours of power cuts. About 25 colonies are hooked to each feeder.
House demolished in Dwarikapuri
Incessant rains caused heavy water logging in Dwarikapuri. The IMC deployed water pumps to drain out water but their efforts came to naught due to continuous rains. As the water level rose to 3 to 4 feet level and began to enter their houses, the residents complained to the Mayor that a two-story house was obstructing the draining of the water. Following the complaint and on the spot report by the IMC officials, the Mayor ordered the house to be demolished. The removal gang swung into action and demolished half portion of the house. This allowed the water to drain out immediately. Meanwhile, the IMC shifted the effected family to another place and arranged for their food and water.
Siphons OF Yeshwant Sagar opened
For the first time in the city’s history, all major water bodies of the city– Bilawali Lake, Limbodi Lake, Sipur Lake and Yeshwant Sagar etc were filled to the brim in just two days of rains. Normally it takes whole rainy season to fill these water bodies. Siphons of Yeshwant Sagar, which are usually opened towards the end of rainy season, were opened on Sunday just after two days of rains.
High Alert sounded
The district administration has sounded high alert in the city. All SDMs have been deployed to oversee evacuation of people from submerged areas. Officials of the IDA, IMC, Police and Homeguard have been pressed into service to assist in evacuation work. The high alert came after most parts of the city reportedly submerged due to incessant rains which began on Saturday morning.
