6,000 people evacuated as rains continue to lash Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: Ten people died as heavy rains continued to lash western part of Madhya Pradesh following which around 6,000 people were evacuated from inundated areas today.

District Additional Superintendent of Police A P Singh said that 12 members of three families living near Kaliya Dev Nullah at village Khandawad, some 140 km from Sehore district headquarters, were swept away by rain water early in the morning.

Bodies of eight people have been fished out while the rest are missing, the police official said.

After receiving the information, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan rushed to Sehore, his home district, and consoled family members of the deceased. He also announced a financial help of Rs 2 lakh each to the family members of the deceased, the police official said.

Meanwhile, an unidentified body was found floating in the Kshipra river in Ujjain district which received 20 inches rainfall in the last 24 hours, the police official said, adding, that many parts of the district are inundated with rain water.

Ujjain Collector Kavindra Kiyawat said that 5,000 people have been evacuated and shifted to 13 relief camps. He said that schools in the district would remain closed tomorrow due to the continuing downpour, especially since Kshipra river is flowing five feet above the danger mark at Badnagar bridge.

In a related development, a three-year-old boy slipped into a drain and drowned near the Guru Nanak Timber market area in Indore, authorities said, adding, that 1,000 people have been evacuated from flooded areas and shifted to relief camps.