19 villages submerged in Chhattisgarh

Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, Aug 5 (UNI) At least 19 villages were submerged and 110 others marooned following floods in Indrawati, Godawari and Shabri rivers in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district while incessant rains hampered rescue and relief operations, official reports said today.

Two helicopters of the Indian Air Force sent by the Centre from Gorakhpur to assist the BJP-ruled state to tide over the flood situation could not take off from here today due to bad weather.

The state government helicopter, carrying PHED Minister Kedar Kashyap, Leader of the Opposition Mahendra Karma and Congress MLA Kawasi Lakma, returned immediately after it took off from here for Konta due to bad weather, official sources said.

Communication network remain crippled in the naxalite-infested district with road, rail, telephone and electric supply disrupted.

The exact number of affected villages and the fate of the marooned people were not yet known due to communication problem, official sources said.

While flood waters entered Errabore, Injaram and few other police stations, about 300 people, mostly students, had taken shelter at Bedre police station as the schools and Ashrams were inundated. Several people had been put up at Kutru school.

Indefinite holiday has been declared for all schools in Dantewada district since yesterday.

With telephone services crippled, senior officials, including Divisional Commissioner and District Collectors, were not accessible. Police wireless system remained the only mode of communication in the heavily forested region, worst affected by naxalite activities.

With no government machinery reaching out to the affected, the villagers themselves were managing the crisis.

Though there was a break in rains today, water level of Indrawati, Shabari, Godawari and other rivers was rising. Boats requisitioned from Andhra Pradesh were yet to reach.

Many residents from low-lying areas on the bank of Indrawati river here had also been shifted due to floods.

UNI Team-SP 1242