Rain havoc kills 55 persons in MP

Bhopal, Aug 15 (UNI) Twenty persons have died and seven injured in weather-related incidents caused by downpours that began lashing Bhopal and surrounding districts since August 13 while the season's overall death toll in Madhya Pradesh is 55.

Six persons remain missing here and with three more bodies being recovered overnight, the number of fatalities in the state capital alone climbed to 15. Five persons were killed and seven hurt in Hoshangabad district.

With the wet spell slackening in Bhopal and neighbouring districts, the situation has improved but scores of villages are surrounded by floodwater in Hoshangabad, Guna and Balaghat districts.

Soldiers are aiding the civilian administration in Hoshangabad as water from the Hathedi, Kevlari and Khedi rivers cut off Rajeda, Bamangaon and Khediahir villages trapping at least 1,000 persons.

Mohammad Anees, Salma and a girl Gulnaz were killed and seven injured after a house wall collapsed at Itarsi.

A woman's corpse was found at Hoshangabad district headquarters while aged Gajraj's body was recovered at Piparia. Both of them had been swept away in a river. The Hoshangabad-Khandwa road is still blocked while the Hoshangabad-Pachmarhi road has been rendered operational.

The Regional Meteorological Centre has issued a warning of heavy rain in Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain and Hoshangabad divisions over the next 24 hours.

In eastern Madhya Pradesh, about 50 villages are cut off in Balaghat district. The situation was created by a rise in the level of the area's chief river Benganga, caused by release of water from the Bheemgarh dam in neighbouring Seoni district.

The Bagh river, which is in spate, inundated two bridges thereby severing Balaghat's links with Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

A UNI report from Guna spoke of eight persons sheltering in a temple since yesterday at the flood-ravaged Kandikhedi village.

The overflowing Parvati river has also surrounded Baniyatoda and Raghunathpura villages. A motorboat has been requisitioned from here to rescue villagers.

''Arrangements were made to house people in the state capital's relief camps but the affected persons left for their homes after collecting food packets. About 51,000 were distributed and roughly 1.5 lakh persons affected,'' said Bhopal Collector S K Mishra.

The damaged Bina track was repaired and train movement began on the up track late last night while the down track was already functional. Flights are back on schedule as water receded from the local airport's runway.

UNI Team-AC 1612