MP flood toll 86; loss Rs 1,000 cr

Bhopal, Aug 21 (UNI) A vigorous monsoon has caused extensive loss of life and property in Madhya Pradesh, claiming at least 86 lives while seven are missing.

More than 8,600 heads of cattle also perished and nearly 65,000 houses were damaged by flooding in half of the state's 48 districts, official sources said today.

Incidentally, the highest, 21 fatalities and damage to about 29,000 houses was reported in Bhopal, which received a record 30 cm rainfall late on August 13.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said preliminary estimates put the loss at about Rs 1,000 crore.

Only 14 districts in the northern and eastern parts of the state received less than normal, but not scanty precipitation. Jhabua, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ujjain and Badwani recorded above normal rain, already crossing the annual average.

Downpours caused loss of 15 lives, 790 cattle and damaged 15,000 houses in Badwani.

Though there was a let-up in rains, almost all reservoirs in the state attained full-tank level and release of water from dams flooded different districts. Nearly 120 relief camps were opened at different places to give shelter to about 19,000 persons.

About 600 families in 32 villages in Mandsaur district were affected as the reservoir level of the Gandhi Sagar dam, on the Chambal, touched the maximum 1,312 ft. All sluice gates were opened.

Release of water from Rajasthan's Kota Barrage on the Chambal also caused a flood situation in Morena district.

In Shajapur district, where three persons were killed, the loss to property was estimated at above Rs 1 crore. Besides crops, houses, transformers, water structures, roads and culverts were also damaged.

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