Death toll hits 85 in Rajasthan, 123 in MP

New Delhi, Aug 26 (UNI) The death toll in flood-related incidents rose to 85 in Rajasthan with the possiblity of an epidemic outbreak looming large while the toll in Madhya Pradesh reached 123 today.

There had been extensive damage to crops, properties, roads and hutments in Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal in Jaipur said there should be no politics over distribution of compensation to the flood-affected people in Rajasthan.

''We should not indulge in politics over compensation. One cannot comment on the state's relief work in just three days.

We can assess it only after a week and then can talk about its efficiency,'' Mr Jaiswal said.

The most important need of the hour was to provide relief to the flood victims as the death toll may rise to 300, he added.

He also expressed concern over the outbreak of an epidemic in the flood-hit areas and said as the inhabitants of this desert regions are not accustomed to such rain-related diseases, they may easily fall prey to them and the state government should prepare contingency plans to prevent such epidemics.

The minister had toured the flood-affected districts of Barmer, Udaipur, Banswara and Jodhpur yesterday.

In Madhya Pradesh, the death toll touched 123 while seven people were still reported missing. Nearly 8,869 head of cattle also perished in the calamity.

More than 80,000 houses were damaged in the recent heavy rains and floods in more than half of the 48 districts, causing extensive damage to life and property.

Flood fury was at its worst in Bhopal and adjoining areas with death toll at 24, damage to 28,875 houses and 7065 cattle deaths.

About 2,000 affected people were still being given shelter in 17 camps in Mandsaur, Vidisha, Jhabua, Raisen and Khargone districts.

Meanwhile, light rainfall occurred at isolated parts in the state, while weather in rest of the state remained dry.

Monsoon remained active in northwest as moderate rains lashed many areas of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana during the past 24 hours.

While moderate rains lashed some areas in Punjab overnight, certain areas in Haryana also experienced rain.

Moderate to heavy rain lashed many areas in Himachal Pradesh, including mid and lower hills, triggering fresh landslides in the state. Some areas in Una, Kangra and Mandi districts reported heavy rainfall. All rivers, including the Beas, Sutlej and the Ravi and rivulets in the state were in spate.

Moderate rain lashed Chandigarh and its adjoining areas last night, providing respite to people from humid weather conditions.

In the national capital, the lull in rainfall activity, after a short burst of heavy showers on Wednesday, persisted even as Westerly winds continued to provide some relief from the warm and humid conditions.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 34.8 degrees Celsius.

Reports from Kolkata said, heavy rains and thundershowers were likely to lash sub-himalayan and ganjetic Bengal in the next 24 hours.

The Weatherman said the sky would remain generally cloudy and the city would experience a few spells of rains accompanied by thundershowers.

The maximum temperature was recorded at 32.5 degrees Celsius while the minimum was 26.6 degrees Celsius.

Rain or thundershowers are likely to occur at most places in east Uttar Pradesh and at many places in Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttaranchal, east Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Konkan, Goa and Andaman and Nicobar.

UNI Team KD RK1848