Over 5,000 evacuated from Rajashan's Kota as release of dam water causes flooding; no casualties reported

Kota: Over 5,000 people were evacuated while many others remained stranded on rooftops on Sunday as large areas were flooded in the city due to discharge of 6.93 lakh cusecs of water from Kota barrage, officials said. Schools have been closed and Army, NDRF, SDRF and teams from Kota municipal corporation (KMC) engaged in rescue operations in areas along the river Chambal. [caption id=“attachment_7344461” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Army personnel carry out rescue operation in a flood affected area in Kota, Rajasthan. PTI[/caption] “Over 5,000 people have so far been shifted to shelter homes and safe places. However, people are still trapped in many areas and efforts are being made to evacuate them with the help of Army and rescue personnel,” Kota district collector Muktanand Agrawal told reporters on Sunday evening. No causality has been reported so far, he said. The official said Kota was facing an unprecedented situation as it is the first time since the construction of Gandhi Sagar dam that a record 6.93 lakh cusecs of water was discharged from 19 gates of the Kota barrage in a day. He said more water is likely to be discharged from Gandhi Sagar dam which is currently overflowing at 1,314 ft and needs to be brought down to 1,308 ft. “The Army, administration, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and civil defence teams are on alert to meet any eventuality,” he said He also appealed to people to ignore rumours of damage to dams and said both Gandhi Sagar and Kota barrage are fully safe and secure. Around 500 policemen and 200 NDRF, SDRF and civil defense personnel have been deployed. Meanwhile, additional chief secretary and Kota district in charge secretary PK Goyal, along with divisional commissioner LN Soni and Kora range IG Vipin Panday, visited the flood affected areas. Collector Agrawal too reviewed the flood situation with officials. The down stream localities in the city were the worst affected by the deluge, as water reached even the second floor of houses and people were taking shelter on the third floor of buildings to save themselves, officials said. “The situation following release of 7.50 lakh cusec water from Kota barrage is very serious and grave,” said assistant fire officer, KMC, Devendra Gautam, who is engaged in the rescue operation. People are being asked to evacuate, but most of the them are not ready to leave their houses and have climbed on rooftops to save themselves, he added. Meanwhile, the situation improved in downstream areas of Jhalawar district which were flooded due to discharge of about 5 lakh cusecs of waster from Kalisindh dam in the district. As the discharge was brought down to 2 lakh cusecs, food waters receded. “The flood situation is under control. No one in the district is reported trapped,” Jhalawar district collector Siddharth Sihag said. In Baran, district collector Indra Singh Rao has declared a holiday in schools on Monday. Bundi district collector Rukmani Riyad Sihag also appealed the people to move away from areas near Chambal. Meanwhile, Lok Sabha Speaker and Kota-Bundi MP Om Birla remained in touch with senior state officials on the flood relief operations.