Madhya Pradesh: 18 Damoh villages cut off after heavy rain

BHOPAL: As many as 18 villages of Damoh district are cut off from the rest of state with the first spell of heavy rain damaging damaging many connecting roads.


With no schools, health services and big market in these villages, the villagers are waiting for the water level to recede.

In all, more than 15,000 people are affected as water is flowing several feet over the Padghat bridge, a meeting point of two seasonal rivers- all of them in spate.

The drought-prone Bundelkhand district of Damoh has been witnessing good rain for the past 48 hours. In the last 24 hours, Damoh recorded 184mm of rainfall.

“The Padghat bridge is a meeting point of Gouraiya and Mahala rivers and the water released from a small dam nearby also meets at the same point leading to flooding of the 20-year-old bridge,” said Bhola Yadav, a resident of Bundela village.

Rajendra Kevat, another villager said: “the bridge is under water for most of the monsoon period.”

The villagers are part of the Tendukheda block of Damoh district. The average distance of these villages is about 10km from Tendukheda town where the villagers come to sell milk and vegetables.

“All the teachers of the middle and primary schools live in Tendukheda and they are not able to cross the bridge. Besides, the children from the affected villages come to Tendukheda in higher secondary schools and other private educational institutions,” said Bhola adding there are some sub-health centres in the villages where paramedical staff visits, the main government hospital is situated in Tendukheda.

“We will inform the higher authorities about the issue. I have already directed block medical officer to ensure medical facilities at the sub-health centres of the affected villages. Besides, the janpad panchayat officials have been directed to ensure other basic facilities in the villages,” sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Gagan Bisen said.