Madhya Pradesh: Dewas administration starts survey of damage caused due to floods

INDORE: Following the much-needed relief from heavy and continuous rainfall that ultimately resulted in receding level of Narmada River and other water-bodies in the last two days, local administration in the flood-affected

Dewas district

on Monday started a survey of the damage caused due to fury of monsoon.

According to Dewas collector

Chandramauli Shukla

, a team has been constituted to compile a data of losses/damage of residential structures, household items, livestock and other items reported due to incessant rainfall reported on August 29, 30 and releasing access of water from

Tawa

and Bargi Dam that inflated Narmada River that ultimately led to flood in villages situated alongside its bank in Dewas.

He added that increasing backwater of nullahs flowing through low-lying areas of Dewas and increasing water level of Jamner River had further worsened the situation in Nemawar and adjacent localities.

The survey team has been ordered to visit the flood-affected around 40 villages including

Bijalgaon

,

Chichli

,

Karondmafi

,

Dundhyakhedi

,

Akavyala

, Pipalneria, Kundgaonkhurd, Daiyat Murjhal, Turnal, Mavasi, Bapchaya, Khidkiya, Navalgaon, Ganjanpur, Nimanpur, Mandleshwar, Mirjapur, Jamner, Rajor and Navada. Prima facie, partial/complete damage to around 230 residential structures have been reported while about 15,000 people have been affected due to incessant rains and flood in Dewas but no death was so far reported.

Local administration has claimed to have shifted around 4,000 people to a safe place and providing food packets to about 8,000 people.

Meanwhile, as many as 13 out of 16 gates of Gandhi Sagar Dam in Mandsaur have been closed on reducing inflow of water in the reservoir. According to the senior officials concerned, as many as 13 gates of Gandhi Sagar Dam were opened on Sunday morning on the water level crossing the mark of 1305 feet. Due to a high inflow of water, the dam’s level had touched the mark of 1307 feet but after stopping rains in its catchment areas, the inflow has also reduced.

By Monday evening, the dam authority had closed seven big and six small gates while three small gates were opened to release the access of water that had reduced to 1306.10 feet.

“After stopping rainfall and reducing the level of Narmada River, water-level at Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar Dam has also reduced. We have however kept as many as 21 gates of Omkareshwar and 20 gates of Indira Sagar Dam to release access of water” Khandwa collector Anay Dwivedi told TOI.

He added that as precautionary measures, traffic movement from Mortakka and Narmadapuram Bridge situated on Narmada River has not started. “Due to incessant rains and reporting waterlogging from low-lying areas of Omkareshwar and Mortakka area, 45 families have been shifted to the safe place along with around five families from Harsud village, where a surge in Narmada River’s backwater level was reported” he said.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will on Tuesday visit the flood-affected Nemawar of Dewas district. As per Chouhan's official schedule came last evening, he will arrive Nemawar around 12 noon and take stock of the damage caused due to incessant rains followed by flood in around 40 villages of the district.