Heavy downpour triggers flash floods in Bikaner villages

JAIPUR: The continuing torrential rain in the state has wrecked havoc in some places. In Bikaner, passengers of Jaisalmer-Lalgarh Express had a narrow escape on Thursday morning when the train derailed as the railway track got washed away. The incident occurred near Nokhada railway station on Bikaner-Phalodi route. No casualty was reported in the accident.
In Karauli, a 26-year-old man got drowned while elsewhere in the state many were injured in accidents following heavy downpour.
In Bikaner town, heavy rain resulted in a flood-like situation in lower areas. Collectorate campus and colonies in the area got submerged in water. The poor management of civic authorities angered residents who blocked the Nokha highway.
Similarly, roads in villages falling under Kolayat tehsil got washed away. Water accumulated in villages like Bala Ka Gola, Hada, Thakusar, Dhingasar and Sankhla Basti forced the district administration to shift people to safer places.
“In Kolayat tehsil, villages got cut off from the main area. But we have started our relief work. A team of district officials along with medical staff has been dispatched to the affected areas,” said RD Goyal district collector (in-charge).
To flush out water from colonies, pump sets and earthmovers are being used. The administration has also dispatched three vehicles of edible items and tents to the affected villages.
In Ajmer district, continuous rain for nearly 72 hours in the southern part resulted in a flood-like situation. Three houses collapsed in Katlana village near Nasirabad, while water entered a colony in Khapari village. Over 46 cattle died when lightning struck on a farm house. A leakage in Shiv Sager Nayara of Sarwar Lake resulted in water entering nearby villages. The situation was worse in Masuda, Beawar, Tatgarh, Jwaja, Mangliyawas, Pisangan and Govindgarh region.
More than 100 houses collapsed at Kekri on Wednesday in which a woman was seriously injured. Also Kerki-Jaipur highway remained closed for hours after connecting roads submerged in the water. “The situation in some villages are alarming. We are trying our best to relocate the people of these villages,” said a district official.