Houses washed away in Jagatpura

JAIPUR: Abdul Hamid, a mason staying in the foothills of Jhalana hills in Kho Naugaurian village near Jagatpura, slept early on Tuesday night after shopping for his two sons' wedding due in a fortnight.
He was happy with his purchase, which comprised a television set and some jewellery and clothes.
However, the happiness was short-lived as he woke up with a start around midnight to find that a huge boulder had hit the tin door and all that he had purchased had been washed away with the water.
Standing in knee-deep muddy water, Hamid shouted for help even as water gushed into the house from all corners.
A few yards away, his neighbour Salim, who stays with his widowed mother, saw his house being washed away in the torrential rain. "We have no roof on our head," said Salim. Amid the distress, Salim's mother was relieved that her three grandchildren had gone to their maternal grandmother's house for Eid celebrations and were spared the agonizing sight.
Due to the incessant rain, 10 houses were either washed away or completely destroyed in the area.
"Fortunately there was no loss of life," said Zahoor Khan, a forest guard. The roads in Kho-Nagaurian village even in the morning were submerged. Trees laid limp in the slush.
"Around 1.30 am, I heard a deafening noise that seemed like rolling of stones. Out of fear, I ran for my life. In the morning I saw all my large grown fruit trees planted over past 20 years uprooted and finished," said Chotu, whose house too was washed away.
According to Ganesh pujari shortly after midnight there was a loud thunderstorm and lightening followed by what sounded like a loud explosion. For almost a kilometer stones came rolling down from the hill. "We have seen water like this after '81. There is little regard for nature and people are playing with nature. Over the last few years a lot of construction had come up here that was kind of blocking the natural drainage," he said. Besides there is large scale tree felling and illegal construction and encroachments in the entire area.