Heavy rain wreaks havoc in Rajasthan, road and rail routes affected

Torrential rains have disrupted normal life in Rajasthan as Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur and Tonk face a flood-like situation, officials said on Saturday.

Low-lying areas have been inundated, disrupting road and rail connectivity. Several villages in the districts have been cut off due to waterlogging.

Relief operations were carried out by the Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Kota yesterday, while State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams evacuated people from other rain-hit areas.

Disaster Relief Minister Kirodi Meena is scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the affected areas in Kota division along with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla today.

According to the MeT department, Bundi’s Nainwa received the highest rainfall of 502 mm in the last 24 hours.

Several districts, including Bundi, Kota, Sawai Madhopur, Karauli and Jaipur, recorded over 10 cm of rainfall till Saturday morning, leading to widespread waterlogging.

A red alert has been issued for extremely heavy rainfall in Bhilwara and Chittorgarh, while an orange alert is in place for Bundi, Kota, Pali, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara, Jalore and Sirohi.

In the Tonk district, over 100 people were rescued by SDRF and civil defence teams from a village submerged in water in Niwai’s Banasthali.

District Collector Kalpana Agrawal, SP Rajesh Meena and other officials visited the affected areas.

In Kota, movement on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway was halted, and barricades were put up at Karadia toll plaza.

In Bundi, soil erosion under the Delhi-Mumbai railway track near Laban affected the movement of some trains. The Jaipur-Kota highway was also waterlogged near Deoli in Tonk.

The Chambal river in Dholpur district flowed two metres above the danger mark. Jaipur also received heavy showers on Saturday morning.

In Churu’s Sujangarh, rainwater entered shops. Authorities opened six gates of the Bisalpur dam and two gates of the Kota barrage to release excess water.