14 Killed As Heavy Rain Hits Rajasthan

At least 14 people were killed in rain-related incidents across Rajasthan on Sunday while five people were washed away by the gushing water of Kanota Dam in the capital Jaipur, officials said.

Karauli and Hinduan in eastern Rajasthan’s Karauli district are facing a flood-like situation following incessant rainfall since Saturday night, officials said.

Seven people drowned while bathing in a river in Bharatpur and five were swept away by the strong current of water at the Kanota Dam in Jaipur, officials said.

A rescue operation is underway to trace the missing people, they said.

Eight youths from Srinagar village were taking a bath in the Banganga River in Bharatpur. One after the other, they slipped into deep water and eventually drowned, they said.

The victims were identified as Pawan Singh Jatav, 20, Saurabh Jatav, 18, Gaurav Jatav, 16, Bhupendra Jatav, 18, Shantanu Jatav, 18, Lakkhi Jatav, 20, and Pawan Jatav, 22.

In Jaipur, the five men were out on a picnic at the dam when they were washed away by the gushing water, officials said.

In Jhunjhunu, three people drowned while bathing in a pond in Mehrana village. All of them were residents of Sanwlod village.

The victims were identified as Anuj Meghwal, 22, Bulkesh, 21, and Anuj Kumar, 20, police said.

In Karauli, a father-son duo, Zakir Khan, 40, and Ziya Khan, 12, were killed on Sunday after getting trapped under the debris of their house that collapsed due to heavy rain, police said.

They were sleeping in their house in Karauli city’s Dolikhar Mohalla when the incident occurred, they said.

“Two people died in the incident and two were injured,” Principal Medical Officer of Karauli District Hospital, Dr Ramkesh Meena told reporters.

In another incident, a 19-year-old nursing student died after he slipped and fell into the Kedia stream in Banswara and was swept away by the strong current of the water.

Vikas Sharma’s body was retrieved by an SDRF team, officials said.

In Sawai Madhopur, a 35-year-old man identified as Gajju Rajput drowned in a pond. Prima facie, the man was under the influence of alcohol. He slipped and fell into the water body, police said.

Karauli district, situated around 200 km from the state capital Jaipur, is among the worst affected.

“There is a flood-like situation in Hinduan and Karauli where 15-inch rainfall was recorded from Saturday night till Sunday afternoon,” Anand Kumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Disaster Management and Relief Department told PTI.

Officials in Karauli have urged people to avoid areas near rivers during the high stream as around 8,000 cusecs of water have been released from the Panchana Dam in the district.

Parwati, Gambhir and Banganga rivers are overflowing and teams from the civil defence and State Disaster Response Force are deployed to rescue vulnerable people, they said.

The Meteorological Department has warned of heavy rainfall at isolated places in eastern Rajasthan and predicted monsoon to remain active for the next five to six days in several parts of Jaipur, Bharatpur, Ajmer and Kota divisions.

Moderate to heavy rainfall is likely to occur at several places in the state during the period.

According to the Meteorological Centre in Jaipur, from 8.30 am to 5.30 pm on Sunday, 63.2 mm of rainfall was recorded in Jaipur, 31.5 mm in Karauli, 14.2 mm in Alwar, 9 mm each in Mount Abu and Sikar, and 6.5 mm in Fatehpur.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma held a meeting with officials here to take stock of the situation.

“Safety of all citizens of Rajasthan – our top priority. Today, a meeting of the officials was held in the Chief Minister’s Office regarding the heavy rains in the state and necessary guidelines were given to strengthen all the arrangements related to disaster management immediately,” Sharma said on X.

He appealed to the citizens to stay away from reservoirs and waterlogged areas, maintain distance from electric poles and wires during rain, avoid using basements of buildings during rain and pay attention to the warnings and safety measures.

“I am sensitive towards every family member of my state Rajasthan, hence I request all of you to take proper precautions during the rainy days,” he said.