MP rain fury: 'Primary assessment suggests Rs 10,000 cr loss'

Heavy rainfall and floods in Madhya Pradesh have caused a cumulative loss to crop and properties to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore as per the primary assessment of the situation, chief secretary SR Mohanty said on Monday.

He said a Central team will assess the damage on September 19-20 in the Bhopal and Ujjain divisions.

Districts of Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Agra-Mala, Sheopur, Damoh, Raisen, Ashoknagar, Bhind and Shajapur were affected by heavy rains in the last few days.

On Sunday, around 45,000 people were evacuated from flood-hit areas in various districts to safer places.

"The initial assessment suggests that rainfall and floods have caused crop loss to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore," the top bureaucrat told reporters here.

Further, there is damage to the tune of Rs 2000 crore caused to houses, roads, buildings, besides private and government properties, he said, adding that the final figure of the quantum of damage might go up.

Mohanty said the report on the initial assessment will be sent to the Central government for aid. "Disbursement of relief and compensation amount will begin at the earliest," he added.

Mohanty denied reports that the backwater of the Gandhi Sagar Dam on the Chambal river flooded Mandsaur and Neemuch, the worst affected districts, due to negligence of officials.

"The sluice gates of the dam were opened on August 15. No one had thought that it would rain so heavily in Rajasthan's Pratapgarh district that it will lead to the sudden inflow of water in the dam (at the rate of) 16 lakh cusec (Cubic foot per second) from four lakh cusec.

"Had the gates of the dam not opened on August 15, the flood situation would have been much more grim. Mandsaur district collector and officials of the Irrigation department handled the dam management extraordinarily and lessened the ferocity of flood," he added.

He said around 15,000 people are currently staying in the relief camps in Mandsaur district while around 2500 in Neemuch district.

"Gandhi Sagar Dam is completely safe and hopefully its backwater level will sharply decline in a day or two," the chief secretary said, adding that flood situation in Malwa, Ratlam, Bhind, Morena and Sheopur districts is closely monitored.

Help of the Army is also taken in the relief and rescue operations launched by the administration, he added.