Rains lash Bhopal, boy falls into swollen nullah

A three-year-old boy is feared drowned today after he fell into a nullah which was in full spate due to heavy rains that lashed Bhopal, police said.

The incident occurred around 11.30 AM when Bhagya Jarila slipped into the nullah while playing outside his shanty in Panchsheel Nagar area, said TT Nagar police inspector Alok Shrivastava.

He said Bhagya's father Rohit Jarila and uncle who were around jumped into the water but failed to save him.

Rohit and his brother were pulled out of the water by locals, said Shrivastava.

Bhagya remains untraced despite a search operation that lasted for hours, he said, adding that the nullah empties out into a lake, located around one km away from the spot.

Heavy rains have been lashing Bhopal since this morning.

"The city recorded 116 mm rainfall during 8.30 AM to 5.30 PM," said senior meteorologist G D Mishra at the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

He said almost the entire state received rainfall today.

As per weather forecast, some parts of Bhopal, Sehore, Raisen, Rajgarh, Vidisha, Hoshangabad, Harda and Betul districts are expected to receive heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours.