Very heavy rainfall in Rajasthan, rivers in spate

Many rivers are in spate in Rajasthan on Saturday as heavy to very heavy rainfall battered the state in the last 24 hours, officials said.

Gegal in Ajmer district recorded 150 mm of rain, followed by Mount Abu in Sirohi district with 140 mm of rain, according to the meteorological department.

In Ajmer district, Kishangarh and Pushkar received 130 mm of rain, while Taragarh recorded heavy rain of 110 mm. Many other areas also received heavy rainfall, it said.

Several rivers and dams are overflowing in the state and adequate measures are being taken to keep the situation under control, officials said.

The Chambal river is flowing at 140.50 metres, 12 metres above the danger mark in Dholpur district. As many as 12 roads are cut-off due to heavy rains and 40 villages are facing flood-like situation, an official said.

The Bisalpur dam in Tonk district is almost filled to the capacity and the Deoli sub-divisional magistrate issued an advisory, saying the decision to open its gates could be opened anytime.

He has asked the block-level officials and employees to not leave the district headquarters and ensure that people from low-lying areas and villages are evacuated if required.

Rains also paralysed normal life in Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Pali, Rajsamand and other nearby areas. Many villages are cut-off from main roads in these districts.

The weather department has issued a warning for extremely heavy rainfall in eastern parts of the state and heavy rainfall in the western region on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the situation is now under control in Kota and nearby areas, where heavy rains created a flood-like situation on Friday. An Army column that was deployed in Kota a day ago has been withdrawn, an official said.

"There are no heavy rains since last night," district collector Muktanand Agrawal said.

The death toll in rain-related incidents rose to 11, Relief secretary Ashutosh Pednekar said.