An IAF chopper airlifted villagers from Madhya Pradesh’s flooded Sehore district, near Bhopal.
Bhopal:
Villagers from flood-affected areas of Madhya Pradesh were airlifted by the Indian Air Force, which is assisting the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the rescue and relief work as swollen rivers continue to inundate large parts of the state.
A group of people, including woman and children, were rescued from Somalwada village of Sehore district – a short drive away from state capital Bhopal – in an IAF chopper as rains continued to batter Madhya Pradesh.
A video shared by news agency ANI shows rescued villagers being greeted by state officials. However, most villagers, officials and rescue workers were not seen wearing face masks or practicing social distancing in the video.
#WATCH Madhya Pradesh: People airlifted and rescued from flood-affected areas of Somalwada in Sehore by Indian Air Force pic.twitter.com/pWKJV65luB
— ANI (@ANI) August 30, 2020
Red and orange alerts have been issues for very heavy to heavy rainfall today in 16 of the state’s 52 districts as the monsoon trough passes over the north-central parts of Madhya Pradesh.
In view of the warning, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, “We have reduced water discharge from the dam but there is still a possibility of rain. I urge people not to insist on staying in the villages where the administration is requesting them to leave. To the extent possible, we are trying to make all arrangements in relief camps.”
The state has also fully engaged the national and state disaster response forces and the Indian Air Force, which continued to rescue people overnight on Saturday despite bad weather, including in Chhindwara.
However, two Air Force helicopters that were coming to Hoshangabad, Sehore and Raisen districts had to return due to bad weather.
The Chief Minister also spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the floods in the state.
“We are being given support by PM Modi… Floods have caused havoc in more than 394 villages in nine districts of Madhya Pradesh. So far, more than 7,000 people have been rescued and taken to safer places,” he said.
The state has suffered agricultural losses worth thousands of crores.
(With inputs from agencies)
