Authorities on high alert as incessant rains continue

Central Chronicle News
Raipur, Sep 14: Incessant rains in several parts of Chhattisgarh, including capital Raipur and Gariaband, over the past couple of days has prompted the state government to ask district authorities to be on high alert to deal with a possible flood-like situation, officials said on Tuesday.
Collectors of Raipur, Dhamtari, Gariaband and Mahasamund districts, which have witnessed heavy rainfall since Monday, have been directed to monitor the situation, take precautions and submit reports on rain-induced losses, state Revenue and Disaster Management department secretary Rita Shandilya told PTI.
A Gariaband district administration official said the area was witnessing continuous rainfall over the last three days, following which an alert was issued and teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) as well as police were deployed for timely evacuation of people stranded in floods.
“The district has received 107.1 millimetres of rainfall between 8:30 am on Monday and 8:30 am on Tuesday. The movement of vehicles on National Highway-130c connecting Gariaband to Raipur has been blocked due to Pairi river here flooding,” he said.“Eight people were trapped in three villages due to flood and teams of SDRF and police were engaged to rescue them. Besides, two persons have been safely evacuated from the flooded Chikhli village,” the Gariaband official added.
People living in kutcha houses in rain-hit areas have been asked to shift to panchayat buildings, while those staying in low-lying areas in Gariaband town were told to move to Mangal Bhawan, where food and accommodation has been arranged, the official further said.
Gariaband Collector Nilesh Kshirsagar, who visited Malgaon Pantora to take stock of the flood-like situation on Tuesday, directed revenue personnel to submit a report on the loss of property in 30 rainfall-hit villages, he added.The official said 17 out of 22 gates of Sikaser dam in Gariaband have been opened, and 20669 cusecs (cubic foot per second) of water was released. The meteorological department, meanwhile, has issued a warning of heavy rain in a few places in Bilaspur, Korba, Surajpur, Balrampur and Mungeli districts of the state over the next 48 hours. It has also forecast extremely heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours in seven districts, including Rajnandagon, Durg and Kabirdham.
17 out of 22 sluice gates of Sikaser dam opened:
Due to heavy rains the local administration opened sluice gates of Sikaser dam last night and decided to release 15000 cusecs of water from the dam. The officer in-Charge Uttam Singh Dhruv informed that 17 out of total 22 sluice gates of the dam have been opened and even water is being released from waste wear. The power production through hydel unit of the dam too has been started. The water released from here directly goes to Pairi river.
Further as per reports, in Gariyaband hq’s there was water upto knee level in Jail road, College, Majarkata, Pairi Colony, Kokadi and in Amadi. At the same time the villages –Patora, Chikhili, Pathar, Mohanda, Bhilai, Nahargaon, Malgaon, Baruka, Jalkumbhi and Gahadar near the river too are facing flood waters and the local administration has started shifting people from villages near the river to safer places.
Many areas in Dhamtari flooded:
Due to heavy rains in Dhamtari, the main roads of city, Amapara, Baniyapara, and many low lying localities were inundated in about 4 feet deep water. On the NH, the road linking Raipur with Jagadalpur, there was water upto 3 feet and due to which the road was closed and vehicles were diverted via Sihawa road to Vindhyavasini Mandir, Gokulpur. Many shops near the road were also flooded with rainwater.
Rajim’s Kuleshwar Mandir gets half-submerged:
The famous Kuleshwar Mahadev Mandir at the confluence of three rivers in Rajim also got half submerged in rainwater and due to which no devotees could reach temple today. It is said that in last two-three years, there was no such flooding in three rivers of Mahanadi, Sondhur and Pairi. People from nearby villages were found witnessing the same, reaching Rajim here on Tuesday.