Rains Leave Bastar Inundated, Nearly 150 Villages Cut Off; Thousands Affected

In Bijapur district, around 20,000 people from 85 villages are believed to have been affected by the rains.

Thousand of people affected by heavy rainfall in Bastar.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Incessant rainfall in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division has wreaked havoc, forcing around 150 villages to be disconnected from various services and leaving at least 35,000 people affected in the last week.

Multiple visuals where people were seen trying to cross the swollen water bodies using boats were widely shared on social media.

In a viral video from Bastar, a family was seen using large utensils to ferry their children through the gushing river.

In another, people were seen using a makeshift ropeway to cross the river.

Visuals from Bastar.

Visuals from Bastar.

Visuals from Bastar.

Visuals from Bastar.

Amidst heavy rains, the low lying areas are facing several issues, including severe water-logging, leading to roads becoming inaccessible between villages and cities. People in the tribal-dominant and Maoist-infested Bastar region are facing worst conditions while trying to survive the floods.

The worst-affected districts are Bastar, Bijapur, and Sukma, where several villages have lost contact with the mainland and are isolated.

In Bijapur district alone, around 20,000 people from 85 villages are believed to have been affected by the rains. Meanwhile, in Bastar district, around 12,500 people from 51 villages are suffering owing to the heavy downpour.

Of the 6 tehsils in Bijapur, Usoor and Bhopalpattnam are worst-affected while in Bastar district, Jagdalpur and Bastar tehsils are the ones majorly impacted.

Bastar collector Chandan Kumar told the media that teams of State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) and government employees have been posted at low-lying areas and the teams are ready in case shifting of the people is to be done.

On the other hand Sukma collector Harish S said that some villages of the South Sukma area are disconnected as the small bridges are submerged in the water and that shifting of the people will start from Wednesday, 13 July.

Rains Continue to Lash Gujarat & Maharashtra

Meanwhile, several parts of Gujarat also witnessed heavy rainfall in last 24-hours where many areas in Navsari went under knee-deep water as some rivers in the district were in spate, officials said on Thursday, 14 July, according to news agency PTI.

As per the India Meteorological Department (IMD), several parts of Gujarat will witness heavy rainfall during the day, including north and south parts of the state and the Saurashtra region.

In Maharashtra's Thane district, a 50-year-old woman was injured when a part of her house collapsed followed by heavy rainfall on Thursday morning, officials said.

The official added that the woman, Tabassum Sayyed, was admitted to a local hospital.

In another incident, ten workers of a construction firm stranded in the swollen Vaitarna river in Palghar district of Maharashtra from Wednesday, 13 July, were rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Thursday, 14 July, the officials added.

As the water level receded, the NDRF team rescued all the 10 workers using a boat, in an operation which continued till Thursday early morning, Palghar Collector, Dr Manik Gursal, said.

Thane and Palghar districts have been witnessing heavy rainfall since last week.

(With inputs from PTI.)