Flood in Rajasthan,Jaipur goes under

As Jaipur alone received 170 mm of rain in two hours,several colonies,mostly illegal slum dwellings and unauthorised settlements,were washed away,the upscale localities such as MI Road and Circuit House were heavily inundated,roads collapsed,and big-ticket tourist attractions such as Jal Mahal and Nahargarh reported a collapsed wall and deaths. With other areas of Rajasthan also reporting rainfall,the death toll has risen to 55.

As Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot maintained it wasnt a flood but a flood-like situation,the Opposition has gone to town. If flood is defined by the overflowing of a river,even if Rajasthan is completely submerged,it will never qualify for a flood situation. The rivers here can never overflow like that. But who can deny that Jaipur and several other districts were submerged,people died due to the heavy rain and there was widespread loss of life and property? said BJP state president Arun Chaturvedi.

Officials are taking refuge in the fact that they never anticipated such a downpour. The last time it did,in 1981,Jaipur was flooded and roads and buildings caved in,killing several and leaving the city ravaged.

What has contributed to Jaipurs mess is the citys growing migrant population,leading to illegal settlements and slum dwellings. A dry river bed,Amani Shah ka Nalla,houses the largest number of illegal residential colonies in Jaipur. It has been one of the worst-hit localities in the recent rain,with people being moved to rescue camps.

On Monday night,Gehlot directed that no new power or water connections would be provided to the area and in a meeting with the disaster management team mulled over withdrawing the same to the existing encroachers.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi,who will be visiting Rajasthan to inaugurate the Barmer lift canal project on August 30,is expected to visit the flood-affected areas in Jaipur.