After three days of heavy rains, a semblance of normality returned to the eastern parts of Rajasthan on Tuesday with the weakening of the south-west monsoon. The Bharatpur, Karauli and Dholpur districts recorded very little rainfall during the last 24 hours.
A flood-like situation was earlier witnessed in some villages in the region, from where a large number of people were evacuated. After the water level crossed the danger mark in Panchana reservoir in Karauli district, water was released to agricultural fields, even as roads connecting the villages to bigger towns had already been damaged.
The railway traffic on the Jaipur-Agra track, halted near Bharatpur due to mud caving in at a level crossing, resumed on Tuesday. The State government has asked the local authorities to conduct surveys to assess the extent of loss caused by rains.
According to the weather office, the south-west monsoon is likely to revive only after five to six days. The State has received an average rainfall of 222.99 mm so far during the current monsoon season, registering 49 per cent increase over the rains measured at 149.85 mm during the corresponding period last year.
Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said here that the residents of eastern Rajasthan districts, who had suffered collapse of houses, crops being damaged or the cattle being killed, would get relief from the Disaster Relief Fund. He said the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, assisted by the Army, had saved a large number of people in the region.
However, former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said the heavy rains had exposed the State government. He said people in the marooned areas had not got any immediate relief.
