Madhya Pradesh rain woes: 34 people lost lives this monsoon

Bhopal: At least 34 people have lost their lives so far and several houses were damaged after heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh during this year's monsoon, a senior state official said today.

Since the onset of the monsoon in the state, Jabalpur has seen seven rain-related deaths, followed by six in Panna and five in Bhopal.

Besides that, three persons died in Vidisha, two in Sagar and one each in Raisen, Rewa, Mandla, Tikamgarh, Seoni, Damoh, Shajapur, Sehore, Agar, Chhindwara and Ashoknagar, an official of the state Public Relations department said.

Also, 2,487 houses were fully damaged, while 19,283 suffered partial damage in the excess rainfall, he said.

For the last two days, however, the state capital Bhopal has witnessed very few showers after heavy rains since last week.

This month, 34 districts in the state have recorded above normal rains, 14 districts received normal showers and three got below normal rains, the official said.

The districts where rainfall has been above normal include Jabalpur, Katni, Chhindwara, Seoni, Mandla, Narsinghpur, Sagar, Damoh, Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Satna, Umaria, Alirajpur, Indore, Dhar, Khandwa, Ujjain, Mandsaur, Ratlam, Dewas, Shajapur, Morena, Guna, Shivpuri, Ashok Nagar, Bhopal, Sehore, Vidisha, Rajgarh, Hoshangabad, Betul, Raisen and Harda.

Normal rainfall has been recorded in Dindori, Rewa, Shahdol, Sidhi, Singrauli, Jhabua, Khargone, Barwani, Burhanpur, Neemuch, Sheopur Kalan, Bhind, Gwalior and Datia districts.

Below normal rainfall has been recorded in Balaghat, Agar and Anuppur districts, he added.