Madhya Pradesh is bracing for four more days of heavy rain after monsoon downpours flooded roads and swelled rivers across the state on Tuesday. The India Meteorological Department’s Bhopal centre has forecast extremely heavy to heavy rainfall through the week, with some areas likely to receive four to eight inches of rain in 24 hours.
The weather department issued an orange alert on Wednesday for Sheopur, Shivpuri, Guna, Ashoknagar, Sagar and Tikamgarh, warning of very heavy rain. A second group of 22 districts, including Gwalior, Jabalpur, Indore, Ujjain and Dhar, is also expecting heavy rainfall. Lighter rain is forecast for 25 other districts, among them Bhopal, Chhindwara and Betul.
Flooding Hits Panna and Chhatarpur
Roads closed and rivers overflowed their banks on Tuesday in Panna, Chhatarpur and Khandwa districts, creating flood-like conditions in several areas. Officials at the Sanjay Gandhi Thermal Power Station opened two gates of the Johila Dam by one metre each to release excess water.
In Sehore, the Kulans river is rising and feeding into Bhopal’s main lake. In Barwani, thunderstorms brought strong winds and light rain that cooled the air but left humidity behind; the weather department has forecast gusts of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour there for the next two days and has advised farmers to stay out of open fields during lightning.
In Sendhwa, intermittent rain since early Wednesday morning has swollen village drains. In Dhanora village, a rising drain forced the closure of an alternate road, and water has begun flowing over a culvert on the main route. Residents fear the main road could close entirely if rain continues.
Teachers Risk Flooded Crossing to Reach School
In Shajapur district, a drain near the Integrated Government High School in Naulaya overflowed, forcing principal Gokul Prasad Kulmiya and his staff to wade through floodwater to reach school on Wednesday. Teachers said the state’s e-attendance system leaves them no choice but to arrive on time despite the danger. Villagers said the same flooding happens every monsoon and have asked the administration to build a culvert or a safer alternate route to the school.
The rain has brought relief to some farmers. In Sendhwa, rising water in rivers and reservoirs has eased water shortages for kharif season crops, though standing water in fields now threatens to damage soybean and other crops. In Morena, slow, steady rain has cooled the air and given farmers hope for the next planting season, offering relief after a stretch of extreme heat and humidity.
The IMD has advised residents across the alert zones to avoid open areas, trees and power lines during storms, as the heavy rain spell is expected to continue through the week.
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