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Situation improves in flood-hit Rajasthan

Special Correspondent

JAIPUR: Life in flood-affected regions of Rajasthan was limping back to normality on Tuesday with the rivers flowing below the danger level, water level in the marooned villages receding, traffic on the blocked highways and interior roads restored and the water discharge from the ruptured Jaswant Sagar dam in Jodhpur district having stopped.

One more body of a victim of a tragedy involving a “jugad” vehicle being swept away in a stream at Ghata Hera in Jhalawar district was recovered on Tuesday, taking the number of those killed to five. While 32 persons were rescued and four bodies were found earlier, eight people are believed to have died in the mishap.

A young man who entered the floodwaters in Samdari area of Barmer district despite being warned by the administration died after drowning. Elsewhere in the State, a woman and three children died in Sirohi district following heavy rain on Tuesday.

Moderate rain lashed other parts of the State with Mount Abu recording a maximum rainfall of 124 mm. Sources in the Relief and Disaster Management Department said the residents of villages in western parts of the State were returning home with the water level declining considerably.

The Jaipur-Jodhpur highway was opened for both light and heavy vehicles after the completion of repair works near Bilara where the road was extensively damaged.

With the Irrigation Department having initiated repairs of the 118-year-old Jaswant Sagar dam on a war footing, the State Government has appointed a three-member committee to probe into the reasons for cracks developing in the dam’s walls. The committee, headed by the Chief Engineer of Mahi Project, B.D. Joshi, will submit its report within a fortnight.

Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria, who visited the site of the dam, said the excessive flow of water had recharged the ground water level sufficiently for its utilisation for irrigation for many years to come.

He expressed satisfaction over the fact that the rupture in the dam had not led to any loss of life.

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