SDRF team evacuates a patient from Bhamragarh on Saturday
Nagpur: At least 525 people were evacuated and three seriously ill people, including a schoolgirl, were rescued after a 72-hour deluge in Chhattisgarh triggered a sharp rise in water levels of Indravati, Parlakota and Pamulgautam rivers, flooding low-lying areas of Bhamragarh in south Gadchiroli district. Road connectivity was disrupted and 63 villages and several hamlets were marooned. Local inputs indicated the impact extended to nearly 100 small villages and hamlets, particularly low-lying settlements in the catchment areas of Indravati, Pallakota and Pamalgautam rivers. Bhamragarh clocked 56.5mm rainfall on Friday and another 26.5mm on Saturday. From Friday afternoon till late at night, administration and rescue teams evacuated 525 residents from vulnerable locations and shifted them to safer places. Collector Panda also said the new Bhamragarh bridge and the bridge at Gundenur nala are expected to be completed by February 2027.
Officials said the flooding was largely due to the cumulative impact of heavy rainfall in Chhattisgarh. No casualty has been reported so far, even as authorities continue to monitor the levels of Indravati, Parlakota and Pamalgautam rivers. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Nagpur | Silver Rate in Nagpur | Bank Holidays in Nagpur | Public Holidays in Nagpur | Petrol Price in Nagpur | Diesel Price in Nagpur | CNG Price in Nagpur | LPG Price in Nagpur Stay updated with the latest Nagpur news.
Gadchiroli collector Avishyant Panda said the crisis stemmed from heavy rainfall in Chhattisgarh. “The rain in upper catchment areas caused a sudden rise in rivers flowing towards Bhamragarh, resulting in flooding even though rainfall in the taluka was comparatively low,” said the collector. Police were deployed on both sides and barricades were installed to prevent people from crossing the bridge, said an official. From there, they were shifted by ambulance to the sub-district hospital at Aheri for treatment, said the official. Taluka-level officials said rescue personnel, medical teams and essential medicines had been kept ready as officials monitoring vulnerable settlements. The administration said water levels began receding late Saturday. “If the situation remains stable, traffic on Bhamragarh-Allapalli road could resume by Saturday evening,” the collector told TOI. “The new structures are expected to improve connectivity during flooding, although the area’s topography makes it vulnerable during the monsoon,” said Panda.
Bhamragarh tehsildar Kishore Bagde and his rescue teams have been continuously moving through vulnerable areas to identify marooned residents and those needing emergency assistance. The teams have been assessing the situation settlement by settlement as water levels rose alarmingly. Among those rescued was a teenage schoolgirl from Binagunda Ashram School in the remote Bhamragarh region on the Chhattisgarh border. “The girl, who was ill, was brought safely across the flooded Gundenur nala with help of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team and taken to the primary health centre at Laheri for treatment. In another emergency medical evacuation, two seriously ill patients from Bhamragarh were transported by boat across the swollen Parlakota river to Hemalkasa. Download the TOI App.
The confluence of three rivers, known as Triveni Sangam, is located 2km off the old bridge on Bhamragarh-Allapalli Road, which was submerged on Friday afternoon, forcing authorities to halt traffic.