Army roped in for help in waterlogged district of Rajasthan

Extremely heavy rainfall has led to waterlogging in the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan prompting its authorities to sought Army's help, an official said on Friday. The district administration has also appealed to masses not to step out of their houses. Extremely heavy rainfall of 260 mm was recorded in Ganganagar in the last 24 hrs, ending 8.30 am on Friday.

Army officials took stock of the situation on Friday morning.

It also arranged for pumps to drain excessive water on the request of the local administration, Ganganagar MLA Raj kumar Gaur said.

''Arrangements were also made in government schools and dharamshalas for the temporary stay of the people of low-lying places in view of the rain forecast,'' he said.

Incessant rains have been battering the arid state for three consecutive days.

Due to continuous rains, there is no electricity in many parts of the city for the last several hours, a citizen said. District Collector Rukmani Riar Sihag said that teams of Municipal Council, Urban Development Trust, State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Home Guard have collaborated with the army.

''These teams have been sent to the affected areas for draining water,'' she said.

The district administration has appealed to people to take necessary precautions in view of the rains, which include going out only when its necessary and staying away from electricity poles.

Two persons reportedly died on Thursday due to electrocution from an electric pole. According to the Meteorological (MeT) department, heavy rain has been recorded at isolated places in Udaipur, Sirohi, Rajsamand, Pratapgarh, Jhalawar, Chittorgarh, Alwar, Dungarpur and Jaisalmer districts. The spell of heavy rains is still very likely to continue over the northern state during the next 48 hours.