Madhya Pradesh Battered by Heavy Showers, Authorities Open Sluice Gates of 11 Dams

Intermittent heavy showers have lashed Madhya Pradesh, with Mandsaur receiving 165 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours. This prompted authorities to open sluice gates of 11 dams. More heavy rain is predicted in several districts. MP has seen 10% excess rainfall from June 1 to July 29.

Intermittent heavy showers lashed several parts of Madhya Pradesh, with Mandsaur receiving the highest rainfall of 165 mm in the last 24 hours till 8.30 AM on Monday, prompting authorities to partially open some sluice gates of 11 dams.

The Met department has predicted heavy rain in seven districts- Barwani, Betul, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Raisen, Ratlam and Ujjain by 8.30 AM on Tuesday, IMD's Bhopal centre meteorologist Prakash Dhawale told PTI.

Mandsaur received the highest rainfall of 165 mm in the last 24 hours. Various locations in Betul, Barwani, Mandsaur, Shajapur and Ujjain recorded more than 115.5 rainfall during the same period.

''Amid heavy rain, some gates of 11 dams, including Bargi, have been opened,'' an MP Water Resources Department engineer said.

Seven out of the 21 gates of the Bargi dam, the first reservoir downstream of the Narmada River, were also opened, he added.

The 11 dams where some sluice gates were opened are Bansujara, Bilgaon, Kolar, Mohanpura, Pagra, Parasdoh, Pench, Sanjay Sagar, Thanwar and Wainganga, he said.

IMD Bhopal Centre's forecast in-charge Divya Surendran said the monsoon activity may peak on July 31 in MP amid the development of some rain-bearing systems.

With the heavy rains, Madhya Pradesh has received 10 per cent excess rainfall from June 1 to July 29.

''The normal rainfall between this period was 428.9 mm while MP has received 470.6 mm,'' Dhawale said.

The southwest monsoon arrived in MP on June 21, three days behind the schedule.