Minor among 3 drown as rainwater floods basement in Jaipur

Jaipur, Aug 1 (PTI) A six-year-old girl was among three people who drowned after rainwater gushed into the basement of their house in Vishwakarma area of Jaipur city early Thursday morning, officials said.

The bodies of Kamal Shah (23), Pooja Saini (19) and her niece Purvi Saini were recovered by the SDRF during a rescue operation that lasted several hours, they said.

After the water entered the basement of their houses, the families began removing their belongings, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) West Amit Kumar said. The passage to the basement of the house is narrow and deep.

During this time, three people from two families got trapped in the basement as it started filling with water, Kumar said, adding that a rescue operation was initiated and the rainwater was pumped out.

Expressing condolences over the incident, Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma directed officials to provide financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the family of each deceased.

Approval to grant Rs 4 lakh from disaster relief fund and Rs 1 lakh from chief minister’s relief fund has been given, officials said.

On the other hand, the residents of the area have been advised not to stay in their basements during rainfall, the police said.

The bodies of the victims have been shifted to Kanwatiya Government Hospital for postmortem, the police said, all the victims are native of Bihar.

Most areas of the Jaipur city experienced waterlogging due to heavy rainfall that began on Wednesday night and continued this morning.

According to Jaipur Meteorological Department,, Karauli, Sawaimadhopur, Alwar, Churu, Bharatpur, Tonk, Sikar, Hanumangarh, Dholpur, Nagaur and Jhunjhunu recorded heavy to very heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Thursday.

Jaipur recorded the highest rainfall of 173 mm during this period, the weather office said.

Rainwater accumulated on roads and in residential areas, causing significant commuting issues. Waterlogging was also witnessed outside the Jaipur airport terminal building.

Jaipur Collector Prakash Raj Purohit visited rain-affected areas, such as Vishwakarma area, Sikar Road and Jaipur airport, and directed officials to make necessary arrangements for the situation.

Several schools in Jaipur declared a holiday due to the continued rainfall.