Narmada river soars, backwaters enter village in Dhar district

INDORE: As rainfall continued unabated, water level in Narmada river soared on Thursday, pushing backwaters into Nisarpur village – one of the villages in Dhar district that was vacated by the district administration after it fell in submergence area of Sardar Sarovar Dam project.
Some of the villagers continued to remain in their homes and had to be helped by National Disaster Response force (NDRF) posted in the area. Official sources claimed that three families in Dharmrai village and two in Chikalda were rescued by the team, with their goats and hen stock on Friday.
One Mohan Prajapat, who sustained a leg injury, did not leave the village and remained seated on a cot outside his house protesting irregularities in rehabilitation, was also rescued as water level soared.
NDRF team commander Budharam Dewasi told reporters that as many as five rescue teams are keeping a sharp vigil in Nisarpur, Karodia, Chikalda and Koteshwar, where backwaters have low-lying areas.
Twelve boats have been kept ready for action in Dharmrai, Nisarpur, Chikalda, Karondia and Koteshwar.
As water level rose, the famous Rajghat bridge got submerged. Water was flowing three feet over the bridge. The steps leading to Koteshwar temple were also inundated in the backwaters.
Majority of the villagers have vacated their houses and gone to rehabilitation centres or have constructed new houses in land allotted to them.