Chhattisgarh rivers in spate, road access to Sukma cut off

Bastar District Collector Ayaz Tamboli said, “Makeshift camps and shelter homes have been opened in schools… We are taking care of 150 people. Water levels are in the danger zone but right now the situation is under control… Some rural parts of the district have been disconnected because water from rivulets and nullas is flowing over the road…”

In Sukma, officials said 1,181 people have been shifted to camps, and the district has been cut off with major roads inundated. Officials have been visiting residents of low-lying homes in Sukma and Konta, attempting to convince them to move to camps.

Sukma District Collector Chandan Kumar said, “There are many villages which have been affected by floodwaters but we are running rescue operations… There are around 70 relief centres… The flooding is because of excessive rain in the upper catchment area of the Shabri river. The level of the Godavari has also gone up, so the Shabri is swelling. Many roads like Sukma-Jagdalpur, Sukma-Malkangiri, and Sukma-Chetti have been cut off because of flooding. The next 24 hours will be crucial.”