Three trapped in basement die as rains lash Jaipur overnight

Jaipur: Three youngsters including a four-year-old died after getting stuck in a basement, akin to the incident in Delhi as heavy rains lashed the state capital since midnight yesterday. Another 12-year-old boy was swept away in a separate incident.

In Jaipur’s Vishwakarma area, in a basement by the roadside, three people have reportedly died as water flooded their house. All three bodies have been recovered.

A NDRF team and civil defence team pumped out the water and searched for the bodies for over four hours. The incident occurred in Dhwaj Nagar on road no. 17 in the Vishwakarma area when a wall fell on another wall of a house and water accumulated in an adjacent vacant plot after continuous rains over the past 12 hours.

The water made the walls damp, ultimately leading to their collapse.

At least 25 people had got trapped in these two houses, which are said to have been constructed illegally.

The dead include a four-year-old girl, a 19-year-old girl, and a 22 year-old-youth. The dead bodies are buried under the debris. One member of the family has come out safe and is currently being treated in the hospital.

It has reminded people of the tragic incident of Delhi, where three UPSC aspirants died after getting stuck in a basement library of a coaching centre.

Although the rains, which began last evening and continued throughout the night, becoming heavy around 1:30 am, provided respite from the extremely sultry and humid weather but also caused water-logging in basements, on roads and led to traffic snarls.

Many localities like Tonk Road, Mansarovar, C-Scheme, Walled Pink City, Ajmer Road, Bagru and others in Jaipur saw water-logging and are witnessing water accumulation up to three to four feet. Most schools in the capital have been shut following the heavy downpour.

Jaipur’s Sanganer airport and the railway station are also said to be waterlogged. There is also news of water in the state’s biggest hospital -- Sawai ManSingh.

In another incident in Bagru, around 40 km from Jaipur, a 12-year-old boy was swept away in an overflowing drain. After continuous rains for the past 12 hours, the Dravyavati River,which originates in Amber hills and flows through the west side of Jaipur city, is overflowing. It is a rain-fed river and had lost its flow, although a river rejuvenation project costing over Rs 1,600 crore, had been undertaken.

According to IMD, the city of Jaipur recorded 173 mm of rain. Jaipur’s Sanganer airport recorded 133 mm of rain till 5:30 am today. It also forecast intermittent rains, followed by heavy showers in at least nine districts of Rajasthan.

In Churu, a house was damaged and fell down after heavy rains. Kota also witnessed massive downpours. Dausa, around 60 km from Jaipur is also seeing heavy rains.

IMD Jaipur has sounded an orange alert for Jaipur city and the district, Tonk, Bundi, Kota, Jhunjhunu, Churu, Nagaur, Ajmer, Sikar. It has forecast heavy rains accompanied by winds with a speed of 30 to 40 km per hour.