MP rains: 60 people stranded in flooded building in Sheopur; rescue ops on

Nearly 60 people were stranded in a flooded building following heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district and efforts were underway to rescue them, an official said on Monday. These people had gone to attend a wedding in the two-storey building located near the Vijaypur bus stand on Sunday night, but got stuck as flood waters entered the premises, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Neeraj Sharma told PTI.

The entire ground floor of the building was submerged and people moved to the first floor, he said, adding that the structure's boundary wall had collapsed. Several areas of Sheopur, located around 400 km from the state capital Bhopal, were inundated after the Parvati river breached its banks following heavy showers. On Monday also, heavy rains pounded Vijaypur tehsil in the district.

“Fifty to sixty people had gone to attend a wedding in the building near the Vijaypur bus stand. They got stuck there due to flooding. We have launched a rescue operation. A few people have been moved to a safer place,” Sharma said. He said some other areas in Vijaypur tehsil were also flooded and seven-eight people were rescued from there.

The Vijaypur tehsil in the district received 160.5 mm rain in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am Monday, according to the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) office in the state capital Bhopal. The IMD on Sunday had issued a 'red alert', warning of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, ranging from 115.6 mm to 204.5 mm or above, along with thunderstorm and lightning at isolated places in 10 MP districts - Gwalior, Shivpuri, Guna, Ashok Nagar, Datia, Sheopur, Morena, Bhind, Neemuch and Mandsaur.

Guna's Barod area received the highest 286 mm rainfall in west Madhya Pradesh in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 am on Monday, the IMD said. Intermittent rains have been lashing most parts of the state since Sunday, it said. The IMD's Bhopal office on Monday received reports of waterlogging in low-lying areas of various cities in the state.