Heavy downpours batter parts of Chhattisgarh; five killed in rain-related incidents; roads cut off

Raipur, Heavy rains have lashed several parts of Chhattisgarh over the past few days, inundating low-lying areas, swelling rivers and streams, disrupting road connectivity and creating flood-like conditions in parts of the state, officials said on Thursday.Heavy downpours batter parts of Chhattisgarh; five killed in rain-related incidents; roads cut offAt least five people have died in rain-related incidents during the period, they said.The worst-hit areas are in the Raipur, Bastar and Durg divisions, where several roads remained submerged, and authorities issued alerts for residents living along riverbanks.A 55-year-old man was swept away while attempting to cross the swollen Sargi stream near Sahaspur village in Gariaband district on Wednesday. His body was recovered around five kilometres away near Khuteri village, officials said.Continuous rainfall has disrupted road connectivity in the district, with National Highway-130 linking Raipur and neighbouring Odisha remaining closed due to waterlogging. The Gariaband-Mahasamund, Gariaband-Nagri-Dhamtari and Kochbay-Malgaon-Kasanala roads were also shut, officials said.Gariaband Collector Bhagwan Singh Uike said the situation in the district remained critical due to incessant rainfall. Sixteen of the 21 gates of the Sikasar dam have been opened, and 44,000 cusecs of water is being released against an inflow of 58,000 cusecs, he said.More than 50 students of a state-run girls' residential school at Pantora were shifted to the safer Baruka village as a precautionary measure, while villages along the Pairi river have been placed on alert, he said.The district hospital premises in Gariaband town were inundated with nearly three feet of water, while police and district administration personnel have been deployed in vulnerable areas.In neighbouring Dhamtari district, gates of the Sondhur dam have been opened following a rise in the reservoir level due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, officials said.In Sarangarh-Bilaigarh district, the bodies of a couple who were swept away along with their car while attempting to cross the flooded Lat rivulet bridge on July 26 were recovered on Wednesday. Their vehicle was found about 150 metres downstream near Chikhli village.In another incident, the body of a 20-year-old man from Durg-Bhilai, who was swept away in the strong current of the Damaudhara waterfall in Sakti district while on an outing with friends, was recovered on Wednesday after a nearly 24-hour rescue operation.In Bijapur district, where heavy rains have continued for the past two days, rivers and streams are in spate, disrupting traffic on several roads, including the Bijapur-Bhairamgarh and Bijapur-Gangaloor routes. Hundreds of villages have been cut off from the district headquarters, officials said.On Tuesday, a farmer was killed after a tree fell on him in the Gangaloor area of Bijapur amid heavy rains.The district administration has advised residents to venture outdoors only if absolutely necessary and avoid crossing swollen rivers, streams and submerged bridges.An officer at the Meteorological Centre, Raipur, said moderate thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, rains and wind speeds of 40-60 kmph are likely in Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Bastar, Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts during the next 24 hours.Light to moderate rains are also predicted at isolated places in Kanker, Dhamtari, Balod, Rajnandgaon, Gariaband, Mahasamund, Raipur, Baloda Bazar, Janjgir-Champa, Raigarh, Bilaspur, Korba, Jashpur, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Durg, Bemetara, Kabirdham, Surguja, Surajpur, Koriya and Balrampur districts, he said.This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.