By IANS
Raipur : Heavy rains lashing Chhattisgarh have claimed eight lives and left around 50,000 people marooned, officials said Sunday. The downpour has also disrupted air and rail services.
Though the weather improved Sunday, the torrential rains since Friday night have killed four people in Raipur district, three in Durg and one in Mahasamund district.
The basements and parking areas of many residential and commercial buildings in Raipur were submerged and people took refuge on rooftops in low-lying areas. Vehicles remained off the roads as most roads were under five-six feet of water.
According to officials, at least 50,000 people have been marooned in Chhattisgarh – 20,000 in Raipur district alone. Around 20,000 people have been evacuated to safer areas in Raipur, Durg, Mahasamund and Bastar districts.
The weather department said the state received a record rainfall of over 440 mm rain in just 12 hours Friday night. The downpour continued in many parts Saturday.
Air and rail services were badly hit as the runway at the airport here was waterlogged and the traffic signal system was affected.
Kingfisher Airlines cancelled flights from Raipur to Indore and Kolkata while Jet Airways and Air Deccan suspended their Raipur-Delhi operations. Flights from Raipur to Mumbai and Ahmedabad were also axed.
Several trains connecting Raipur and other cities to Orissa were delayed by over 10 hours because railway tracks were submerged in Mahasamund district.