By IANS
Bhopal : At least 11 people have been killed and six women are feared to have been washed away by a swollen river in Madhya Pradesh following heavy rains, officials said Monday.
Eight people died Sunday evening in Hoshangabad district when a jeep in which they were travelling overturned while crossing the overflowing river Denwa.
Earlier Sunday, a child drowned in Harda district while two children died after being struck by lightning in Ratlam. The feared deaths of women were reported from Harda.
With rivers in spate and many roads submerged in towns, normal life was paralysed in Harda, Rajgarh, Khandwa, Betul, Indore and Jhabua districts as torrential monsoon rains continued for the third consecutive day Monday.
Revenue Minister Kamal Patel told IANS that the Indian Army has been urged to help the civilian administration to carry out relief and rehabilitation work in Harda, where 20 villages are submerged by floodwater.
Vehicular movement on the Bhopal-Indore highway was disrupted after water began flowing over the bridge on the Kalisindh river.
Traffic on the Hoshangabad-Nagpur, Hoshangabad-Indore and Hoshangabad-Khandwa roads was also hit.
Trains on the New Delhi-Chennai route have been disrupted due to landslides near Betul. The trains were diverted via Itarsi and Nagpur while the railways began an operation to clear the tracks.
Rainwater has submerged a part of the 57-km-long newly constructed railway tracks in Khandwa district.
The head of the Meteorological Department here, D.P. Dubey, said heavy rains would continue.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reviewed the situation Sunday evening.