Bhopal: Over 16,000 people from Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur and Neemuch districts were shifted to safer places on Sunday after heavy rainfall caused water-logging in several areas, an official said, adding Manasa town in Neemuch received 243 mm rains in the 24 hours ending this morning.
Heavy showers have been lashing the two neighbouring districts in western Madhya Pradesh since the last few days, crippling normal life there.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted extremely heavy rainfall till Monday morning in the two districts.
"Around 13,000 to 14,000 people have been rescued from about 100 to 125 villages in Mandsaur. Some of these villages have been fully vacated while there has been partial evacuation in others," Superintendent of Police Hitesh Choudhary told PTI over phone.
Rescue operations are on in full swing, he said. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation," he added.
Besides, nearly 2,300 people were evacuated from the flooded Rampura town in Neemuch after an alarming rise in the backwater level of Gandhi Sagar Dam in Mandsaur, an official at Neemuch collectorate said.
Rescuers kept a vigil during the night before bringing the flood-hit people to relief camps on Sunday, he said.
Mandsaur received 218 mm rain while Manasa town in Neemuch got 243 mm rain in the 24 hours ending Sunday morning, as per the IMD office here.
Mandsaur has received 1,927.8 mm rain from June 1 till date, against the normal quota of 742.1 mm, the IMD said.
Similarly, Neemuch got 1,569.7 mm rain so far this monsoon against 706.9 mm of normal quota, it said.
After heavy rains, 19 sluice gates of Gandhi Sagar Dam were opened and 4.93 lakh cusec water was being discharged, the dam project's sub-divisional officer N P Dev said.
The released water was gushing downstream and entering parts of Rajasthan bordering Neemuch, he said.
Meanwhile, intermittent showers on Sunday lashed several parts of Madhya Pradesh, which has so far received 33 per cent more rain than the season's average, the IMD said.
The monsoon has weakened a bit in eastern Madhya Pradesh but is active in western parts of the state, IMD Bhopal office's senior meteorologist G D Mishra said.
Extremely heavy rainfall is likely in Mandsaur, Neemuch, Agra Malwa and Alirajpur districts till Monday morning, besides heavy rains in 10 districts including Indore, the IMD said.
Rain or thundershowers might occur in 32 districts of the state including capital Bhopal, it added.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said his party would launch an agitation from September 22 if compensation is not paid to farmers who have lost their crops due to the downpour.
He also announced that he would be donate his MLA salary for the month for people affected by floods in the state.