Jaipur rains: Three dead, 50 families evacuated from low-lying areas as heavy downpour lashes Rajasthan's capital

Jaipur: Heavy rains in Rajasthan's capital Jaipur left three people dead, low-lying areas inundated, and brought the city to a standstill.Fifty families were moved to safer places from low-lying areas of the city, officials said.Three hours of excessive rain resulted in waterlogging in several parts of Jaipur. Scores of vehicles were submerged in water and left stranded on roads.Three people were killed and as many rescued after a jeep was swept away by strong water currents while crossing a bridge in Kanota area where a dam had overflowed, Station House Officer (SHO) Narendra Singh Khichad said.One person has been admitted to hospital for treatment, he said.The deceased were identified as Ramapratap, Paro Devi and Kanu, police said.Jaipur District Collector Antar Singh Nehra said 50 families have been evacuated from slums in Jawahar Nagar area.He said 15-20 teams of civil defence personnel and three teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been deployed in waterlogged areas to carry out rescue operations.The Army was alerted after the weather department warned of heavy rains, according to the officials.Traffic movement was disrupted on the Jaipur-Delhi highway as a boulder fell on the road.Jaipur Meteorological Centre Director RS Sharma attributed the heavy rains to a cyclonic circulation over east Rajasthan.Heavy to very heavy rainfall has been recorded in Jaipur and its surrounding areas during the last 8-10 hours, he said. From Friday morning to evening, 132 mm rainfall was recorded in Jaipur and 102.6 mm at the Jaipur airport, he said.Rains also lashed Jamwa Ramgarh (250 mm), Amber (154 mm), Shahpura (111 mm), Bassi (89 mm), Sanganer (70 mm), Chaksu-Chomu (54 mm), Kishangarh (51 mm), Dabok (62.4), Sikar (23.2 mm), Bikaner (14 mm), Ajmer (1.9 mm), Kota (1.4 mm) and Churu (0.2 mm).The weather department has forecast moderate to intense thunderstorm and heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in more than 20 districts of Rajasthan, including Jaipur, Ajmer, Alwar, Banswara, Baran, Bharatpur, Bhilwara, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Dausa and Dholpur, over the next 24 hours.