Bastar Floods Severely Disrupt Life As Air Force Rescues Stranded Civilians

Heavy rain and rising river waters have cut off national highways and displaced thousands of people across the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.

What Happened

The Indravati river crossed its danger mark of 8.3 metres to reach a peak level of 12.39 metres by Sunday morning. The severe flooding was caused by heavy rain from cyclonic storm 'Arnab' over the Bay of Bengal between September 23 and 26, combined with water released from the Khatiguda and Muran dams in neighbouring Odisha. One person died of drowning.

Rescue Operations

Continuous rains cut off national highways in Bijapur and Sukma, stranding buses on the Raipur-Jagdalpur highway and trapping truck drivers near Sonarpal on National Highway-30. The district administration, State Disaster Response Force, and disaster management teams rescued 1,215 people in total. The Indian Air Force airlifted 16 civilians, including women and children, using a helicopter and a Garud commando to pull 12 people from a fragile rooftop near Dongaghat village. Boats were used to bring the remaining 1,203 people to safety.

Relief Camps

Authorities have set up 65 relief camps providing food, water, and medical care for over 9,200 people. While water levels have slowly started to recede, health workers and administrative teams remain deployed to monitor the situation.

Context

Cyclonic storms originating in the Bay of Bengal frequently bring heavy monsoon rainfall to central and eastern India, often leading to rapid river surges and rural isolation. Relief operations in affected forest regions typically rely heavily on coordinated efforts between local disaster response units and national air assets when ground routes become impassable.