Monsoon fury unleashed: Rajasthan drowns amidst loud red alert

Heavy rains battered large parts of Rajasthan on Saturday, 6 September, flooding low-lying areas, crippling traffic, and damaging property, even as the Meteorological Department issued a red alert for four southern districts.

In Jaipur, a man and his daughter were killed and five others injured when a portion of a dilapidated house collapsed. Udaipur also faced heavy downpours, with a school boundary wall caving in, while in Kota’s Ramganjmandi area, a 40-year-old farmer died after being struck by lightning.

Bhilwara saw relentless rain from early morning, leaving colonies submerged under two to three feet of water, flooding underpasses, and forcing school closures across Ajmer, Udaipur, Rajsamand, Bhilwara, and Salumber.

In Tonk district, rising inflow into the Bisalpur dam prompted authorities to open two more gates, raising the total to eight. In Rajsamand’s Kumbhalgarh area, rain washed away a section of National Highway-162, diverting traffic.

The Met centre said a well-marked low-pressure system over southeast Rajasthan is expected to intensify into a depression within 24 hours. Under its influence, extremely heavy rainfall is likely over Udaipur and Jodhpur divisions on 6–7 September, with moderate to heavy showers forecast for Ajmer, Bikaner, Kota, Jaipur, and Bharatpur.

Red alerts have been issued for Udaipur, Dungarpur, Banswara, and Pratapgarh, while heavy to very heavy rainfall may continue over Jodhpur and adjoining districts till 9 September. Rain intensity, however, is expected to ease in most other regions after 8 September.

In the past 24 hours, Bhilwara’s Banera recorded the highest rainfall at 156 mm, followed by heavy showers in Ajmer, Banswara, Pratapgarh, Jhalawar, Rajsamand, Dungarpur, Alwar, Pali, and Chittorgarh.

With PTI inputs