Jaipur : Heavy rains killed at least 14 persons and rendered hundreds homeless in Rajasthan in the wee hours of Wednesday. Over 300 mm of rain was recorded in Jaipur tehsil and 170 mm in Jaipur city killing eight in the capital and two each in Jaipur rural, Dholpur and Dausa district.

With predictions of more rains in the next 48 hours the Rajasthan government declared red alert in several parts of the state and stepped up arrangements.
Ironically, the state was staring at drought-like conditions barely a few weeks ago.

Late on Tuesday night rains inundated several districts, including Tonk, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Dausa, Hanumangarh, Jaipur and Bikaner. These areas are expected to receive more rain in the next 48 hours.

PM Manmohan Singh called CM Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday to take stock of the situation. A compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh from the Calamity Relief Fund has been announced for the next of kin of the deceased.

A high-level meeting was held by Gehlot to chart out an action plan for handling the situation. An official statement from the state government said that Gehlot has stressed on speeding up relief work.

All-time high rainfall

Rains in Jaipur on Wednesday morning recorded an all-time high in three decades. The last time the state capital received such heavy rains was on July 23, 1981 when it recorded 326 mm of rains and 188 mm on August 16, 1959.

Niwai near Tonk received the highest rainfall in the state at 250 mm, followed by Sapotara and Sawai Madhopur with 210 mm each, Udaipurwati and Lalsoth with 190 mm each, Laxmangarh 180 mm, Jaipur 170 mm, Neem Ka Thana 160 mm.