Bhopal, August 31: Amid the reports of death of eight people in Madhya Pradesh, state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Monday informed that five helicopters of Indian Air Force were deployed for rescuing people stranded in floods. Till now, over 7,000 people stranded in 454 villages of 12 districts were evacuated as heavy rains paralysed the movement in state.

Informing about the rescue operation, CM Chauhan said, "The water of Narmada river is flowing about 8 feet above the danger mark in Hoshangabad. The administration is trying to help everyone. Five helicopters of Indian Air Force were deployed for rescuing people stranded in floods." He also claimed that no person had died due to floods till now. Over 9,300 people are currently staying in 170 relief camps in the state, he had added. Madhya Pradesh Floods: IAF Personnel Rescue People From Inundated Houses in Balaghat .

Adding more, he thanked the IAF, NDRF, SDRF & all officials for saving lives of the people amid floods. CM said, "I thank IAF, NDRF, SDRF & all officials for saving lives of the people amid floods. The floodwater is receding now & we are focussing on providing drinking water, controlling the spread of diseases, food, assessment of the damage caused, medicines etc."

Here's what CM said:

Earlier on Sunday, a new bridge built on the Wainganga river in Seoni district collpased on the official day of completion. The construction was finished a month ahead of schedule, but it was not inaugurated. Due to the heavy rainfall in the state over last couple of days, the Narmada river was flowing about 10 metres above its danger mark of 964 metres in Hoshangabad district. Also, 120 out of 251 reservoirs in the state are full, following which the administration is planning to open the dam gates to let out excess water. Till Saturday, state received 815.2mm of rainfall.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2020 01:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).