Narmada swells after Bargi Dam’s 15 gates opened, major ghats flooded

 

 

Multiple weather systems are currently active, leading to moderate to heavy rainfall across several districts, including Jabalpur. The weather department has meanwhile placed Jabalpur and many surrounding districts under a yellow alert, with forecasts indicating heavy rainfall over the next 48 hours. In the wake of intense rainfall in areas including Dindori and the catchment region of Bargi Dam, 15 gates of the Dam have been opened, leading to a significant rise in the water level of the Narmada River.

 

The river has now breached flood levels, submerging major ghats like Gwarighat, Tilwaraghat and Bhedaghat. Authorities have instructed shopkeepers and vendors along the ghats to vacate the area immediately. The release of water has caused the Narmada’s water level to rise by 10 feet, forcing the administration to sound alert and advise people to stay away from riverbanks. The weather department has issued warnings of thunderstorms, lightning and heavy rain in the coming 48 hours for divisions including Jabalpur, Bhopal, Indore, Narmadapuram, Gwalior, Sagar and Shahdol. A sharp increase in rainfall activity has been experienced due to strengthening of several weather systems across the region. As of Saturday, heavy to very heavy rain alerts have been issued for 41 districts, including Red Alert for 5 districts, Orange Alert for 21 and Yellow Alert for 14.

 

This spell of heavy rainfall is expected to persist for the next 3 to 4 days. Spokesman of weather department informed that the monsoon trough is currently passing through Jammu, Chandigarh, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Patna, Bankura, Kolkata, and coastal West Bengal, extending up to the Bay of Bengal through a low-pressure system. A low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal is also likely to move towards Gangetic West Bengal, northern Odisha and Jharkhand. Besides, an upper air cyclonic circulation over Haryana is creating a trough extending towards this low-pressure system, affecting regions in Uttar Pradesh, northeastern Madhya Pradesh, northern Chhattisgarh, southern Jharkhand and northern Odisha. Another cyclonic circulation is located over northern Chhattisgarh, with a trough extending up to the northeastern Arabian Sea. The interaction of these multiple weather systems is drawing in significant moisture from both the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, resulting in enhanced rainfall activity expected to continue through the end of July.