Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar gets mobbed by locals in flood-hit Madhya Pradesh

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar was mobbed by a group of demonstrators at Sheopur in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday. The minister was visiting to take stock of the flood situation in the city. 

After a spell of heavy rainfall, several parts of Sheopur city remain flooded. 

On Saturday, when the minister was visiting Karatia Bazar, a group of locals threw mud at his motorcade, saying that Tomar had come too late to review the situation. 

Some people, including weeping women, followed the minister as he walked out of the car. According to some eyewitnesses, the demonstrators threw mud and small sticks at his vehicle. 

Sheopur Superintendent of Police Sampat Upadhaya informed that the people complained to Tomar that they were not alerted about the floods in time and that the situation was was a failure on part of the district administration.

Upadhaya said that no vehicle in Tomar's motorcade was damaged. 

Minister promises aid

Speaking to the press, Tomar said, "Regions like Gwalior and Chambal are affected due to floods. I've met people and authorities. We're trying out best to help them by providing food and clean water first. I want to tell the people that government, state government and the BJP are with them." 

Tomar assured that the government and his party will provide all help needed for the people.

Madhya Pradesh floods

Following heavy rains on August 3, the Gwalior-Chambal region in Madhya Pradesh has been hit by floods affecting as many as 1,171 villages. The Indian army is helping disaster management officials from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in rescue and relief operations.

As many as 200 villages, especially those in the Sheopur and Shivpuri districts, were marooned due to an unusual 800 mm rainfall. 

Rescue operations underway

According to the state's additional chief secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora, one column of the armed forces has been mobilized for each of the three aforementioned districts affected by the floods. The Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted as many as four sorties on August 3 to rescue stranded people from the flood-hit areas despite bad weather conditions. 

About seven teams of the SDRF have been deployed in Shivpuri district. In the Sheopur and Datia districts, the SDRF has deployed five and two teams respectively.

(Image credti: @ANI/TWITTER)