Indian desert State turns Into a “Sea”

Deadly floods in India’s desert state of Rajasthan have turned a part of this land of sand dunes into a virtual “sea”. This doomsday futuristic scenario, a la Nostradamus predictions, unfolded in India’s Thar desert with at least 138 persons dying as river waters swirl around sand dunes and people watch bewildered from their rooftops.

The Munnabao-Khokrapar rail link between India and Pakistan has also been suspended as flood waters have washed away parts of the track. A scientist says that such unusually heavy rainfall has not been recorded in Rajasthan for 200 years, says the BBC.

The perpetually drought prone district of Barmer, 600 km from the State capital Jaipur, has been transformed from rolling dunes to a cluster of lakes. Initially, the rains from August 19-21 were like manna from heaven for the parched villages. But that hope soon gave way to dismay as the water stayed on stubbornly inundating farms and homes — and taking lives.

‘Up to August 18, we were preparing to face a drought; suddenly this happened. Frankly, we were not prepared for this,’ admitted an official engaged in relief work in the sparsely populated area.

Over 800,000 of Barmer’s two million population are reported to have been affected. Thousands of people have been displaced and dozens are still missing after the three days of rain in an area that had suffered from drought for the last six years.

“The desert looks like a sea. There is no place where one can walk,” Captain Saurabh Modi, an army officer who is involved in relief operations in Barmer, told Reuters by telephone.

Hundreds of people marooned on sand dunes, surrounded by over 15 feet (5 metre) deep pools of water, were being rescued by military helicopters and motorised navy dinghies.