Rajasthan: Unprecedented Monsoon Rains Transform Jaisalmer's Desert Landscape; Rivers Flow, Villages Flooded, 3 Dead

Jaipur: With good rains of monsoon, the picture of huge sand dunes and miles of desert in Jaisalmer has changed this year. Rivers and water logging in villages are creating a rare sight in the sea of sand near the international border with Pakistan.

The region of western Rajasthan has lashed with good rains this monsoon. Districts like Jaisalmer and Barmer known for dessert have excess to abnormal rains in the last one week. One can see rivers flowing in the sand dunes and water logged areas across Jaisalmer and Barmer.

Due to the continuous rain for the last several days, the fields have been flooded, and the ponds have overflowed and broken. Rain water has turned many villages and hamlets into islands. Roads are broken everywhere and contact with many villages has also been cut.

This rain has claimed the lives of 3 people along with hundreds of animals. A wall of famous Sonar fort of Jaisalmer collapsed due to heavy rain and Sam, a village known for sand dunes has submerged in rain water.

A low-pressure area over Pakistan and North West Rajasthan caused 260 millimeter rain in Mohangargh area of Jaisalmer on Monday this week. Such heavy rain is a rare sight in this region of Rajasthan.

The average rainfall of Jaisalmer is 168 millimeters, while the district has already received 253 millimeters of rain, which is 151 percent more than the average. The situation is almost similar in the other desert district of Barmer which has received 46 percent excess rain.

Radheshyam Sharma, the regional officer of Met department at Jaipur said that due to climate change the Monsoon rains have increased over Western Rajasthan during the last 10–15 years and this year also the Monsoon is active and good rains are likely to continue for 10–15 days across the state.