The death toll in the floods in Rajasthan has risen to 54 with recovery of six more bodies in Barmer, even as villages in the district remained marooned for the fourth day on Friday.
Most of the bodies recovered so far were from Bhadaka and Kawas villages, where the water level was up to 10 feet, state Relief Secretary R K Meena said.
He said the floods had claimed 54 lives since August 18 in the state with 30 in Barmer district alone.
Ten villages were still inundated and though the rains had stopped, 'the percolation process is slow due to the poor binding capacity of the sandy soil', he said.
Governor Pratibha Patil in a communique late Thursday night, sought a comprehensive report on the flood damage from the government and ordered that food, clothes and rehabilitation steps be immediately undertaken in the marooned villages, particularly in the tribal belts.
A five-member central team led by Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests N N Meena and Union MoS for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal was scheduled to conduct an aerial survey of the flood-hit districts, the relief secretary said.
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje was also doing an aerial survey of Barmer along with senior officials, he said.
The worst-affected villages were Malva, Kawas, Bhadaka, where rescue teams including Army jawans and Rajasthan Armed Constabulary were pressed into action. Four helicopters are also assisting the civic administration in far-flung areas of the district.
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