JAIPUR, India - At least four people drowned or were electrocuted over the weekend in the northwestern desert state of Rajasthan, bringing India's overall monsoon death toll to 177, officials said Monday.
A breach in the wall of 118-year-old Jaswant Sagar dam in Jodhpur district flooded the Luni River and authorities sounded an alert in Jodhpur, Pali, Barmer and Jalore districts, said Kiran Soni Gupta, the top district administrator.
Nearly 20,000 people moved to the higher ground and air force helicopters dropped food packets in two nearly submerged villages on Sunday, Gupta said.
Monsoon rains, which began in India a month ago, have killed 107 people in Gujarat state and 48 in Maharashtra state -- both in the west of the country -- and 22 in northwestern Rajasthan state, officials said.
Parts of Bilara, a town 125 miles west of Jaipur, and some villages near the breached dam were up to 6 feet under water, said C. K. Matthew, a principal secretary in charge of the state's crisis management and relief work.
"The danger seems to be over as the water discharge from the dam has receded. But we are still on high alert and monitoring the situation," Gupta told The Associated Press on Monday.
Pali, an industrial town, recorded 12.76 inches of rain on Friday, surpassing the 28-year-old record of 12 inches for one day, the state meteorology department said. Two people were electrocuted there over the weekend, Matthew said.
Two other drowned in Rajasthan's Barmer district.
The monsoon season in India runs from June to September. More than 800 people died last year, with most deaths blamed on drowning, landslides, house collapses or electrocution.
