Bhopal: Over 16,000 people from Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur and Neemuch districts were shifted to safer places on Sunday after heavy rainfall caused water-logging in several areas there, an official said. Heavy showers have been lashing the two neighbouring districts in western Madhya Pradesh since last few days, crippling normal life there. "Around 13,000 to 14,000 people have been rescued from about 100 to 125 villages in Mandsaur. Some of these villages have been fully vacated while there has been partial evacuation in others," Superintendent of Police Hitesh Choudhary told PTI over phone.

Rescue operations are on in full swing, he said. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation," he added. Besides, nearly 2,300 people were evacuated from theflooded Rampura town in Neemuch after an alarming rise in the backwater level of Gandhi Sagar Dam in Mandsaur, an official at Neemuch collectorate said.