Bhopal: Pictures of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan being carried by security officials in Amanganj Tehsil of Panna district are going viral on the social media.

Perhaps fearing snakes and other animals in the flood-ravaged region, the Chief Minister was carried in the flood waters which were less than knee-deep in the area. Several locals and accompanying media personnel captured the moment on their lens. However, it was reliably learnt that the district Collector and Superintendent of Police instructed the security personnel that the Chief Minister should be carried in such a way to avoid any unpleasant incidents. In another place, Shivraj Singh Chouhan was seen walking barefoot through mud while an aide is seen carrying his white sneakers. The Chief Minister has so far visited flood affected Rewa, Satna and Panna districts.

A highway washed away by floods waters in Madhya Pradesh.

The floods in the BJP-ruled state have already claimed 17 lives. Altogether, 4,500 people have been rescued but heavy rainfall is expected on Monday. With several days of continuous downpour in the Vindhya region of Madhya Pradesh, about 100 villages in Rewa and Satna district have been devastated by floods, officials said on Sunday. They said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan travelled by train to arrive in Satna at 10 p.m. on Saturday and met the flood-hit families.

He interacted with people who have taken shelter at a Satna post-graduate college and ascertained their needs. Chouhan then went to Maihar town where a building of the Madhya Pradesh Housing Board had collapsed on Saturday, trapping many people in the rubble. Chouhan met the injured in hospital. He also met the kin of Babloo Martin, a sportsman who reportedly lost his life while trying to save a four-year-old boy, and announced providing the bereaved families with an aid of Rs 5 lakh.

IANS