Draft:Kawas Barmer

Kawas is a village panchayat in Barmer rural tehsil of Barmer district of Rajasthan. There are two villages under it, Madpura Sani, and Dhundha, Gram Panchayat Kawas is further divided into 11 wards has total 7 elected members by people.

A website was also launched through which information about the central and state government schemes is being provided for the people of Gram Panchayat Kawas, with location altitude and latitude 25.876118 latitude and 71.550815 longitude and GPS coordinates 25° 52' 34 N 71° 33' 3 E.

Oil Industry

There are many oil fields around Kawas such as Ashwariya, Mangala, which is located in the Barmer basin. Mangala, Aishwarya, area, is located in Block RJ-ON-90-1, Rajasthan Block, which is a major oil field located in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Cairn India is the operator of this field, a subsidiary of Vedanta Group.

History

Kawas came into the news all over the world in August 2006 when it was submerged due to monsoon rains. This area faced the worst flood in the last 100 years, many settlements and villages were destroyed, it took many months to drain the flood water but the water remained there, after this the railways removed the water from here by installing booster pumps through trains.

The drought-prone Kawas in Barmer district was hit by a flash flood in 2006, killing 104 people, most of them from the villages of Kawas and Malwa. The floods destroyed kharif crops worth about Rs 1,000 crore and killed about 75,000 cattle. The flood in Kawas was caused by the breach of dams in Jaisalmer, a neighbouring district of Barmer.

Kawas flood History - In August 2006, it had been raining well for four days in Barmer and Jaisalmer districts and everyone was happy. On the night of 21st August, water suddenly started flowing in Kawas. Surrounded by sand dunes on three sides, the water that had entered Kawas could not find a way out and the water level kept rising. People were startled by water entering their houses and climbed the nearby sand dunes along with their cattle to save their lives. Many people did not even get a chance to escape.

Late at night, someone informed the subdivision officer that we are surrounded by floods and our lives should be saved. He was shocked to hear this. When he informed District Collector Subir Kumar about this, he was also shocked. A minister of the state government staying in the circuit house could not believe this. Somehow, subdivision officer Chunni lal Saini reached the spot with two companions. The situation was very dire, people were shouting for help. He was helpless to help anyone with limited resources in the severe flood. While surveying the flood affected area, his own gypsy was washed away. The drifting gypsy got stuck at a place. The driver saved his life by climbing a tree. Both of them, who were stuck in the flood, were rescued the next day with the help of a helicopter.

A hundred people lost their lives in the flood in Kawas and Malwa. The bodies floating in the water were telling the story of the destruction caused by the flood. After this flood, the administration settled a new Kawas so that such a situation never arises in the future, but people came back and settled in their old houses. Even today, as soon as heavy rains start in Barmer, the administration first makes an announcement to evacuate the village in Kawas. The villagers still shudder on hearing this.