India rebuilds after the floods

Millions are displaced every year by floods in the monsoon season in India

NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- The men and women in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are trying to rebuild their homes and their lives after a portion of a 125-year-old dam near their village burst after five days of heavy rains.

Twenty five people drowned and more than a thousand homes were washed away.

District officials say they prevented more losses, by moving thousands of villagers to safer ground.

"Relief work is on a war footing. We were able to rescue 18,000 people due to the timely evacuation of people from the flood affected villages of the region," says Rajesh Rajoura a district collector.

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But many of those who lost their homes say they have been forgotten by the state, with villagers saying they have received no aid.

Millions are displaced every year by floods in the monsoon season in India.

Many analysts say public indifference to what is seen as a routine annual occurrence, means flood relief is often a low priority for the government too.

Worst flooding

On the Indo-Nepalese border, which has seen some of the worst flooding this year, even the local officials complain.

"We have written to the state government several times about strengthening the embankment of this river," says district magistrate, Subhash Chandra Sharma.

But to little purpose -- many homes were washed away this year, as the embankment gave way.

And even as the floods recede in some parts of India, officials gear up for the next problem: disease.

Aid workers are spraying villages with chlorine to prevent water-borne stomach diseases, which have been reported elsewhere, from spreading here.