Heavy rains pound Gujarat; seven dead, 2,000 relocated
07:22AM Sun 16 Jul, 2017
AHMEDABAD: Incessant rains since Friday night let to flood-like situation in many parts of Rajkot, Morbi, Jamnagar and Surendranagar districts of Saurashtra on Saturday, forcing relocation of over 2,000 people. At least seven persons died in rain related incidents in last 24 hours, including two in Ahmedabad, and one each in Rajkot, Surendranagar, Aravalli, Banaskantha and Gandhinagar.
Three people were reported missing in Jamnagar after their car got swept in flood waters of Ruparail river near Aliyabada in Jamnagar on Saturday morning. A NDRF team was able to locate their car but the people were still missing.Search operations will resume on Sunday morning, said Jamnagar collector RJ Makadia.
Teams of Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were called in for evacuation and rescue operations in village marooned in rains waters. Towards the evening rains subsided and waters started receding in many parts. However, the district authorities remained on alert following forecast of heavy rains for next 24 hours by the weather department. Since Friday afternoon the maximum rainfall was recorded at Chotila (450mm) and Tankara (340mm). At least 11 talukatowns received above 125mm rain during the last 24 hours. Life was thrown out of gear in many parts of the state as heavy rain pounded urban and rural areas. Major water logging was reported from almost all parts of Rajkot bringing the city to a standstill. Schools and colleges in Rajkot, Jamnagar and Morbi declared holiday as a precautionary measure.
Chief minister Vijay Rupani reviewed situation and cancelled leaves of district government officials and asked them to report to duty on Sunday.
Principal revenue secreta Principal revenue secretary Pankaj Kumar stated in an official release that power outage was reported from 124 villages in seven districts and efforts were on to restore the supply. He said that as many as 24 dams are overflowing or on the verge of overflowing. "People living downstream have been alerted," added Kumar. Gates of dams like Aji-2 & 3, Machhu-1, 2&3, Nyari-2 and others were opened following heavy inflow of water.
Vehicular traffic was affected in 62 road sections on national, state and district highways and was diverted.
At least six trains originating from Saurashtra region were delayed by over four hours. The trains were halted at the station midway as some stretches of tracks were submerged in flood waters. About 11 flights were delayed at the Ahmedabad airport due to heavy rains.
"Army rescued eight people from Bharada village, while IAF airlifted four persons from Gamtal village of Dhrangadhra in Surendranagar. An eight-year-old boy swept way in swelling river in Dhamrasad village of Sayla in Surendranagar," said Surendranagar collector Udit Agarwal. Meanwhile, Rajkot collector Vikrant Pandey said a husband-wife duo got swept in Lodhika taluka of Rajkot.The woman was saved but the man drowned.
Two deaths were reported from Ahmedabad with heavy rain lashing most parts of city recording 46mm rain on Saturday. One 15-year old died after he slipped into Fatehwadi canal while trying to wade rain waters while his friend was saved by locals. A 35-year woman in Naranpura died of electrocution from current passing through a street light pole while it rained heavily.
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