Rain fury subsides in Gujarat

THE SITUATION in rain-battered Gujarat improved slightly on Thursday as the rainfall activity subsided, but Vadodara continues to reel under a flood-like situation due to swollen rivers.

Rain-related incidents have claimed the lives of 26 people in three days till Wednesday, the authorities said earlier.

More than 18,000 people have been relocated and around 1,200 people rescued from flood-affected areas in the state.

In some cases, choppers were used by the security forces to take people to safer locations, State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) said.

In the 24 hours ending 6 am, Bhanvad in Devbhumi Dwarka district recorded 295 mm rainfall, while Abdasa in Kutch received 276 mm, while Kalyanpur in Devbhumi Dwarka witnessed 263 mm rainfall.

Twenty talukas in Gujarat received over 100 mm rainfall during this period, official data said.

Mandvi taluka in Kutch recorded 101 mm rainfall in four hours ending 10 am.

There was some relief for Vadodara, the worst-hit city due to recent downpour, as the water level of Vishwamitri river came down from 37 feet to 31 feet.

The river had become swollen due to the release of water from Ajwa dam. However, several low-lying areas are still inundated.

Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi visited the city to review the current situation and ongoing relief activities as a few pockets are still waterlogged and facing power outages.

Teams of Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), its state counterpart SDRF along with local administration are engaged in relief and rescue operations in the most-affected districts of Vadodara, Dwarka, Jamnagar, Rajkot and Kutch, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to state Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for the second consecutive day and took stock of the situation. (PTI)