Gujarat: 3,500 relocated due to incessant-rains; floods claim 2 lives
(Sourced from PTI)
Two persons, including a schoolboy, drowned as incessant rains lashed several parts of Gujarat, including Saurashtra and southern regions. According to officials, 3,500 people have been shifted to safer places in different districts of Gujarat. Devendra Chavda (18) drowned in flood waters last night near Bhupgat town in Rajkot district, and efforts were on to trace his body, a fire department official said.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who flew to Gir Somnath, one of the worst affected districts of Gujarat, from Gandhinagar to hold a review meeting with district officials, was forced to return as the helicopter could not land at the Keshod airstrip due to bad weather, an official said. He was later flown in a special Air Force helicopter.
Gir Somnath in Saurashtra has been the worst-hit district, along with Junagadh, Amreli, Jamnagar, and Rajkot, while in south Gujarat, Valsad and Navsari district have been badly affected.
Educational institutions in Rajkot, Gir Somnath, and Amreli districts remained shut today, even as 20 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were pressed into service to carry out rescue and relief operations alongside local authorities. According to the officials, over 3,500 people across all the affected districts were relocated to safer places, and over 150 roads were closed as a precautionary measure.
Several villages were being provided drinking water through tankers. A train running between Una-Delwada stuck near Una town in Gir Somnath district and passengers were rescued by the NDRF, an official of the Western Railway said. He added that some of the long-distance trains are running behind the schedule as heavy rains and waterlogging have hampered their movement.
Over 27 dams and reservoirs in Saurashtra region are overflowing as districts like Rajkot (150mm), Gir Somnath (300mm), Amreli (175m) have been receiving incessant rainfall since the past 24hrs. South Gujarat region received 57.27% of the average rainfall till today, even as 115 talukas in south Gujarat and Saurashtra received significant rainfall so far. North Gujarat has received the lowest rainfall in this season.
Gir Gadhada taluka in Gir Somnath district received 496mm rainfall overnight, followed by Una in the district at 350mm and Kodinar at 330mm. Dharampur in Valsad district received 225mm while Valsad taluka received 217mm rainfall. As per official data, Junagadh and Jamnagar districts in Saurashtra received maximum rainfall since morning, with Manavadar in Junagadh receiving 251mm rainfall in four hours since 8 am today.
