Heavy rain batters Gujarat; 8 killed, over 800 relocated

Ahmedabad: As many as eight persons were killed in rain-related incidents and more than 800 people evacuated after swollen rivers and overflowing dams cut off several villages and inundated low-lying areas in large parts of Gujarat amid torrential downpour on Wednesday, officials said. Normal life was thrown out of gear as heavy rain pounded south and Gujarat districts like Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch and Anand since the morning, prompting authorities to declare a holiday for schools and colleges in some places for the day, they said. Train services were also affected in some areas. 

"Eight persons have died due to heavy rain which lashed several parts of Gujarat during the last 24 hours. We have also shifted 826 persons to safer places during that period. In view of the present situation, we have deployed 20 teams of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and 11 teams of NDRF in affected districts" said state Commissioner of Relief, Alok Kumar Pandey. 

In view of the widespread rain and 'red alert' for extremely heavy showers issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for several districts, control rooms are working round the clock to monitor the situation and help stranded people, he said. Pandey said all the 206 major dams in the state are receiving fresh inflow of water and the Sardar Sarovar Dam, the biggest in Gujarat, is now 54 per cent full. 

The administration in rain-battered districts of Vadodara, Surat, Bharuch and Anand deployed personnel from the NDRF and SDRF and local fire brigade teams to rescue people from flooded areas and relocate them to safe places. Borsad taluka in Anand district received 354 mm of rainfall in a 12-hour period (between 6 am and 6 pm, State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC) data showed. Many people were shifted to safer places after low-lying areas were flooded, officials said. Borsad was followed by Tilakwada of Narmada district (213 mm), Padra of Vadodara (199 mm), Vadodara taluka (198 mm), Bharuch taluka (185 mm), Nasvadi of Chhotaudepur (156 mm) and Nandod of Narmada district (143 mm). 

Anand Collector Praveen Chaudhary said an NDRF team was pressed into service and the administration was working to rescue stranded people. Heavy rain that hit Surat on Tuesday flooded the city and cut off several villages, necessitating relocation of around 200 persons, the officials said. The administration in Bharuch and Navsari announced a holiday for educational institutes due to incessant showers. A team of NDRF personnel rushed to Limbada under Mangrol taluka of Surat district to rescue stranded people, an official said. 

As many as 132 roads in the district were blocked as a precautionary measure. Due to heavy rain, the Bharuch district administration declared a holiday for educational institutions. As many as 11 long-distance express trains were "regulated" due to the rise in water level under a railway bridge in the Vadodara division, while four local passenger trains were cancelled, Western Railway officials said. The train movement was later restored in the down line, they said.