Crocs have a field day as water rises in Vadodara's Vishwamitri

It wasn’t just the water level but also the crocodiles that residents of Vadodara had to fear as the city recorded 101 mm of rainfall on Wednesday.

This was the second highest rainfall recorded for the season in the city. The highest during the season was recorded on Tuesday when the city received 232 mm of rainfall.

Incessant rain led to flooding in almost all the low-lying areas of the city. The Vishwamitri river was flowing much above the danger mark forcing authorities to announces a holiday in schools and colleges.

“Around 3,500 people have been rescued from flooded areas of the city and moved to safer locations,” said Vinod Rao, collector, Vadodara. As the river got flooded, the crocodiles that call it their home, too ventured out into residential areas, spreading panic among citizens.

On the crocodile situation, Manish Bhardwaj, municipal commissioner, Vadodara Municipal Corporation, explained that the city has many lakes in the central part of the city that have crocodiles.

When water level rises, the crocodiles move out, he said. “As the water levels rose, three crocodiles came up to the ground level and entered Kashi-Vishwanath temple.

All the three have been caught and released in the river. No fatal injuries have been reported in the incident,” said Bhardwaj.

He further added that due to heavy rain, the water level in Ajwa dam has risen from 183 feet to 213.2 feet on Wednesday. “However, the level has fallen from 213.4 feet on Tuesday to 213.2 feet on Wednesday.

Due to this, all the gates of the dam had to be opened. Subsequently, the level of Vishwamitri river also rose to 29 feet by 6 pm on Wednesday. If it crosses 26 feet, it is considered dangerous.”