Teams of NDRF, Army and Air Force rescue 500 people stranded in waterlogged areas of the state
Torrential rains pounded parts of northeast Gujarat on Monday, with overflowing reservoirs and rivers causing floods in Banaskantha and Patan districts, prompting the government to put the state on high alert.
Dantiwada, Amirgadh, Deesa, Dhanera and Palanpur talukas are among the badly-affected areas. More than 2,200 people were displaced, while the rescue teams of NDRF, Army and Air Force rescued 500 people stranded in waterlogged areas.
The control room in Gandhinagar was inundated with emergency calls as many people were stranded at different places. The highest rainfall was recorded in Dantiwada, with 342 mm, followed by Palanpur (255 mm), Amrigadh (246 mm), and Dhanera (216 mm).
Water levels in Sipu and Dantiwada dams rose above danger levels, as Sipu received 1.16 lakh cusecs of water and Dantiwada reservoir over 1.50 lakh cusecs, which forced the administration to release water. Around 1,800 villages downstream have been put on alert.
On the other side, the Sabarmati river also is flowing at two ends and the inflow at Dharoi dam has reached 1.41 lakh cusecs. The administration will release 50,000 cusecs into the Sabarmati and 500 villages downstream in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad districts have been put on alert.
At a meeting in Gandhinagar on Monday morning, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani reviewed the rain situation. Addressing a press conference later, the CM said,
"The weather department has predicted more rainfall in the next two or three days, and we have alerted all the district administrations to keep a watch over the situation. PM Narendra Modi he extended all the help we need."
So far, 1,526 people in Banaskantha, about 500 in Patan, and over 200 at Kalol in Gandhinagar have been evacuated.
The administration is making arrangements for the distribution of food packets for affected people, the chief minister said.
Three state ministers — Dilipkumar Thakor, Shankar Chaudhary, Keshaji Chauhan — and union minister Haribhai Chaudhary have been stationed at Banaskantha and Patan districts, while two IAS officers, JP Gupta and Harit Shukla, have been helping the district administrations.
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