Surat’s residents, who continue to reel under 10 feet of water, are livid, and want answers on who was responsible for the deluge.
AHMEDABAD: Surat’s residents, who continue to reel under 10 feet of water, are livid, and want answers on who was responsible for the deluge that has torn asunder their lives and whether it could have been averted by better management by government agencies.
Most believe that the tragedy could have been avoided if the Gujarat government had heeded the nature’s warning after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of Maharashtra.
“Since water inflow in Ukai is dependant on rainfall in certain catchment areas of Maharashtra, the government should have closely monitored the rainfall there, but the authorities were busy planning celebrations for Independence Day and vibrant Gujarat,” said a fuming trader in Ahmedabad whose relatives are stranded on a rooftop in Surat.
Not only did the administration fail to avert the catastrophe, it was also unable to evacuate people to safety or provide adequate relief to those stranded.
The livid abuses that greeted Chief Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to Surat on Wednesday were starkly indicative of the anger harboured by the residents against the government.
Army GOC Major General SN Handa pointed out that though the state authorities had been preparing for “disaster management” since the month of May, there had been no planning on managing water release from various dams. “Remedies were ready but no preventive measures were taken,” he said.
Meanwhile, the blame game is on in full force among various agencies.
Gujarat Irrigation department’s chief engineer JB Patel claimed the CWC did not provide accurate information about the rainfall forecast.
The department claimed that Maharashtra released the water suddenly, taking Gujarat by surprise and water had to be released to stop the Ukai dam from bursting.
Maharashtra, however, strongly refuted the charge, claiming Gujarat was informed well in advance but the authorities did not take the warnings seriously.
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