Congress, BJP spar over Vadodara floods

Terming the Vadodara floods as a "man-made disaster", Congress today sought a judicial probe into it and linked it to the Lok Sabha bypoll here on Saturday.

The Opposition party accused BJP of not taking adequate steps to effectively deal with the situation despite warnings about heavy rains, a charge rejected by the ruling party.

Congress General Secretary Madhusudhan Mistry along with other leaders met Collector Avantika Singh and handed over a memorandum seeking a judicial probe into the deluge.

In the memorandum, they alleged the flood was a "man-made disaster", as the state government was informed 72 hours in advance about the possibility of heavy showers but no steps were taken to deal with the situation.
They claimed the deluge could have been avoided if corrective steps had been taken by authorities, including the officials of BJP-ruled Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC).

The party also sought to link the tragedy with the bypoll to Vadodara Lok Sabha seat, saying BJP was trying to take political mileage.

"We feel it is an intentional attempt by BJP and VMC in view of the elections scheduled on September 13. We fear that many displaced people would not be able to vote as they may have lost their documents in the flood," it said.
BJP, however, refuted the charge and hit back at Congress, saying it was not aware of the ground situation.

"Without knowing the ground situation here, Congress leaders are labelling the flood as a man-made disaster. "It was a nature made disaster, as water level in Ajwa dam touched 215.10 feet, which is 1.10 feet above the danger level, something which has not happened in the 128-year-old history of the dam," Finance Minister Saurabh Patel said.

"This compelled the VMC to open 62 gates of the dam to release water into Vishwamitri river, which passes through the city. This resulted in a flood-like situation in some parts," claimed Patel, an MLA from Akota seat here.

Patel said despite water level in Vishwamitri crossing the danger mark, the situation was brought under control within 18 hours.

Talking to media, Congress Lok Sabha candidate Narendra Ravat said the administration and ruling BJP are in a position to influence the voters by distributing cash doles and relief material.