Heavy downpours in Gujarat since the last week of August have caused massive damage to standing crops and claimed 49 lives. Crops were affected in Kutch, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Porbandar, Junagadh, and several other districts that have been flooded for days.
As many as 49 people have died in rain related incidents over the last 10 days, across the State and the floods have damaged roads and other infrastructure facilities.
In Vadodara and other places, exceptionally heavy rainfall caused extensive floods that severely affected households. Traders, shopkeepers, and businesses have also suffered heavy damage.
“As of Wednesday, the state has witnessed almost 118% of the season’s rainfall, and more is expected in the next few days. Among the provinces that received the highest rainfall is Kutch, which recorded more than 180% of the rainfall, while North Gujarat received the lowest rainfall, around 94%,” a statement by the State Government said.
Rescue operations
Since August 25, the rainfall has caused floods that have damaged roads, cut off villages, and residential areas, requiring the rescue of over 37,000 people by multiple agencies, including the NDRF and Army.
A deep depression has caused heavy to very heavy rainfall in several areas of Gujarat since August 25th. The depression, which formed over the Gujarat-Rajasthan border, gradually moved into the Arabian Sea (which later turned into the cyclonic storm Asna), said State Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey.
According to him, during this period, 49 people died in rain-related incidents, such as lightning strikes, wall collapses, and drowning.
“The kin of 22 have already been paid ₹ 4 lakh each as compensation. A sum of ₹ 1.78 crore has been disbursed to the owners of 2,618 livestock that perished,” Mr. Pandey said.
The Government deployed 17 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), 27 from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), nine columns of the Army, and additional teams of the IAF and the Coast Guard for rescue operations.
“These teams successfully rescued 37,050 people and relocated 42,083 others. Additionally, 53 people have been airlifted to safety,” he added.
He said surveys are being conducted in rain-affected districts to assess the damage caused to temporary as well as permanent houses, including those partially damaged or destroyed.
3.67 crore disbursed
“So far, ₹ 3.67 crore has been distributed to the owners of 4,673 affected homes and huts. The district administration will continue to process further payments for the loss of household items and provide emergency cash relief when details regarding the number of affected families and people become available,” he told the media while sharing details.
Surveys are being conducted by 1,120 teams in Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Anand, Kutch, Kheda, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Narmada, Navsari, Porbandar, Morbi, and Valsad districts, he said.
“Cash relief of ₹ 8.04 crore has been disbursed to over 1.69 lakh people, and ₹ 20.07 crore has been disbursed as household and clothing assistance to 50,111 affected families,” he said.
Pandey said the rains damaged 2,230 km of roads, which will be repaired and made motorable in the next two weeks.
“Out of 6,931 villages and 17 cities affected by rain-induced power outages, electricity has been restored in 6,927 villages and all 17 cities. Work is underway on a war footing to restore power in the remaining villages.”
Several districts have witnessed flooding since the last week of August, and areas of South Gujarat continue to face flooding, and water logging as rains continue. Parts of Bharuch and Narmada districts have been flooded since Monday.
The weather office has forecast heavy to very heavy rains at isolated places in several districts of Gujarat over the next week.
Reservoirs at capacity
Meanwhile, 115 out of the 206 reservoirs in the State have reached 100% capacity, and the administration has put downstream areas on high alert due to the release of water. Apart from these 45 reservoirs have storage levels between 70 and 100%, prompting the issuance of alerts in the vicinity.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam over the Narmada River, considered the lifeline of Gujarat, currently holds 2,88,248 million cubic feet (MCF) of water, which is more than 88% of its total capacity.
In total, the state’s 206 reservoirs have collectively reached more than 81 % of their storage capacity, according to a report released by the Water Resources Department.
Meanwhile, opposition party leaders toured the flood affected districts and demanded immediate compensation to farmers and residents who suffered losses.
The state Congress president and Rajya Sabha member Shaktisinh Gohil visited Kutch, Devbhumi Dwarka, and Jamnagar districts while the leader of the opposition Amit Chavda, toured Vadodara, and other districts of the state.
Both have demanded a relief package for farmers and compensation for small and medium sized businesses, traders, shop owners, daily wage earners, and slum dwellers.
Published - September 04, 2024 10:50 pm IST
