Gujarat rains: Villagers trying to cross the flooded Sukh-Bhadar river near Nana Matra village in Rajkot (Photo by Gopal Kateshiya)
The southern districts of Gujarat such as Rajkot and Amreli continued to receive light rain with some rivers flowing above safety limits. Aji river, which bisects the city of Rajkot, was flooded and led to waterlogging in many parts of the city. Water level in the Aji-I dam also increased significantly following rain in the catchment area. Dhoraji and Upleta talukas in the district received the most rainfall, 61 mm and 72 mm respectively.
In Amreli, which also received moderate rainfall since Tuesday, villages such as Mekda in Savarkundla taluka experienced flooding after an embankment burst due to increased water levels in Survo and Chhel rivers. Though the water is receding, there are widespread reports of damage to standing crops of cotton and groundnut. Soil has also been eroded. On Tuesday, talukas such as Savarkundla, Khambha and Rajula had got rainfall above 40 mm.
The weather department has forecasted more rain till September 2 due to a depression over the state. “A well-marked low pressure area over south-west Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring areas along with an upper-air cyclonic circulation, which is likely to concentrate into a depression over Gujarat region and neighbouring areas” later today, the Indian Meteorological Department said. Officials hope that the depression, moving across Gujarat-Maharashtra border, will fizzle out by Thursday.
On Tuesday, the southern and Saurashtra districts of the state received heavy rainfall. Botad and Keshod taluka (Junagadh district) recorded the highest rainfall of 76.2 mm along with Malia (Junagadh), Mahua (Bhavnagar), Maliya Miyana (Morbi) and Kawant (Vadodara) receiving over 50.8 mm of rain till Tuesday evening. Quant (Chhota Udepur), Mangrol (Junagadh), Vaso (Kheda), Petlad (Anand) and Jetpur Pavi (Chhota Udepur) are among the top ten talukas to receive heavy rainfall. Gujarat has recorded 96.98 per cent average rainfall till August 29 this year. The Sukh-Bhadar river in Rajkot district has swelled in recent days cutting off villages like Nana Matra.
Gujarat has already been prone to heavy floods this year and this will be the second time that the cities in the state will receive such intense rain. The state emergency operations centre said 39 reservoirs in the state are completely-filled, 31 are 99 per cent full and 17 have 80 to 90 per cent water.
Mumbai, the country’s financial capital on Tuesday, also recorded the heaviest rainfall since the July, 2005 floods that drowned the city. The city came to a virtual standstill yesterday after it recorded 315.8 mm of rain in 12 hours till 8:30 pm. Suburban services were halted, vehicles stuck in heavy traffic and water swiftly entered homes in low-lying areas of the city as the rain came pouring down.
(With inputs from Gopal Kateshiya)
