Two more die due to heavy rains in Gujarat

Heavy downpour continued to pound parts of Saurashtra and South Gujarat regions on the fourth day, resulting in deaths of two more persons.

The state administration has so far relocated about 3,500 people to safety during ongoing monsoons.

“As many as 180 villages and towns are without electricity and over 184 roads have been closed down due to rain. We hope that once the rain and water subside, we would be able to restore the power supply,” Manoj Kothari, relief commissioner, told reporters.

“Of the 203 dams in the state, five are full till the brim and another six have water storage of over 90% level,” he said.

The state has also deployed 20 teams of National Disaster Response Force across the state, with eight teams stationed in the Saurashtra region— which is the most affected.

The Railway authorities were forced to shut down operations of all the meter guage trains in the region as tracks were washed out in parts of Saurashtra.

Among the regions that witnessed heavy rain include Jam Khambhalia taluk of Devbhoomi Dwarka district receiving 311 mm (12 inch) of rain, followed by Manavadar Taluk of Junagadh district with 279 mm (11 inch) of rainfall during a period of eight hours beginning 8.00 am on Tuesday.

The Ranavav Taluk of Porbandar district received 164 mm if rainfall since Tuesday, as per the state government figures.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was forced to return to state capital Gandhinagar from his aerial visit to Gir Somnath district of Saurashtra as his helicopter could not land in nearby Keshod.

He later boarded an Air Force chopper to reach Jetpur near Rajkot, the unofficial headquarters of Saurashtra region.

Incidentally, RSS leader Mohan Bhagwat, RSS general secretary Bhayyuji Joshi and 200 top RSS functionaries from across the country have been in Gir Somnath since the last 4-5 days for a national-level meet.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is slated to visit the state for a day may most likely skip his Saurashtra leg and instead visit South Gujarat and Gandhinagar.

It was planned that he will inaugurate a hospital in Junagadh and visit Navsari in South Gujarat as well as Gandhinagar.

The chief minister also cancelled his weekly Cabinet meeting on Wednesday and instead asked his Cabinet and ministerial colleagues to visit their constituencies and review flood situation and rescue operations.

The MeT department has issued warnings of continued heavy rain in the coming days.

“The state may witness extremely heavy rain in some parts, including Gir Somnath and Junagadh this week,” Met department bulletin said.