850 evacuated in Gujarat

 Heavy rainfall in the catchment areas in the neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on Monday led to the rise in the water level of the rivers in Gujarat. Over 850 people had to be evacuated, officials said.

In Ahmedabad, the lower promenade of the Sabarmati river front was closed to the public, with over 160 security personnel being stationed to patrol the area.

Heavy rain in Rajasthan saw the Dharoi dam in Mehsana receive a fresh inflow of 1,54,000 cusecs of water.

As the level of water in Dharoi touched 619 ft, the authorities opened 10 gates of the dam to keep the water level below the danger mark of 622 ft.

The authorities also sounded an alert in over two dozen villages in the low-lying areas on the banks of river Sabarmati.

With over 54,200 cusecs of water being released to the Sabarmati, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation did not want to take any chance and opened 18 of the 30 gates of the Vasna barrage in the city. This will bring down the water level in the Sabarmati river to 126 ft from 132 ft.

In other parts of the state, 700 people were caught amid the rising waters of the Mahisagar river in Kanchalpura village of Anand district.

 They were evacuated using boats even as there were no officials to supervise the rescue operations. In Mehsana district, on the other hand, about 150 people were evacuated with the help of the National Disaster Response Force personnel.

As on August 22, the water level in the dams across the state has touched 73.23%, with major dams having 69.51% water, other dams 40.48% water and the mega Sardar Sarovar Dam on Narmada river at 100% capacity.

 The water level in Narmada dam has been rising due to the release of water from the Indira Sagar dam in Madhya Pradesh.

Authorities have sounded an alert in 23 villages of Bharuch and Narmada districts on the banks of the river.

PM assures Centre’s help

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday promised support from the Centre in relief operations in the five flood-hit north Indian states, DHNS reports from New Delhi.

Modi’s intervention came as flood situation in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand worsened. The PM called UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, his MP and Bihar counterparts Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Nitish Kumar to discuss the flood situation.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke to UP, Bihar and Rajasthan CMs to review the conditions.