Amid heavy rain, 11,900 people shifted to shelter homes; Narmada above danger mark in Gujarat's Bharuch

With heavy rain lashing Gujarat since Sunday, 11,900 people living in low-lying areas in Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand and Gandhinagar districts have been shifted to shelter homes while 270 stranded citizens were rescued.

In a statement, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said work is on to clear roads by removing fallen trees.

According to officials, more than 6,000 people living along the banks of the Narmada river in the Bharuch district have been shifted to safer places in the last two days after the water level rose to 40 feet due to discharge from the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

Several areas in Bharuch city and tehsil and many localities and villages in Ankleshwar are still under knee-deep water even though the water level has been decreasing slowly since Monday morning.

The current water level of the Narmada river is 37.72 feet, nearly 10 feet above the danger mark of 28 feet, at the Golden Bridge that connects Ankleshwar to Bharuch, said an official of Bharuch District Emergency Response Centre (BDERC).

On Sunday, the water level of the river went up to 40 feet at the bridge due to heavy discharge of water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSD) located upstream.

Dandiya Bazaar and other areas in Bharuch city, and several societies and villages in Ankleshwar city and taluka are still inundated in knee-deep water. The situation is improving gradually as water is slowly decreasing, the BDERC official said.

In view of heavy rains in different parts of Gujarat, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said he has been in constant touch with collectors of the affected districts.

"Relief and rescue operations are being carried out wherever needed with the help of 10 teams of both NDRF and SDRF. In all, nearly 11,900 persons living in low-lying areas of Vadodara, Bharuch, Narmada, Dahod, Panchmahal, Anand and Gandhinagar districts were shifted to shelter homes."

"As many as 270 stranded citizens were rescued by the administration while work is on to clear roads by removing fallen trees," CM Patel said.

Meanwhile, Army personnel rescued 12 people stranded on a small island in the Narmada river passing from Karjan taluka in Vadodara district after a 48-hour operation, a government release said.

"After 48 hours of rescue operation, Army personnel successfully rescued and brought these 12 people, including women and children, on the shore on Monday morning using boats," it stated.

The India Meteorological Department said 'extremely heavy rainfall' occurred at isolated places in Arvalli, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, and Sabarkantha districts during the last 24 hours ending at 8:30 am (on Monday).

The IMD predicted 'light to moderate' rain at several places across Gujarat on Monday and Tuesday.

As per the rainfall data shared by the State Emergency Operations Centre, 29 tehsils received more than 40 mm downpour between 6 am and 2 pm on Monday.

Visavadar taluka in Junagadh district received 283 mm of rainfall in the eight hours till 2 pm.

Visavadar was followed by Mendarda taluka in Junagadh (165 mm), Radhanpur in Patan (156 mm), Bhabhar in Banaskantha (144 mm), Vanthali in Junagadh (129 mm), Deodar in Banaskantha (108 mm), Deesa in Banaskantha (91 mm), Mehsana tehsil (91 mm) and Bagsara in Amreli district (91 mm).