Deesa: Around 25,000 people have been evacuated to safety across Gujarat after several districts in the western Indian state were flooded following heavy rains.
A high alert has been sounded as more than 20 highways of the state got submerged. Waterlogging on tracks forced the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express to return to Ahmedabad from Mehsana.
While teams of National Disaster Response Force, and other rescue agencies are at work, the Air Force has been kept on stand-by to evacuate people. In the evening, more rescue workers were sent into the affected areas. Heavy rains are expected until July 29, reports ndtv.com
The flooding has affected Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Anand, Patan and parts of Valsad districts in Gujarat. Around 11,000 people have been evacuated in Banaskantha district alone. Food packets are being arranged at temporary relief camps.
North Gujarat and Saurashtra got hit after heavy rains caused the Sabarmati river to overflow. Rajasthan’s Dhantiwada, Sipu and Dharoi dams have also overflowed following heavy rains in South Rajasthan, hitting the low lying areas of Banaskantha, Patan and Anand districts.
A dozen teams of NDRF have been stationed in various parts of North Gujarat and Saurashtra. Personnel from the Army and the BSF have been also been deployed. Six more teams have also been sent to the affected areas.
The rescue workers are at work in the Dhanera and Deesa towns of Banaskantha district. Rescue operations are also on in Kalol of Gandhinagar and Deodar of Banskantha. Both places have received eight inches of rain in the last two days, an official said.
Rail services between Ahmedabad and Delhi stopped as the rail tracks, too, got flooded. The Delhi-bound Rajdhani Wxpress forced to go back to Ahmedabad from Mehsana.
IAF choppers have been on standby to rescue people stranded in flood-hit areas. Yesterday, the Indian Air Force evacuated a woman who had just delivered twins and another pregnant woman from Nana Matra village in Rajkot district.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who conducted an aerial survey of Surendranagar, has stationed himself in state flood control room to supervise the operations.
Since June, 70 people have died in Gujarat due to rain related incidents.
According to the State Emergency Operations Centre, Gujarat has so far received almost 56.61 per cent of the total expected rainfall.
Rains have also lashed several parts of the country, including parts of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The situation in flood-ravaged Assam has shown some improvement.