Amid heavy rain, 11,900 people shifted to shelter homes in Gujarat

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 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.

NDRF rescues senior citizen trapped in Junagadh
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) received a distress call from the district government and quickly started a rescue mission in Junagadh. A 60-year-old man named Sh. Girish bhai was stuck in Aakha village because of rising floodwaters in Tehsil Venthli. The operation started at 5:20 PM and went on late into the night. Despite the difficult situation, the NDRF team successfully saved Girish bhai and made sure he was safe. The local people and authorities praised the NDRF for their fast and effective response, showing how committed they are to saving lives during natural disasters. Rescue operations are still happening in that area to help others in need.