Dams brim with rainwater, several villages in Vadodara put on alert

Four gates of Karjan dam on Narmada was opened after water level reached 105 metre mark. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)

As heavy rain continued to lash Vadodara city and district, several villages were put on alert by the district authorities on Monday. Collector Avantika Singh Aulakh ordered the disaster management teams to be on standby, with Kadana dam on Mahisagar river inching towards the danger mark. In Narmada district, Karjan dam released 27,000 cusecs on Monday afternoon while the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river was close to its overflow level of 121.93 metres, standing at 120.15 metres on Monday evening.

Vadodara city received a total of 37 mm rain in the last 24 hours, resulting in water-logging in several areas of the city, including residential colonies. However, the Vishwamitri River remained low at 5 metres, with authorities keeping an eye for the expected overflow from Narmada by Wednesday. Currently, Narmada Dam is receiving 1,04,755 cusecs due to heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh, causing the dam level to increase by seven centimetres per hour, officials said. SSNNL officials confirmed that two units of the power house in Narmada were continuously working for the last five days. Vadodara district has received 336 mm rain in the last 24 hours, with authorities receiving heavy rains warning until Wednesday.

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Collector Aulakh said, “Currently, we have put villages on the banks of Mahisagar on alert as the Kadana dam is 70% full and reaching its danger level. We do not have any marooned villages or flood- like situation in other parts of the district yet, but once the Narmada dam overflows, we will review the situation.” In Vadodara district, Dabhoi has received maximum rainfall with 59 mm until Monday evening.

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Several parts of Narmada and Chhota Udepur have received incessant rains since Friday evening, triggering flooding of villages. Overnight rains resulted in swelling rivers flowing from the region. While several villages in Dediapada in Narmada went under water, in Chhota Udepur, the overflowing Orsang river crossed over a bridge connecting several villages to the town.

On Monday afternoon, Karjan dam in Narmada opened four gates to release about 27,000 cusecs, sounding flood alarm alarm to several villages in Nandod taluka of the district.