Heavy rains lash state,waterlogging follows

Nearly all six zones of the city received more than 100 mm of rainfall leading to water logging on roads,interruption of Bus Rapid Transit System corridors and closure of underpasses,including those at Navranpura,Mithakali and Akbar Nagar.

A total of 17 complaints of trees uprooting were received. Though no casualties were reported,the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has identified six buildings as “dangerous”. These include Mohandalbhiyani chaal in Gomtipur,Devbhumi society in Shubhnagar,Sonaria block in Rakhial,house number 1177 at Asarva roundabout,Grand Monarck mall in Satellite and 1512 Mamunayakni pol on Gandhiroad.

A total of 132 water pumps were to clear waterlogging across the city.

However,despite the disruption and chaos,Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar recorded a fall in the maximum temperature to 26 degree Celsius,a departure of seven degrees.

Elsewhere in the state,Umarpada taluka in Surat district received the maximum rainfall of over 260 mm of rains in the last 24 hours. Tilakwada in Narmada district and Chotta Udepur in Vadodara district received 109 mm and 103 mm rainfall respectively.

In Saurashtra,after the rainfall early last month,majority of sowing had been completed in this region known for cotton and groundnut production.

However,an extended dry spell since then had farmers worried. They feared crop damage due to the insufficient water for irrigation as major dams of the region had less than 25% of their respective capacity. Moderate rain was recorded in Bhavnagar district with Botad taluka receiving 23 mm.

A persistent light drizzle kept Rajkot city,Jasdan and Gondal talukas moist throughout the day under cloudy skies.

However,Amreli,Junagadh,Porbandar,Jamnagar and Kutch districts remained dry.