To tackle the issue of regular creek floods during every monsoon season, the state government has announced plans to widen the creeks from 40 metres to 60 metres in some narrow areas, apart from desalination and dredging activities. Under the leadership of the Gujarat Finance Minister and Surat in-charge Kanu Desai, a high-level meeting was held with officials on Thursday. For a long-term solution, a separate underground line will be made to prevent rainwater from entering the creeks in Surat. Several short-term and long-term solutions were discussed during Wednesday’s meeting and officials were told to start working on them. State ministers Harsh Sanghavi, Kunwarji Bavaliya, Mukesh Patel, Surat Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agrawal, Surat District Collector Dr Sourabh Pardhi and their teams also attended the meeting. Sources said that this year's creek floods were the worst in Surat's history as areas, which were spared even during the 2006 devastating floods, were inundated this time. Creek floods force people to stay indoors, remain in the upper floors of their houses, and also lead to evacuation during which many are shifted to shelter homes. In Surat city, areas affected by creek floods included Udhna Limbayat, Varachha, Parvat Patia, and Saniya Hemad in Sachin. At the meeting, Municipal Commissioner Agarwal showed presentations to the ministers, outlining the root cause of the creek floods and marking the areas affected. Irrigation department officials also presented their survey report, which included earlier maps of the creeks and current maps, showing that in some areas, creeks become narrow. A local high-power committee on “prevention of creek flood”, comprising Surat Municipal Corporation officials, revenue officials, Irrigation department officials, Road and Building department officials had surveyed the creeks in the city and prepared their report. Suggestions were made on how to prevent such floods. The municipal commissioner also shared details about works, including removal of bridges and culverts affecting the flow of creek water, done by the SMC. An official present at the meeting, on the condition of anonymity, said that two types of solutions were suggested – short-term and long-term. Officials also said that the major reason behind creek floods is the large quantity of rainwater from different villages and talukas in Surat reaching the creeks. As part of a short-term solution, SMC and Irrigation department officials were instructed to facilitate the free flow of water into creeks and remove obstacles obstructing the flow. Constructions on the banks of streams, including compound walls, were also asked to be removed. Officials were also asked to carry out desilting and dredging in two major creeks – Mithi and Kakra. Additionally, at specific points, they were asked to widen the creeks from around 40 metres to 60 metres to enhance their water-carrying capacity. Construction of separate rainwater lines along highways and interior roads in talukas to prevent rainwater from entering the creeks were suggested under long-term solutions. Ponds near creeks should be deepened, and creek water passing through different areas in the city should be diverted directly into the Tapi instead of passing it through some areas of the city, officials were told. Talking to The Indian Express, District Collector Pardhi said, “The meeting went well… long-term and short-term solutions for creek floods were decided. The Surat Municipal Corporation, Irrigation department and Surat Collectorate Department will jointly work on these.”
