Following a halt of over 10 days, the Southwest monsoon is advancing further into Gujarat, bringing rain to most parts of the state, starting late Monday. Junagadh’s Visavadar recorded the maximum rainfall at 109 mm (within 12 hours) on Tuesday, said the weather department, while issuing a “heavy” rainfall alert for the state through this week. Further, Danta (64 mm) and Deodar (51 mm) in Banaskantha district, and Kheda (56 mm) recorded rainfall above the 50 mm-mark between 6 am and 6 pm on Tuesday, said the India Meteorological Department. Over 150 out of the total 251 talukas in the state reported rainfall on Tuesday. Kheda’s Matar received 116 mm rainfall, followed by Panchmahal’s Kalol (93 mm) and Surendranagar district’s Chuda (90 mm) between Monday and Tuesday morning, said the weather department. Ahmedabad, which recorded an average of 30 mm rainfall, meanwhile, reported massive traffic snarls due to waterlogging and cave-ins on Tuesday morning. Following midnight-rainfall in several parts of Ahmedabad, the city reported waterlogging and cave-ins, including one in Khokhra near Anupam Cinema. Also, trees uprooted due to high-velocity wind in Makarba, Andhjanmandal, Ramdevnagar, Shyamal crossroads led to traffic snarls on Tuesday morning. International flyers, too, faced delays to reach Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in the wee hours of Tuesday. “The road leading to the international airport terminal was completely flooded between 1.30 pm and 2 am on Tuesday. we were on the way to drop our daughter, who had to board the Qatar Airways with the departure at 4 am. two underbridges were also closed. We had a scary time, fearing we might miss the flight,” Sunil Parekh, senior strategy adviser, Zydus Cadila Group, told The Indian Express. Over 20 cars were stuck along the road due to waterlogging. To check the inflow of water, four gates of Vasna barrage were opened by 2 feet. For Wednesday, the IMD has issued a “heavy” rainfall alert in Anand, Panchmahal, Vadodara and Chhota Udepur districts as well as in Saurashtra’s Amreli, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar and Botad. Further, light to moderate rainfall and thunderstorm along with lightning and surface wind of 30- 40 kmph (in gust) is expected in the districts of Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Aravalli, Kheda, Ahmedabad, Anand, Panchmahal, Dahod, Mahisagar, Vadodara, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, Dang, Tapi, Navsari, Valsad, Surendranagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Morbi, Dwarka, Gir Somnath, Botad and Kutch. On Thursday, heavy rains are expected in the districts of Panchmahal, Dahod, Mahisagar, Vadodara, Valsad, Amreli and Bhavnagar. Heavy rains warning is issued for Kheda, Anand, Panchmahal, Dahod, Mahisagar and Vadodara on Friday and Bharuch, Surat, Dang, Tapi, Navsari, Valsad on Saturday. On Tuesday, the state saw a drop in the temperatures with all its centres reporting the maximum temperature below 40°C.
