Overnight rainfall inundates low-lying areas in Surat; heavy flow of water hampers search for advocate who jumped into Tapi

In the afternoon, an advocate, Surat resident Feroz Pathan (50), jumped into the Tapi river from the cable-stayed bridge near the district court building. The heavy flow of water is proving to be a deterrent for personnel who have been pressed into service to locate him, said officers.

Surat City’s Chief Fire Officer Basant Pareek said, “The search is on to find the body of the advocate. Due to heavy discharge from Ukai dam into the Tapi river, there has been a huge flow of water because of which our teams are facing problems in finding the body. The body may have been washed away.”

Police have recovered Pathan’s bike parked on the roadside. The reason behind the extreme step by Pathan, who was earlier a member of the Congress’s legal cell in Surat city, is not clear yet.

Meanwhile, areas hit by heavy rainfall and resultant waterlogging include Katargam, Singhanpore, Jehangirpura, and multiple regions in the Limbayat and Udhna zones of the SMC where civic body officials have initiated the process of “dewatering”.

Though the city received less rainfall on Friday, a number of citizens living in low-lying areas faced problems in reaching their workplaces, said sources.

The water level recorded in the Ukai dam on Friday afternoon was 337 feet, just three feet short of rule level. The dam has been receiving heavy inflow of water from the upper catchment areas in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, increasing the water level.

Thursday onwards, the dam authorities started discharging large amounts of water into the Tapi river.

On Friday, the usually narrow Tapi river was seen filled to the brim and flowing in full sway, drawing people to the banks to take photos.

On SMC closing the floodgates, sources said the intention was to prevent river water from entering the city. However, the water level in the creeks has also risen, leading to anxiety among residents living along the banks, said sources.

Though people residing in residential societies claimed to have witnessed water entering their main roads, SMC sources the authorities have not initiated any rescue operation as people were “safe in their homes”.