With an eye on the sky, Vadodara city watches rising water levels in River Vishwamitri
Civic officials said that with the catchment areas of the reservoirs of Ajwa and Pratappura witnessing scanty or no rainfall overnight, and the forecast for Vadodara being that of ‘scanty rain’, the city would “sail through” the current situation
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Fire teams attempt to rescue two men stranded in a tanker in Jambuva village on the outskirts of Vadodara city on Sunday after the Jambuva river floods the area. (Express Photo)Vadodara city had its eyes on the sky all through Sunday as the Vishwamitri River surged close to 22 feet at Kala Ghoda following a day-long controlled release from the Ajwa Reservoir by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) on Saturday. The civic body, which closed the 62 gates of Ajwa Reservoir at midnight on Sunday, continued to downplay the fears of a flood.
On Sunday morning, the Vishwamitri stood at 21.75 feet, rising at a slow pace, after the VMC closed the gates of the Ajwa Reservoir but continued to release controlled water through the pumps in order to maintain a “safe level”.
On Sunday evening, the river began receding slowly and stood at 20.90 feet (at Kala Ghoda), currently about 4 feet below its danger level of 24 feet, which is when water begins to enter many parts of the city. Residents were seen preparing for a flood possibility with people living in low-lying settlements seen moving out, and those in flood-prone areas shifting their vehicles to a safer location.
Municipal Commissioner Arun Mahesh Babu had visited Ajwa Reservoir as well as the Kala Ghoda bridge – which is the benchmark for the Vishwamitri River level in the city – on Saturday to plan the course of action. On Sunday morning, Babu told The Indian Express, “We decided to close the gates of Ajwa Reservoir on Sunday midnight, after an entire day of draining water to bring the level down to the rule level of 212.6 feet… Thereafter, the water is being released in a controlled manner through the pumps at Ajwa. The protocol rule level for Ajwa is 212.50 feet until September 30. We are maintaining that level for the next couple of crucial days. We also need to store water for the next 10 months and, eventually, Ajwa has to be completely filled to its level of 213.85 feet. We have a new filtration plant, Nimeta-2, coming up that will draw 150 MLD water every day, so the reservoir needs to be filled up.”
Civic officials said that with the catchment areas of the reservoirs of Ajwa and Pratappura witnessing scanty or no rainfall overnight, and the forecast for Vadodara being that of “scanty rain”, the city would “sail through” the current situation. In April this year, VMC had also created an additional dredged pond at Pratappura to prevent water from flowing into the city during a flood-like situation, apart from increasing the carrying capacity of the Vishwamitri River to 1,100 cumecs from the 700-800 cumecs last year, when the city witnessed floods in August.
Babu said, “The increase in Vishwamitri levels is extremely slow, and we are not looking at the possibility of any evacuations in the city area unless the river reaches 24 feet at Kala Ghoda for any reason – due to heavy rain or sudden inflow into the reservoirs that will prompt us to release more water… The settlement areas along the riverbank have been alerted, but no evacuations are needed as of now. The Koteshwar area in Vadsar, which saw the access road getting inundated by river water on Saturday, was attended to, and the VMC made arrangements for food packets and drinking water. Before the next monsoon, we will also construct a bridge over the patch that goes underwater every year…”
Babu said that the full moon night on Sunday also slows down the draining of water from the rivers, with all rivers in Central Gujarat currently flowing at their full capacity. Babu said, “The next few hours will be critical due to the slow flow of water into the sea owing to the full moon night… If the city, the catchment, and peripheral areas continue to remain dry or witness just scanty rainfall on Sunday, we will be comfortable soon. Currently, we are in a safe situation.”
Head of Department and Executive Engineer (Water Works), In-charge Additional City Engineer (Drainage Project and Sewage works) and Executive Engineer (Road Projects), Dharmik Dave, told The Indian Express on Sunday evening, “We have decided to keep the Ajwa gates closed for now as the reservoir has to be filled up for storage of drinking water. Although we were expecting the river to recede by Sunday morning, rainfall between 3am and 5am kept the levels steady at the higher point. Now, there is no forecast for heavy rain in the next couple of days but since the weather situation is dynamically changing, the decisions will be taken as per the developing situation.”
He said, “As of now, we do not foresee any flooding in the city… Sunday being a full moon night, the water will recede slowly as the sea is on a high but the river has begun going down. The effect will be seen by Monday if no overnight heavy rain is witnessed. The city and the catchment area saw a few inches of intermittent rains through Sunday but that has been absorbed in the river…”
Apart from the Koteshwar village area in Vadsar, Jambuva village, located on the outskirts of Vadodara city near National Highway-48, also witnessed heavy flooding, with several parts being completely inaccessible due to the swollen Jambuva river.
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