Widespread devastation in central Gujarat districts

Rajendra Parmar, 30, a farmer from the village who also supplies milk to the Baroda Dairy centre, told The Indian Express, “This is the first time I’m witnessing such a devastating monsoon… two of my cows drowned and three other cattle, including a buffalo, managed to escape. When local officials asked us to evacuate homes, we let our cattle loose but some could not escape… We returned after the local representative (BJP MLA Abesinh Tadvi, who accompanied MP Geeta Rathwa and Cabinet Minister Nimisha Suthar) was here to take stock of the damage.”

Another villager Vijaysinh Parmar also lost one of his three cows in the floods. “The MLA told us not to move anything until the survey teams of the district administration complete assessment. We returned with families as we were worried about our belongings… The water has receded and we cannot let things remain unguarded at such a time. We have been promised compensation,” Vijaysinh said.

On Monday, Tadvi, Rathwa and Suthar who visited the taluka to take stock of the damages were met with angry residents. In a school in Bodeli, where the evacuees had taken shelter, there were complaints that the district administration was not able to make arrangements for meals until late afternoon on Monday.
At Raza Nagar in Bodeli, where police rescued residents trapped in rising water on Sunday, the families returned even as water is yet to recede completely. The taluka received 22 inches of rain in 12 hours, washing away not just structures but also damaging beyond repair electronics, furniture and even foodgrains.

A resident said, “We have never imagined such a flood, nor were we prepared for it. Our belongings are lost… It was to be Eid celebrations on Sunday but we are devastated.”

Even as rain abated, the swollen Uchh river continued to cause damage along its course. A temple dedicated to Lord Shiva located on the banks of Uchh river in Sankheda in Chhota Udepur collapsed on Monday as the ground beneath the structure was washed away. The Bodeli-Panej highway was also damaged.

As many as 12 villages in Naswadi taluka of the district were cut off as access roads were inundated where State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel were deployed for rescue operations. According to the district administration, at least two persons were killed in the floods — one in Sankheda and one in Bodeli, so far.

The other river in the district, Orsang, has also been overflowing causing a stretch of the Narmada in Vadodara district’s Dabhoi taluka to swell. The incoming water washed away the railway track connecting Vadodara to the Statue of Unity between Chandod in Vadodara and Ekta Nagar in Narmada district.

Approximately, eight villages of Dabhoi taluka have been cut off following the rising levels of Dadhar river. Vadodara District Collector AB Gor has issued an alert as the rivers flowing through Vadodara — Narmada, Mahisagar, Dadhar, Vishwamitri and Dev — are witnessing steadily rising levels.