Water-logging pushes Rann Utsav by five weeks, will open on Dec 1

“We have rescheduled the inauguration to December 1 considering heavy rainfall this year and subsequent water-logging. There is around four feet water in the desert and it will take at least a month to dry. Rann Utsav is basically a desert festival and we have to ensure safety of tourists,” Tushar Gaur, TCGL manager in charge of events, told The Indian Express.

TCGL has awarded contracts to two private parties — Lallooji & Sons and Praveg Communica-tions Limited — to develop tent city near Dhordo on the edge of the Great Rann of Kutch (GRK) in Bhuj taluka of Kutch district for tourists for the Rann Utsav on public-private partnership basis. However, at present, the White Desert, a patch of salt area is under water.

Kutch district received more than 28 inches of rain during the south-west monsoon season, which ended early this month. The rainfall this year was around 180 per cent of the long-term average of the district. North Gujarat region also received better than average rainfall, leading to higher levels of flooding in the desert.

Around 320 workers working on salt pans of a marine chemical factory in the GRK near Hajipir had to be rescued after they were surrounded by surging waters in the desert following heavy rain in August this year. Of them, 125 had to be airlifted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) while the remaining were taken to safety by teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local residents.

The Gujarat government has been organising the Rann Utsav since 2005. The salt desert is its biggest attraction and the annual event gives local artistes and craftsmen an opportunity to showcase their work. TCGL officers said that booking for tents will begin from October 28. Gaur said that they had to postpone the event on a couple of occasions in the past also.

Vasan Ahir, an MLA from Kutch who is Minister of State for Welfare of OBC, said, “We can’t do much… Entire desert is water-logged. Not only that, it was an extended monsoon, a quite unusual phenomenon for Kutch. Nonet-heless, the water has started receding and we are hopeful the Rann Utsav will start as per revised schedule,” said Ahir.