Surat submerged by floods, IAF rushes to the rescue

Water supplies minister Narottam Patel and Collector RM Shah, monitoring rescue operations in rural areas of the district said that about 20,000 persons from villages of the district were affected and 9,800 have been evacuated so far.

Fresh areas of the city were submerged on Thursday after water rushed into the city since early morning. The Vivekananda bridge at Nanpura was submerged throughout the day. As 80 per cent of the city remained submerged, the Adajan, Rander, Katargam, Amroli,Pund-Kumbharia and Magdalla areas remained worst affected.

The army and rescue workers have been divided into four teams and equipped with helicopters, rescue boats and food packets. These teams have been pressed into relief work at the Amroli-Kosad, Katargam-Ved Road, Puna-Kumbharia and Rander-Adajan areas.

Four fire brigade personnel, along with four other volunteers are reported missing after the rescue boat in which they were travelling turned turtle due to heavy currents in the afternoon. Although authorities have not confirmed their deaths so far, none has been traced.

A side-wall of the weir-cum-causeway of the city caved in, causing heavy flow of water from the weir to the Rander and Adajan areas, and inundating newer areas. Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, Health Minister Ashok Bhatt and other officials, have also rushed to the city.

Providing details of the rural areas affected, Narottam Patel told this paper: “There has been water-logging in almost all talukas with Kosad, Bharthana,Kadarma, Kadod, Utran and other areas besides the Tapi river being worst affected.” He added that over 50,000 food packets, along with water pouches and medicines had already been despatched to these places.

District Development Officer (DDO) Kamal Dayani, who has been supervising the relief work said, while the authorities have been working round the clock to provide relief, inundated roads and non-accessibility in rural areas are hampering work. “We are still struggling to enter the interior villages of Chhappra Bhata, Vatiyav, Ganeshpura and other places,” he stated.

Air Force personnel, who reached the city at about 8 am proceeded to the worst affected areas only after 12 noon, as they were waiting for supply of boats and helicopters. Around 15,000 people were shifted to safer places by the army until evening, Lt Gen Khanna said.

By late afternoon, the waters of the Tapi was flowing over the Magdalla port jetty. The water level, 3.15 feet over the jetty, caused the four barges (small vessels) tofloat on the jetty. Post officer BR Pathak had to evacuate crew of the barges and 90 others, including workers and supervisors of Vipul Shipping located at Magdalla Port.

Providing an encouraging trend in a rather grim situation prevailing for the past 48 hours, extra assistant director Ashok Kumar of the Central Water Commission (CWC) said that lesser water would be released in the Tapi from Ukai from evening. “Since the inflow into the Ukai has decreased, the outflow will also be cut down,” he said.

At 4.30 pm today, 6.93 lakh cusecs water was being released from Ukai as compared to 9 lakh cusecs that was released around midnight. The Ukai level was 345.05 ft, while at Hope Pool it was 101.25 feet.