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The highly-anticipated June showers have left behind a trail of destruction in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region. According to news reports, around 70 people have died so far as a result of widespread floods. Amreli district is the worst affected with 26 casualties while five deaths each have been reported from Bharuch, Jamnagar, Kutch and Rajkot districts. In Amreli, 400 of 619 villages have been affected.
According to weather experts, a deep pressure which developed in the Arabian Sea caused excess rainfall in the state. Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel conducted an aerial survey of the worst-hit areas of Saurashtra on Thursday.
Meanwhile, other parts of the state have also reported deaths. Four people have died in Devbhoomi-Dwarka while three deaths each have been reported from Bhavnagar, Junagadh and Surendranagar districts. Two deaths were registered in Dahod, Mehsana, Morbi and Surat while one death each has been reported from Kheda, Porbandar, and Valsad, according to official figures.
“We have decided to give a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of all the deceased. In addition, we have also decided to give cash doles for the next 10 days to people in (the) affected areas,” Gujarat health minister Nitin Patel was quoted by the media as saying.
The state government also plans to provide financial assistance to those who have lost their property and livestock.
Around 200,000 food packets were distributed on Thursday to the flood-affected. Packets and water were airdropped in 29 villages in Amreli. Access to water has been cut off in 60 per cent of the affected villages. With several electric poles uprooted, many parts of Amreli reeled under power cuts.
Air Force, NDRF called in
The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) and the Air Force have been pressed into service. Hundreds of people stranded in Amreli, Rajkot and Somnath have been rescued till now. Around 4,000 people were evacuated from 17 villages downstream of the Bhadar dam by the joint efforts of the Air Force and the NDRF.
Local police and fire officials are carrying out rescue work in several areas. The worst-affected areas of Gavadka and Khari villages in Amreli district witnessed people being rescued by 2xMi-17V5 helicopters, according to a Press Information Bureau (PIB) update. Two additional helicopters are on standby at Jamnagar in case there is a need to step up operations.