Gujarat: 7,000 people rescued from waterlogged areas in Vadodara, Ahmedabad

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and his Deputy Nitin Patel reached Vadodara on Friday late evening to take stock of the situation on day three of the deluge which has thrown the city out of gear, with several parts of the city still inundated and without electricity for over 48 hours.

A total of 840 pregnant women were among those to be shifted to different hospitals in the city, Singh said. Although the trains going to Delhi and Mumbai have started, the Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) trains are yet to begin operations, he added. He further said that the Vadodara airport has become functional, the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (GSRTC) services have also begun and the National Highway between Ahmedabad and Mumbai has been cleared for traffic. According to Singh, 98 additional medical teams have been sent to Vadodara city.

Read | Four more crocodiles rescued as water recedes in Vadodara

Speaking to this newspaper, Singh later said that the government has decided to resolve the flooding of Vishwamitri for the long term with a ‘big plan’. “We are serious about this issue. The flooding in the city is because while Vadodara itself received almost 500 mm rain in one day, Halol in Panchmahal simultaneously received close to 171 mm,” he said. “Water has receded in many parts, but Vishwamitri is plagued with encroachments and there will be a big project that we are taking up to avert this situation in the future.”

Store owners distribute food items free of cost after rain flooded their shops. (Express photo: Bhupendra Rana)

Although the level of the water in the river receded by two feet, now at 30 feet at 10pm from 34.5 feet, many residential colonies in waterlogged areas went without electricity for the third day.

Of 48 feeders shut in the city by the Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Ltd. (MGVCL) on Wednesday, most were restored by Friday. However, officials added that the transformers located in waterlogged areas were still shut.

The Vadodara Fire Department, the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and police teams worked round the clock to provide water, food and relief materials to inundated residents.

However, the continuing waterlogging despite a break in the rain showers since Thursday midnight, sparked off much outrage on social media, with residents questioning the BJP-ruled civic body and social media posts blaming the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) for leaving them unaware about opening the floodgates of the Ajwa reservoir on Wednesday evening, which is said to have caused much flooding in the already swelling Vishwamitri.

A cow feeds on grains the owners threw after it got wet in the rain; (below) Efforts on to trace a person who fell into the drain in Vadodara. (Express photo: Bhupendra Rana)

Singh said that the civic body could not be called ‘unprepared’ because the volume of water that Vishwamitri can flush out is lesser than the rainfall witnessed in the city.

When asked about residents blaming the civic body for not being alerted of a possible deluge, Singh said, “The water which had come from Ajwa was not as much as the rain received in Vadodara itself. So, the reservoir is not responsible for this flooding. The storm water drainage network is an issue in the city and we are making a medium to long-term plan for the same.”

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel visited SSG Hospital in Vadodara, along with Cabinet minister and Manjalpur MLA Yogesh Patel and BJP General Secretary Bhargav Bhatt.

“We saw pictures of the flooded Kala Ghoda circle and the bridge yesterday. Today, the water has been pushed back to a large extent and all major roads are open. About 1,400 patients are being treated here at the SSG hospital and they were given meals. Although vegetables could not be procured due to rain, they were served Khichdi and potato curry. The relief operations are in full swing at many places and things are in control,” Patel said.