Rains lash Gujarat, 25,000 evacuated

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Ahmedabad: Heavy rains lashed parts of Gujarat and Maharashtra, giving nightmares of the last year's deluge.

Three people were killed in Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat after heavy rains disrupted normal life in the area since Friday.

One person was electrocuted, while two others drowned in a river in Malpur locality, flood control department officials said.

Two people were killed in Bharuch city of central-south Gujarat when a house collapsed, while an 11-year-old boy was killed when a wall collapsed over him in Kim town of Surat district.

An 18-year-old girl was killed when she fell from a bridge and drowned in the Vanki rivulet in Valsad district on Saturday evening. Another youth, Jugal Shah died of electrocution in Vallabh Vidyanagar town of Anand district.

In south and central Gujarat, authorities have evacuated more than 25,500 people from low-lying areas following heavy rains in the region.

"An alert has been sounded in villages located downstream the river Narmada (in Bharuch district) as the Sardar Sarovar dam is expected to overflow by afternoon today," additional district collector J P Solanki said.

"A total of 7,192 people have been evacuated from about 17 villages of Bharuch district," he added.

Of these, 4,805 persons were evacuated from Vagra, Valiya, Ankleshwar and Bharuch talukas till this morning.

In addition to this, 2,387 people from Jambusar town are also being evacuated on Sunday as a precautionary measure, he said.

Solanki said people living in villages along the river Narmada have been alerted and have been asked to move to safer places by this afternoon.

Ten persons have died in rain-related incidents since the last two days. Eight deaths were reported till yesterday and two more drowned in Anand district.

A total of 7,400 people have been evacuated in Navsari district even as the Poorna river continued to flow at the danger mark.

According to flood control sources, 1,406 people have been evacuated from 13 villages of Anand district, while 1,155 people from seven villages of neighbouring Kheda district of central Gujarat have been moved to safer places.

Maharashtra deluge

Heavy rains have also lashed several parts of Maharashtra. Three army units have been deployed in Solapur, Satara and Kolhapur in Maharashtra and a few in parts of Gujarat.

A flood alert was also sounded in the low-lying areas of Pune. Four villages in Vadodara are completely under water.

Around 2,000 families were evacuated from low-lying areas of Navsari and Bharuch districts in south Gujarat on Saturday.

A red alert has been sounded in several areas of the two states. The Meteorological Department has predicted heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours.

In Nasik, the district administration has alerted people living on the banks of river Godavari following rise in water level after the release of water from Gangapur dam, official sources said.

Up to 12,648 cusecs (cubic feet per seconds) water has been released from the dam since Thursday following incessant rains, they said.

Rivers Girna, Banganga, Behadi, Punad and Darna were flooded following good rainfall in catchment areas, officials said.

The Gangapur dam, the main source of water for Nasik city was filled up to 85 per cent, forcing the irrigation department to release more than 12,000 cusecs of water from it step by step.

Bhandardara dam near Ghoti was also filled to capacity, reports reaching the district headquarters said. Trains on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route are running late by four to seven hours.

Some trains have been stranded between Vapi and Surat on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route. These include:

Trains services along the Wester Railways have been disrupted. the trains afftected by the rains include:

Trains Cancelled