Rains in Gujarat hit normal life; flood situation in Bihar grim

Ahmedabad: Rains pounded several areas of Gujarat on Sunday leading to swelling of rivers and over 100 dams being put on a high alert, while the flood situation in Bihar remained grim even though no new areas were affected by the deluge since Saturday.

In Haryana and Punjab too, maximum temperatures hovered close to normal limits, while light to moderate rains occurred in many parts of Uttar Pradesh. The meteorological department has forecast rain and thundershowers in all the three states over the next two days.

Three rivers are already flowing above the danger mark in Uttar Pradesh where over 1,000 villages in 16 districts have been hit by floods. An official, however, said all river embankments in the state are safe and there is no need to be worried.

Torrential rains pounded several areas in Gujarat on Sunday, causing waterlogging and disruption to normal life. As rivers swelled and many lakes overflew, a high alert was sounded for 108 dams.

An alert has been issued for 14 dams while a warning has been sounded for 17 dams after they received heavy inflow of water due to rains, officials said.

Parts of Mehsana, Patan, Surat, Gir Somnath, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Aravalli and Surendranagar districts have been witnessing very heavy rainfall since Sunday morning. Low-lying areas in many districts were flooded after several dams and lakes started overflowing, officials said, adding that gates of many dams were opened.

Waterlogging caused by intense rains disrupted normal life in Mehsana, Patan, Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Kadi in Mehsana received 289 mm rainfall between 6 am and 4 pm on Sunday while Becharji, in the same district, received 224 mm of rains, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

The meteorological department has predicted heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in many districts of north, south and east-central Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch region till Tuesday morning.

"As many as 44 rivers and 41 lakes in the state were overflowing due to heavy rains. The Sardar Sarovar Dam is 60.83 per cent full, while 68 dams are full to the brim," Relief Commissioner Harshad Patel said.

According to the government, out of 205 dams, a high alert has been sounded for 108, while 14 have been put on alert. A warning has been issued for 17 dams.

The state has so far received 94.57 per cent of the average annual rainfall. Kutch received the highest 162 per cent rainfall in the state, Patel said.

Eight state highways among 138 roads have been closed for traffic and fishermen have been advised not to venture into the Arabian sea in the south Gujarat coast, the relief commissioner said.

In Bihar, over 83.62 lakh people across 16 districts remained affected by the floods, while no new areas were hit by the calamity in the past 24 hours, the Disaster Management Department said.

Its bulletin reported the same figures it had done on Saturday, saying that altogether 83,62,451 people were reeling under the impact of the deluge and 27 people have died.

However, the number of people being served cooked food has come down to 1.78 lakh on Sunday from 2.09 lakh the previous day. The number of community kitchens also reduced by 50 since Saturday, it said.

The Ganga river continued to flow above the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat and Hathidah in Patna and Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district, according to the Water Resources Department.

The water level of the river is witnessing a rising trend in Buxar, Digha, Gandhi Ghat, Hathidah and Kahalgaon while it has remained steady at Munger and Bhagalpur. The major rivers flowing above the danger level in the state include the Bagmati, Burhi Gandak, Ghaghra and the Khiroi.

Madhya Pradesh witnessed reduced rainfall activity on Sunday after a couple of days as a low-pressure area causing incessant showers moved towards Rajasthan.