Rain fury continued in parts of Gujarat putting lives out of gear, especially in Saurashtra region with several villages disconnected from other parts of the country, highways and train services affected.
Three persons lost their lives due to lightning on Tuesday. The Met department has predicted more rain for the State till July 24. Among the worst affected region was South Gujarat, which received as much as 11 inches of rains in last 24 hours. Valsad town situated near Maharashtra border have received about 11 inches of rain, while Pardi, Dharampur and Vapi in Valsad district received 10.59 inches, 8 inches and 7 inches rains in 24 hours.
The towns of Chikhli, Gandevi and Khergam in Navsari district of South Gujarat received 9.96 inches, 8 inches and 7 inches of rains in last 24 hours respectively. As many as 70 families in Navsari district were said to be cut off with no access to safety. The NDRF team too has been put on high alert.
The train services on the busy Mumbai-Ahmedabad route getting disrupted for over two hours as railway line at Valsad railway station was under water. The National Highway 48 as well as Ahmedabad-Mumbai highway too has been impacted due to rains. Thirty other roads were also closed for traffic movement as a precaution.
Parts of Saurashtra and Kutch too were pounded by rains. According to information coming in, as many as 200 families Kutch remained cut off due to heavy rains. The state government has put 21 of the 203 dams in the state on high alert. The total storage capacity of the 203 dams is around 1.58 million cubic meters, of which they have 5575 million cubic meters of water till date. The lifeline of Gujarat, Narmada dam, meanwhile is filled up to 86.18% of its capacity at 117.34 meters.
In Ahmedabad, four persons were hit by lightning, of which three died and one was seriously injured. The city received roughly over two inches of rains in three hours on Tuesday morning. Several areas across the city were water logged and authorities were forced to announce closure of several schools in the city. The city that receives 229.8 mm of rains has received 10% excess rains at 251.2 mm this season so far.
Gujarat has seen over 41% of average seasonal rains so far, which is excess of 24% of the seasonal rain during this time,” said met department director Jayanta Sarkar, adding that region-wise, Saurashtra and Kutch have seen 51% above normal rains, while Gujarat region has received 5% above normal rains this season, which is good news for agriculturists.