Gandhinagar, 7 September, 2011

In the wake of incessant heavy rains in the Saurashtra & Kutch and south Gujarat regions rains for the last few days, Gujarat Government has asked all the departments concerned and particularly Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) to spare no efforts in rescue and relief operations.

The Council of Ministers headed by Chief Minister Narendra Modi at its emergency review meeting here today suggested a number of measures.

Giving details of the operations, state government’s spokespersons, Health Ministers Jay Narayan Vyas and Minister of State for Finance Saurabh Patel said that heavy rains had caused power failure in 502 villages in Kutch and Jamnagar districts during the last 24 hours. It has been restored in 321 villages by noon.

Bhuj received 248 mm (10 inches) rain yesterday. Nearly 15,000 people were marooned in the waterlogged Ashapura, Bhanushali, Umednagar, Shantinagar, Sanskarnagar and Sanyognagar localities, out of which 5,000 were moved to safer areas, 1,600 provided shelter by the government and another 860 by ashrams. One person was killed in Ashapura locality.

District Guardian Secretary J.P. Gupta has reached the Kutch for supervision of the worst affected areas at Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau and Gandhidham for supervising. Three deputy collectors and six deputy mamlatdars have been assigned additional duty. One state-level and 50 local health teams are on the job. Ten dewatering pumps have been put up.

Gandhinagar’s 35-member GSDMA team had reached Bhuj by midnight and rescued 106 people from Ashapura by 5 a.m. The team then left for Khavda area.
The NDRF and SRP are also on the job.

Unprecedented sudden heavy rain (614 mm during the last few days) in the catchments of Sami dam in Jamkalyanpur area caused two gates slipped from the angle girders. An inspection team has been sent to Sami dam and other overflowing rivers in Jamnagar, Porbandar and Junagadh districts.

Despite issuing warnings to the fishermen against venturing out off Veraval, Mangrol, Jafrabad, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Okha, Jakhau and Veraval along the Gujarat coast after receiving signals from the Meteorological Department, 3,745 boats were caught in the sea, out of which 3530 have returned and 215 reached safer zones. In all, 165 crew members in 31 boats have been saved, while eight boats sunk. Eight crews in one boat near Nargol are expected to return by tonight. Only three fishermen are feared dead.

According to reports reaching here till 7 a.m. today, all the districts have received over 20 inches and 21 districts over 25 inches rainfall this monsoon season. No taluka received less than 12 inches rainfall; 185 taluka received more than 20 inches. As many as 61 out of 225 talukas received more than cent per cent rainfall of the entire season already. District-wise, it rained more than cent per cent of the entire season in Kutch, Patan, Rajkot and Sabarkantha. Kheda received minimum of 509 mm.

The state’s total water storage capacity in reservoirs is 22,229 million cubic metres (mcm). It has reached 18,779 mm (87 per cent). It is the second highest since 20,036 mcm reached in 2005. Out of 201 dams in the state, 92 are full, 60 70-90 per cent full and 49 less than 70 per cent. Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) dam on the Narmada is overflowing.