Ahmedabad: The Garba lovers of Ahmedabad have put their fingers crossed for the fifth night of Navratri today even as the city has experienced around an inch of rain till this evening and the Met Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall warning for the next 48 hours across the state.

Rain god who was merciless for many parts of the state in last 24 hours during which 210 talukas of all the 33 districts saw light to very heavy showers, had shown some leniency to Amdavadis who on the fourth night yesterday were to a great extent spared and somewhat made up for the loss of earlier three nights and enjoyed Garbas a great deal in the absence of rain.

The rain struck very late by when most of the Garbas were finished. Today owing to overcast sky and intermittent drizzles the temperatures have also dipped a good deal and the maximum temperatue in Ahmedabad was recorded 26.8 degree Celsius over nine degrees below normal.

So if the rain spares Amdavadis this night they will enjoy in a cooler and pleasant atmosphere.

Meanwhile many districts in Gujarat have experienced rains today as well.

Director of Met center here Jayanta Sarkar said that yesterday’s upper air cyclonic circulation over North Konkan, Goa and parts of South West Madhya Pradesh now lies over Saurashtra-Kutch and neighbourhood extending up to 4.5 km above sea level. Under its influence Heavy to very heavy rains is very likely at isolated places over Gujarat region, Saurashta-Kutch and in Diu, Daman, Dadra Nagar Haveli in the next 48 hours.

Meanwhile owing to latest spell of rains the average monsoon rain figures for the state has escalated to 88%.

According to the information received from the state emergency operation center of the total 203 dams/reservoirs, 44 have been put on high alert and 7 on alert. Warnings have also been issued for another 15 dams. Several dams including the Sardar Sarovar dam over Narmada were overflowing.

The state was seeing rains for the past three to four days during the latest spell, which the metereologist attribute to La Nina effect which causes late rains in a particular year, and seem more like passing through Bhadarvi or Shravan month rather than Asho.

In the last 24 hours maximum 176 mm (around 7 inches) of rain was recorded in Bhachau of Kutch disrict while
Lodhika 156 mm, Lalpur 155 mm, Vanthali 137 mm, Junagadh 136 mm, Junagadh City 136 mm, Suigam 130 mm, Kutiana 127 mm, Tankara 119 mm, Dhrol 109 mm, Kalol (Panchmahl) 93 mm, Jamkandorna 88 mm, Radhanpur 84 mm, Karjan 81 mm, Rapar 80mm, Dhanera 80 mm, Vadia 75mm , Bharuch 74 mm , Nandod 74 mm, Surat City 68 mm were among prominent rain receivers.

The Navratri this year will be till 10 October, a 10 day affair, a day more than the usual nine owing to the first tithi of Pratipada repeating iteself.

DeshGujarat