Ahmedabad, (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday conduct an aerial survey of the flood situation in Gujarat.
Modi will undertake the survey of the flood-hit northern amid rescue operations by the Air Force, Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and its state wing. A total of 22,725 persons have been evacuated to safety in Banaskantha district, an official said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani met Modi at Parliament House earlier in the day and briefed him about the situation.
Official sources said Modi would also hold meetings with Rupani, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and Gujarat officials after his aerial review.
The north Gujarat districts of Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Patan have been flooded after incessant rains during the last 36 hours.
Tharad town has received maximum rainfall of 24 inches, followed by Dhanera 20 inches, Dantiwada 18, Palanpur 15, Deesa and Diyodar 13 inches each, Patan 12 inches and Vadgam about 11 inches.
The region has got 95 per cent of its seasonal average of 659 mm.
In all, entire Gujarat has registered 534 mm of rain, which is 66 per cent of its total usual seasonal average of 810 mm.
Several villages have been marooned and roads washed away.
The Army, IAF, NDRF, police and fire brigade are engaged in rescuing people from flooded areas.
The Army on Tuesday rescued 113 persons. Efforts were on to evacuate 30-40 more from Sirohi and Jhabadiya village in north Gujarat, Defence Ministry spokesperson Wing Commander Abhishek Matimaan said.
IAF’s four MI-17 V5 helicopters winched 14 persons from Deesa. They also dropped over 300 kg of food packets in the district.
“More than two lakh food packets have been sent to Banaskantha from other districts,” Gujarat Principal Secretary Pankaj Kumar said.
As many as 38 of the 203 dams across the state are on high alert.
While Dholidhaja, Vansal and Nimbam dams in Surendranagar, Machchhu-1 and Ghodadharoi in Morbi and Kankawati dam in Jamnagar districts have received up to 90 per cent of their water storage capacity.
Twenty-three dams in Saurashtra, four in Kutch, four in central Gujarat and one dam in south Gujarat were full to the brim.
In Ahmedabad, over 50 families were evacuated to safer places from the low-lying areas of the Sabarmati river, which cuts through the middle of the city.
Excess water was being released into the Sabarmati from Vasna Barrage and Dharoi dam, 70 km upstream of Ahmedabad.
“The waters would reach the city later in the evening,” Ahmedabad Municipal Commissioner Mukesh Kumar told IANS. “We are all ready for any eventuality,” he said.