High alert after five dams overflow in Saurashtra

Petlad in Anand district recorded the highest rainfall of 126 mm till 8 pm, state’s 194 talukas out of total 251 received rainfall. The India Meteorological Department has issued a forecast of heavy rainfall across Gujarat on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Gujarat received more than five per cent of the season’s rainfall in a single day as incessant rain lashed the state on Monday, while high alert was sounded after several dams in Saurashtra started overflowing due to heavy rain in their catchment areas.

Petlad in Anand district recorded the highest rainfall of 126 mm till 8 pm, state’s 194 talukas out of total 251 received rainfall. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a forecast of heavy rainfall across the state on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The bodies of two men aged 18 and 20 years who drowned in a tributary of Pushpavati river at a village in Unjha taluka of Mehsana on Sunday evening were recovered on Monday. Police said a group of four men had gone swimming in the water body adjacent to Vanagala village under Unjha taluka. The deceased have been identified as Prakash Devipujak (20) and Akshay Devipujak (18), both residents of Vanagala village.

“Local residents managed to save two of them, but two others were swept away. Their bodies were recovered on Monday morning and a case of accidental death has been registered,” said an officer at Unjha police station.

Till Sunday, the state recorded 27.33 per cent of the season’s rainfall, while it increased to 32.58 per cent on Monday. South Gujarat recorded the highest with 35.19 per cent followed by Saurashtra 31.89 per cent, East Central 30.08 per cent, Kutch region 30.25 per cent and North Gujarat region 28.16 per cent.

Among talukas that recorded heavy rainfall are Borsad in Anand with 92 mm, Dolvan in Tapi 89 mm, Visavadar in Junagadh 80 mm, Khergam in Navsari 78 mm, Dharampur in Valsad 75 mm, Tarapur in Anand 74 mm, Vansada in Navsari 64 mm and Dang and Waghai 63 mm each, Vapi in Valsad 52 mm and Chikhli in Navsari, and Pavi and Jetpur in Chhota Udepur with 50 mm each.

According to IMD, Chhota Udepur, Dangs, Navsari, Valsad,Tapi, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Morbi, Sabarkantha, Gandhinagar, Aravalli, Ahmedabad, Dahod Mahisagar, Vadodara Narmada, Bharuch, Surat, Daman, Dadra Nagar Haveli, Surendranagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Gir Somnath and Kutch are expected to receive heavy rainfall Tuesday.

“Heavy rains are very likely at isolated places in the districts of South Gujarat region namely Valsad, Navsari and in Daman, Dadara Nagar Haveli,” weather department’s forecast issued for Wednesday stated.

Alert in dams

High alert was sounded in nine dams of Saurashtra as five of them started overflowing on Monday and the remaining four were almost filled up following heavy rains in parts of the region over the previous two days. Alert was issued for six others as they were filled up to more than 80 per cent of their capacity.

According to the water resources department, high alert was sounded for Dhatarvadi and Surajwadi dams in Amreli district, Motisar in Rajkot, Kabarka in Devbhumi Dwarka and Fulzar-I in Jamnagar as they started overflowing due to heavy rain in their catchment areas.

High alert was also sounded for Veri dam in Rajkot district, Wodisang in Jamnagar, Khambhda in Botad and Ghodadhrol in Morbi district after they were filled up between 94 per cent and 99 per cent of their capacity. The state irrigation department also issued alert for Aji-II in Rajkot, Dhatarvadi-II and Khodiyar in Amreli, Pingli in Bhavnagar and Raval in Gir Somnath district after they were filled between 80 to 90 per cent.

In Rajkot district, 15 out of 25 dams recorded fresh inflow of water. The water level in Moj dam rose by 11.91 foot, while Chhaparvadi, Motisar, and Sodvadar dams rose by 9.84 feet, 8.53 feet and 8.20 feet respectively. In Morbi district, nine out of 10 dams recorded fresh inflow. Water level of Bangawadi and Demi-1 dams rose by 12.43 feet and 10.76 feet respectively.

In Jamnagar district, 12 out of 21 reservoirs recorded fresh inflow. Water level of Fulzar dam rose by 9.35 feet while that of Und-III rose by 9.09 per cent. Und-I dam , Vadisang and Fulzar-I also saw their water levels rise by 8.50 feet, 8.27 feet and 6.96 feet respectively. Dams in Junagadh district also recorded fresh inflow of water following good rainfall in the district on Saturday and Sunday.
The Sardar Sarovar dam was filled up to 46.08 per cent, while 15 dams in north Gujarat and 17 in central Gujarat were filled up to 23.17 per cent and 39.22 per cent respectively. Thirteen dams in South Gujarat, excluding Sardar Sarovar, were filled 50.87 per cent.

Heavy inflow was also recorded in Ukai dam due to downpour in its upper catchment areas. Water level in the dam went up by seven feet and stood at 322.30 feet on Monday evening.

On Monday, the dam had an inflow of around 95,852 cusecs of water while the outflow was limited to 600 cusecs.

Superintendent engineer of Ukai dam, Pratap Vasava, said, “On July 23, the water level in the dam was recorded at 314.98 feet, which went up to 317.31 feet the next day. On July 25, it went up to 320.21 feet and on Monday, it reached 322.30 feet. The danger level of the dam is 345 feet. We are expecting more inflow in the next couple of days. At present we have decided to fill the dam to meet the year-long requirement of the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) and Navsari Nagar Palika, as well as industrial and agricultural requirement in Bharuch, Surat, Navsari and Valsad.”

The SMC has also decided to carry out dredging activities in Mithi Creek. SMC standing committee chairman Paresh Patel said, “Every year during monsoon, the city witnesses creek floods. The longest creek which passes from the mid area of the city is Mithi creek. We are planning to appoint an expert firm to carry out dredging activities to increase the water carrying capacity of the creek. We will issue tenders in the coming days for dredging activities and operations-cum-maintenance for five years.”

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