Ahmedabad Floods Ease: Highways Reopen as Water Recedes, Rescues Complete
With no major rainfall since Saturday, water levels in flooded areas of Ahmedabad district have begun receding. On Sunday, the Ahmedabad-Bagodara and Sanand-Viramgam highway stretches, which were closed for traffic, were reopened for vehicular movement.
Superintendent of Police (Ahmedabad Rural) Om Prakash Jat told The Indian Express, “The situation in Ahmedabad district is more or less normal now. Both the highways, which were closed yesterday (Saturday), were opened and the vehicular movement is normal.”
According to Jat, as floodwater has started receding towards Nal Sarovar, a major natural drain, the water level in that region has increased. Authorities remain vigilant there.
“In all other places, water has started receding. Hopefully, if there is no rain then the situation will be under control. If there is rain then there will be some issue,” Jat said.
The district police chief said the administration has reached out to about 10,000 people during the flood situation. “Either we have shifted them or contacted them for some kind of help. We shifted around 2,400 persons from Gallops Industrial Park (in Bavla-Changodar region); around 1,000 people were rescued whereas over 1,400 others were relocated to safety on Saturday. Today, the situation is normal,” Jat said.
Ahmedabad District Development Officer (DDO) Videh Khare said, “Since there is very less rain in the last 24 hours, the water in flooded areas in our district is receding now. And currently, we are not in the red alert zone, so we are hoping that there will not be much rain (in the coming days). The rescue operations were carried out yesterday (Saturday). Today, there was no need for any rescue operation because water is receding.”
“Our current priority is to ensure that the shelter homes get all the supplies. We are also estimating the loss incurred. We are also trying to remove blockages, if any, in the way of receding water so that it can recede fast,” Khare added.
Citizens can contact the nearest traffic police station to obtain the number plates of vehicles that were lost or fell during heavy rains in Ahmedabad, officials said.
The DDO said many people have started returning to their homes from shelter homes. Around 25-27 villages in the Sanand-Bavla-Dholka region remain waterlogged, but the water is flowing and receding towards Nal Sarovar, and these villages are not completely cut off.
Regarding the next steps, the DDO said that once water recedes completely, fogging will be done in affected areas along with chlorination of water. A cleaning exercise will be undertaken to prevent the spread of any diseases.
Meanwhile, official sources said that Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel about the flood situation in the Sanand-Dholka-Bavla region. The CM has deputed two ministers – Pradhyuman Vaja and Sanjaysinh Mahida – to expedite cleaning operations. The region falls under the Sanand assembly constituency, part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency represented by Shah.
