Death toll due to heavy rain hits 40

According to Aloria, around 2.5 lakh food packets were being distributed daily in the affected areas and this would continue for another four to five days.

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A fisherman at work on the Narmada river bank on Friday. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana )

The death toll due to heavy rains earlier this week which created a flood-like situation in north Gujarat and Kutch has reached 40, including 14 deaths in the worst-affected Banaskantha district. “As per the reports received till Friday, at least 40 persons have lost lives in different parts. 14 deaths were reported in Banaskantha alone, while five deaths reported in the adjoining Patan district and four in Kutch,” said state relief director Bipin Bhatt. Though the rains have stopped or let up for the last two days, many areas of north Gujarat remain inundated. The state government has deployed 16 teams of National Disaster Response Force for relief and rescue work in these areas.

As per an official release, some 1,100 people were evacuated from Banaskantha, Kutch and Patan districts in the last 96 hours, it said.

Indian Air Force has pressed four MI-17V5 helicopters from Jamnagar into the rescue operations. Around 3.62 lakh food packets were airdropped over 101 villages in Banaskantha and Patan districts, the release stated.

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Four Army columns were sent to Bhuj to assist the district administration in the inundated village of Hodka near Khavda. So far the Army has rescued 600 people. In a separate operation, in Dholka, of Ahmedabad district, the Ahmedabad fire brigade rescued 37 tribal labourers from Dahod district who were working in the paddy fields in Pisawada village and got stranded when the waters released from the Sabarmati inundated the areas.

Minister of State for Health Shanker Chaudhary and Chief Secretary G R Aloria Friday conducted an aerial survey of the affected region. Later, they held a review meeting at Palanpur.

According to Aloria, around 2.5 lakh food packets were being distributed daily in the affected areas and this would continue for another four to five days.

The state health department has sent 34 medical teams to the affected region with 12 mobile clinics, called ‘Sanjivani Raths’. To prevent malaria outbreak, two specialist doctors and 25 health workers have been sent.

With PTI inputs

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