Gujarat in grip of floods, Ahmedabad, other cities flooded after heavy rains

Ahmedabad/Jamnagar: Heavy rains have caused miseries in large parts of Gujarat with many lowlying areas in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bharuch, Rajkot, Junagarh, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Kutch and Amreli flooded.Most of the rivers are in spate after incessant rains in the last two days. All dams and embankments are overflowing with flood water, with Met department officials predicting heavy rains followed by strong winds in the next 48 hours. Rescue teams of National Disaster Response Force have been kept on alert. Because of a low pressure in the Arabian Sea,it has been raining heavily in Ahmedabad. South Gujarat cities like Surat, Bharuch and Ankaleshwar were the first to be flooded, and the rains then pounded Ahmedabad, rajkot, Junagarh, Porbandar, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar, Kutch and Amreli. Two inches to 15 inches rainfall has been recorded at several places. Flood in Ozat river in Junagarh has led to alerts in nearly 20 villages including Shahpur and Vanthali, while the Somnath-Bhavnagar national highway has been closed to traffic. The Khodiyar dam in Amreli, Oxat dam in Junagarh, Dhrafad dam, Hiran dam, and Bhadar-2 dam in Dhoraji are overflowing. In Ahmedabad, thre was 5.3 inch rainfall within 12 hours and it was enough to flood most parts of the city. The city's drainage system modified at a cost of Rs 268 crore proved to be a non-starter with huge amount of silts choking the drainage lines. Nearly 100 buses of Ahmedabad Municipal transport service broke down due to rains and waterlogging. Localities like Parimal Garden underpass, Ahkbarnagar, Daxini-Maninagar, Mithakhali, Usmanpura, Kuvernagar and Shahibaugh faced the brunt of waterlogging.Four J&K policemen killed as militants open fire at Heera Nagar police station in Kathua near Jammu.