The Army on Wednesday, rescued 1,925 people from flooded areas in Gujarat, said a report by ANI.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier announced Rs 500 crore for rescue operations in flood-ravaged Gujarat, after conducting an aerial survey of the disaster-hit zones with Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Tuesday. Modi has also declared Rs 2 lakh compensation to the kin of the 83 deceased, and Rs 50,000 to those injured, claimed reports.
During his aerial survey, Modi flew over Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Patan districts of North Gujarat. He has assured that an assessment-team from the union Urban Development and Rural Development Ministries would visit Gujarat to take stock of the damage, with an aim to offer short-term and long-term solutions.
Rescue operations in a village in Gujarat’s Banaskantha
Photo: ANI Screen grab
Preceding the aerial survey was a high-level meeting called by Modi in Ahmedabad, which was attended by the Gujarat chief minister and other officials. Following the meeting, Modi lauded the Gujarat government for “rising to the occasion promptly and having already prepared a blueprint for the crisis,” claimed reports.
Over 25,000 people have been evacuated to safe zones across Gujarat after several districts of the state were inundated due to heavy rains, reported NDTV. Food packets and other essentials have been organised for the affected.
According to the report, more than 20 highways of the state has been submerged due to flooding. A high alert has been issued by the state government following the same. The report further said that around 70 people have been killed in the state because of rain related incidents.
17 trains to the state have been cancelled from 24-28 July due to water logging on the tracks. The IMD has said that heavy rains are expected till July 29.
The Indian Air Force, on 24 July, safely evacuated a woman, her newborn twins and another pregnant woman from Nana Matra village in Vinchia tehsil of Rajkot district of Gujarat which was flooded due to heavy rains. The village had been cut off from rest of the district due to the floods.
As soon as a message about need to evacuate two women who were in critical condition and ‘about to deliver’ was received at 4:30 pm, a Chetak helicopter was sent from Jamnagar, said Defence spokesperson Abhishek Matiman in a release.
While the helicopter was on its way, district officials informed that one of the women had already delivered twins and needed to be airlifted immediately.
“By 17:15 hours the Chetak was already overhead looking for a safe patch to land. The mother, with her newborn twins and an attendant were instantaneously put into the aircraft and flown out to safety....The aircraft landed at Jasdan helipad where they were handed over to the medical team already waiting,” the release said.
The helicopter then returned to Nana Matra, this time picking up the other pregnant woman who was bleeding profusely. She was flown across the river where a medical team was waiting with an ambulance, it said.
Incessant rains have been lashing Gujarat for the last two days.
Meanwhile, flood waters swept across several places in the country today, killing two in Rajasthan.
In West Bengal, lowlands in Birbhum, Purulia, West Medinipore and Hooghly districts were inundated. With the meteorological department predicting more rains in the Gangetic region of the state in the next 24 hours, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee held a monitoring meeting with senior officials at the secretariat on Monday.
In the neighbouring coastal state of Odisha, extremely heavy rains and thundershowers, along with high-speed surface winds, are expected on Tuesday due to the formation of a low pressure area over the region.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI, Business Standard)
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