1. Rains Force Evacuation of 13,000 in South Gujarat
Heavy rains forced the administration to evacuate over 13,000 people – of them 10,000 were from Vadodara rural and Navsari – to safer places.
Breaking it down, Pankaj Kumar, additional chief secretary, revenue, said that 5,965 people from Vadodara, 5,392 from Navsari, 240 people in Bharuch, 170 in Surat and 100 in Tapi were among the rescued locals.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force also helped rescued 49 people from the heavily-flooded areas in Navsari and Narmada district. This included 45 from Mendhar village in Navsari, who were trapped in a prawn farm when the water levels suddenly surged around them.
Additionally, three girls were reported dead while their parents were injured after a wall collapsed on their house in the Nadeda village of Bharuch due to the incessant rains.
(Source: DNA)
2. No Respite in Sight, 6 Gujarat Districts Issued Heavy Rainfall Warning
As the districts of Surat, Valsad, Bharuch, Chhota Udepur, Tapi, Narmada, Dang and Vadodara continued to receive heavy rainfall on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a very heavy rainfall warning for Narmada, Navsari, Chhota Udepur, Valsad, Surat and Bharuch on Monday, 5 August.
On the first three days of August, Gujarat received more than 61 percent rainfall of what it received in July, when the South West monsoon is otherwise most active.
The rainfall data on 4 August compiled by the Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) showed that a total of 137.77 mm rainfall is received in the state against July’s 222 mm record. This makes up for a total 57.4 percent rainfall of the monsoon season.
The monthly rainfall record shows a huge shift from 2.15 mm received till 4 August, 2018 to 137.77 mm during the same period in 2019.
(Source: Indian Express)
3. Bharuch: Three Girls Die as Wall Collapses on Their Hut, Mother Critical
Three girl children aged seven, five and two died in a village in Bharuch on Sunday morning (4 August), when the wall of an adjoining house collapsed on their kuchcha hut on Sunday morning in the impact of the heavy rain.
The incident occurred in Nandeda village of Vagra Taluka around 8.30 am on Sunday when the family of five persons were having breakfast together. Vagra Police Station officer in-charge JK Dangar said the girls were crushed inside the hut as it could not withstand the impact as the wall fell on it.
“Their parents also received major injuries in the accident. All five victims were taken to the civil hospital in Bharuch, where a team of doctors declared the three girls brought dead,” the officer said.
(Source: Indian Express)
4. Man Duped of Rs 35 Lakh, Three From Uttar Pradesh Held
Three persons have been arrested by the Cyber Crime Branch (CCB) of Ahmedabad for duping a person of Rs 35 lakh under the pretext of being insurance agents for legal protection.
According to officials, the accused – two women and a man – had accessed data of customers of the HDFC Bank Legal Protection Insurance (LPI) scheme. They used to promise fake refunds and other benefits, claiming them to be on behalf of their company. Then, they asked gullible customers to deposit the premium amount in their bank accounts.
“A complaint had been registered by one K M Patel of Vastrapur, who alleged that on February 4, this year, he received a call from a man claiming to be Alok Saksena, an insurance agent for HDFC. The man claimed that he could provide certain refunds and benefits to Patel for the yearly LPI premium of Rs 2.99 lakh, which he deposits every year,” said Rajdeepsinh Zala, Deputy Commissioner of Police, CCB.
(Source: Indian Express)
5. Producers of Gujarati Films Seek Reduction in Service Charge on Movie Tickets
Producers of Gujarati films demanded that the service charge levied by the multiplex and theatre operators should be abolished as, they claim, it is nothing but a loot.
On the other hand, multiplex operators say that the producers should first try to improve the quality of Gujarati films so that it becomes a viable business, or else multiplexes will have to shut down. As of now, a fixed amount of Rs 25 is charged per ticket irrespective of the cost of the ticket.
Talking to media persons in the city, leading film actor Manoj Joshi said that multiplex and theatre owners are charging Rs 25 as service charge, which does not have legal backing.
"There is no government notification or resolution which allows them to levy such charges. Such charges are not a norm in most states. In Maharashtra, service charge is only Rs 7 per ticket," said Joshi.
(Source: DNA)
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