Gujarat rains: Vadodara city on the edge as Vishwamitri river swells
Vadodara city remained on the edge Tuesday as the Vishwamitri river swelled up from 5.5 feet at 6 am to 15.5 feet at 5 pm, inching closer to 20 feet, in some parts. Following heavy overnight rainfall, the river left several low-lying areas waterlogged as the city was pounded by 3.5-inch rain until 4 pm Tuesday.
As the level of the Vishwamitri river rose to 15.5 feet, water in the Ajwa reservoir inched towards 212 feet, only two levels below the danger mark of 214 feet.
The water-level sensors recorded a level of 19.23 feet at the Sama-Harni bridge over the river and 17.52 feet at Akota bridge. Low-lying clusters of the city such as Indiranagar in Karelibaug and Jalaram Nagar in Gotri began submerging in waist-deep waters as the Vishwamitri river swelled during the day. Authorities alerted residents of the areas to evacuate and shift to safer locations on Tuesday. As the catchment areas received 141 mm of overnight rainfall, about 4,000 cusec of water has been released from the Ajwa reservoir since the wee hours of Tuesday.
Water also seeped into Manjalpur’s Rajstmabh Society and Kashi Vishwanath temple, while the APMC Market yard in Sayajipura witnessed excessive waterlogging Tuesday along with Warasiya road and Khodiyarnagar in the East Zone.
Water level in the Dev dam touched a level of 87.91 metres (danger mark of 90.15 metres), following heavy rainfall in the Panchmahal district, and hence water was released from four gates of the dam. Several villages in Waghodia, Dabhoi and Vadodara rural areas have been put on alert. Waghodia taluka in the Vadodara district received the highest rainfall since Monday at 91 mm, followed by Vadodara taluka at 85 mm, Padra with 67 mm, and Karjan taluka with 43 mm rainfall, while Dabhoi recorded 35 mm rain.
In Waghodia, several areas, including the critical Sumandeep college junction, remained waterlogged, causing a heavy traffic jam Tuesday evening.
