Cyclone in Sabarkantha, state declares red alert

Narmada dam overflows; death toll crosses 250

The state government on Friday sounded a red alert as rain water has begun overflowing over the Sardar Sarovar dam constructed over the Narmada river at Kevadia in Narmada district.

Even before flood-hit people could be provided relief package and people in over 20 villages who are marooned could be rescued, a cyclonic storm which hit parts of Sabarkantha district in north Gujarat left over 350 families homeless.

The chief minister Narendra Modi, along with leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha L K Advani visited Surat and adjoining areas on Friday.

The chief minister will visit the Sardar Sarovar dam at Kevadia on Saturday. Though the flood control department could not confirm the death toll in the cyclonic storm which hit two villages in Sabarkantha, the total number of deaths in flash floods in the state crossed 250 on Friday.

Surat, Navsari, Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Valsad local authorities are gearing up to tackle any possible outbreak of epidemics.

"Water is flowing over the dam at present, but it is not a cause of worry. If the dam was not there, it would have gone into the Arabian Sea anyway," said S K Mohapatra, managing director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd.

He said there are no plans of diverting excess water into the Narmada main canal as it is not required at the moment. "We are keeping a close watch on the situation. The situation is not alarming as excess water overflowing over the dam is flowing into the Arabian Sea," said Mohapatra.

Water level is expected to be higher during the next 24 hours as incessant rains are still lashing the area.

Most of the arteries of Ahmedabad city were flooded, bringing the traffic to a halt.

Union minister for rural development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, who was in Vadodara, said a central government team would visit Gujarat to assess the losses to the people and industry.

Since Friday morning, rains lashed the Saurashtra region also. Rajkot, Amreli and Junagadh districts of Saurashtra received four to ten inches of rainfall within two to four hours.

In Junagadh city, hundreds of people were shifted to safer places.

Officials said two persons have died in Junagadh district. Near Bantva, more than 400 people were shifted to safer places.