Twelve die in Gujarat, evacuation process on in Mah, Guj

New Delhi, July 31 (UNI) Twelve people were killed during the past 24 hours as incessant rains lashed Gujarat, forcing the authorities to sound high alert for 103 dams even as rains weakened in Western Maharashtra.

Twelve more rain-related death were reported from different parts of Gujarat, taking the season's toll to 50 while the district administration had been put on a 'high alert' for 103 reservoirs.

Even as the authorities shifted thousands of people from low-lying areas to safer places as a precautionary measure, power supply remained cut off in 511 villages, mostly in central Gujarat.

The heavy rainfall area has shifted to Saurashtra and Kutch region after it badly affected districts of Surat, Valsad, Navsari, Vadodara and Anand in south and central Gujarat yesterday.

Meanwhile, about 70 school children and a couple of teachers, who were stranded in a boarding house in Khambhat in Anand district, and about 62 agricultural workers working on the fields in Ganor village near Dholka, were rescued by a fire brigade team.

However, reports reaching from differnt areas of the Saurashtra region said at least three persons lost their lives and two others suffered injuries in rain-related incidents, while 1,240 people have been evacuated to safer places during the last 24 hours.

In separate incidents, a 24-year-old youth, Pankaj Mehta was swept away in swirling rivulet at Munjka village of Rajkot district.

While, in another incident, two members of a family were killed and two others were injured when a portion of their house collapsed at Jetpur town of this district this morning.

Forty labourers, who were trapped in flood waters at Dharasra road on the outskirt of Jetpur town, have been rescued by the Government rescue teams.

Twelve dams located in Rajkot, Jamnagar and Surendranagar districts were over-flowing by 6-inches to 3-feets.

However, following the recession in rainfall in last hour 24 hours the flood waters in most of the affected villages of Saurashtra region are gradually receding.

In Maharashtra, for the second consecutive day, river Krishna flowed above the danger mark near Aairvin bridge, close to Sangli city in Western Maharasthra, as there has been no change in the flood situation.

Though the intensity of rains in the area has been less since yesterday, there has been no change in the worrying flood situation as the water was being continuously released from Koyna and Warna dams, sources said.

A large number of villages were inundated for the last couple of days and about 65,000 people have been evacuated to safer places so far, even as the process was still continuing, sources added.

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