Rains make a comeback in Guj, 83 dams on alert

Ahmedabad, Aug 1: The monsoon regained its fury since last night and lashed most parts of Gujarat, forcing the local authorities to move more than 50,000 people to safer places and sound high alert for as many as 59 dams.

About 130 school children and 20 staff members are still stranded in a boarding house in a village in Kheda district.

''They are safe in the building, and have food stock for 15 days. As the force of water is quite strong, we do not want to evacuate them immediately. The phone lines are functioning and so there is no communication break. We are closely monitoring the situation,'' said District Collector R R Varsani.

The surrounding village which has a population of 8,000 people too is marooned, reports said.

Indian Air Force (IAF) choppers may be deployed for their rescue, if required, officials said.

The helicopters were to be pressed into service earlier in the morning, but they could not take off due to continuous bad weather, said a defence spokesman.

High alert has been sounded for 63 dams in the state, while warning has been issued for another 20 as heavy to very heavy rains pounded the state overnight, flood control sources in Gandhinagar said.

While rail traffic on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route has become normal after rains subsided briefly yesterday, road traffic is still badly affected. State Transport buses are not plying on 20 major routes.

There has been no damage to the Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway so far and traffic is normal but slow due to the rains and the presence of shelters along the stretch.

Last year, the rains and subsequent flooding had washed away a part of the expressway, throwing traffic between Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat haywire.

UNI