Gujarat incurs Rs 25 cr estimated loss for floods

Ahmedabad, Aug 3 (UNI) The industry incurred losses estimated at Rs 25 crore due to floods in Central and South Gujarat in the past week, trade bodies said.

But compared to last year's losses on account of floods, this year's have been less as the areas affected were mostly rural, Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry deputy secretary general Bipin Patel said.

He said delivery of goods was affected only for one day when a bridge broke near Kim-Pipodra.

However, Vadodara Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Nilesh Shukla said industrial activity was affected in the district, especially for three days from July 30. Machinery in many factories had been damaged as flood waters entered the complexes, he said.

Production was badly affected as employees could not turn up for work. Vadodara is mainly a hub of chemical, steel and plastic industries. Losses in the district could be anywhere between Rs 10 and 15 crores, he told UNI.

Industry in Valsad, Navsari, Surat and Bharuch also had to face losses.

In Surat, the hub of diamonds and textiles, textiles industry faced the brunt of floods. ''About 45 factories in Mudna and 30 in Kim-Pipodra, incurred a total loss Rs 60 to 70 lakhs,'' Kim-Pipodra Weavers' Association president Laxman Gobaria said. Flood waters entered the factories and damaged the machinery, he added.

However, Gujarat Heera Bourse secretary Nanubhai Vanani said the diamond industry was not affected by the floods this year.

In Anand, losses incurred by the industry have gone upto Rs 11.5 crore, officials said.

The administration in various districts has formed teams to assess the overall flood damage. In Anand, 150 teams have been formed to assess the damages, District Collector D G Jalavadia said.

He said at least 2,622 houses have been damaged and 78,660 hectares of 'kharif' crops destroyed.

A total of 33 persons have died in the current spell of monsoon, and the season's total is 55.

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