90 fishermen missing, still more rains in flood- ravaged areas

New Delhi, Aug 17 (UNI) About 90 fishermen, who ventured out into the Bay of Bengal, were reported missing and more than 1,250 people evacuated in Anand district in Gujarat following floods while heavy rains were expected to lash flood-ravaged Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra due to a low depression near Champa in MP.

About 90 fishermen, who ventured out to the sea off the coast of Bay of Bengal in nine trawlers braving an inclement weather, have not established contact with the coast guards raising fears they might be missing.

The Coast Guards started the rescue operation since last night daring an inclement weather and are still on the job. Of the nine missing, seven trawlers had left the Digha port and two the Shankarpur port. A depression has formed near Balasore in Bay of Bengal off the Orissa Coast because of which the sea has been turbulent over the past two days.

In the west, more than 1,272 people have been evacuated from 12 villages of Tarapur taluka and three villages of Khambhat taluka in Anand district following floods in the area.

Around 12 camps have been set up in Tarapur to accommodate the evacuees while three have been set up at Khambhat. With three lakh cusec water flowing into Sabarmati river, Pandar village in Khambat taluka, too, has been flooded and many had to be evacuated to Khambat camp. In all 22,020 people have been evacuated in the district in the last three days.

Food and water packets were air-dropped in the villages which had their road links reopened today. Relief materials on dumper trucks are being sent to the villages and telephone links have also been restored. Overall, Anand district has received 724.1 cms of rains so far.

Five people were washed away in the flood waters of river Mahulbhata in Orissa yesterday.

Kolkatans too woke up to another bout of cloudy sky and sharp showers as the depression around the coast of Orissa remained unchanged.

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