Gujarat: Heavy rains lash city; air, rail traffic disrupted

Ahmedabad: Normal life was thrown out of gear as moderate to heavy rains lashed south and central Gujarat, with the city recording 210 mm rainfall overnight.

Rail and air traffic was disrupted due to heavy rains, as the city airport and railway tracks were water-logged at many places.

"Ahmedabad city received 210 mm rainfall overnight," said officials of state control room which monitors rains.

Water-logging at the 51 major roads of the city lead to heavy traffic snarls. Buses in some BRT corridor routes did not ply due to water-logging.

Office-goers faced a tough time reaching to their destinations this morning, while houses in the low-lying areas were inundated.

Meanwhile, city schools remained shut today due to heavy rains, following a district administration order.

Due to high inflow of water in the river Sabarmati, administration has opened seven gates of Vasna barrage, and alerted those living in the low lying areas of river.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has received five complaints of partial or complete collapse of houses in old city area, but no death or people being stranded, was reported, as the houses have been vacated, officials said.

"Many parts of the state received good rains. As the rains have stopped, we hope that water will recede in next two to three hours. Relief operations are going on in the full swing," State Urban Development Minister and government spokesperson Nitin Patel said.

Other parts of the state which received heavy rains in the last 24-hours in South Gujarat include Dhrampur (280 mm), Kaprada (289 mm), Valsad (222 mm), Pardi (213 MM), Dangs (237 mm) and Waghai (290 mm).

In Navsari district of South Gujarat, Vansda received 173 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, Khergam (149 mm), Jalalpur (143 mm), and Olpad in Surat district received 162 mm rainfall.

Places in central Gujarat districts like Anand, Kheda and Vadodara also received 29 mm rainfall to 116 mm rainfall in last 24-hours.

Two passenger trains Valsad-Dahod-Valsad and Valsad-Viramgam were cancelled last night due to heavy downpour, while many other trains were running 50 minutes to five hours late, railway officials said.