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Amid heavy floods in Gujarat, crocodiles storm Vadodara; videos viral
Several crocodiles have been spotted on the roofs of houses, roads, and colleges. Videos of the incidents are also making the rounds on social media.
Amid massive floods in Gujarat due to incessant rainfall, Vadodara is witnessing another issue of crocodiles as a large number of the reptiles have thronged the city. This is one of the annual monsoon woes that the city faces due to the overflowing of the Viswamitri River - which is home to around 300 crocodiles.
Several crocodiles have been spotted on the roofs of houses, roads, and colleges. Videos of the incidents are also making the rounds on social media.
In one of the videos, a crocodile was spotted on the roof of an inundated house in Vadodara.
In another video, a crocodile entered the campus of Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. A group of forest department officials can be seen rescuing the crocodile.
Another crocodile was spotted wading through the flood waters near a house.
Officials have rescued 10 crocodiles in the last five days, range forest officer Karansinh Rajput said.
“Two have been released, and 8 are still with us. We will release them when the water level of the river decreases... Today, we rescued a 14-foot crocodile from a house near Kamnath Mahadev temple, one near the Ratri Bazar and an 11-foot crocodile from the Zoology Department of the MS University,” he told ANI.
Also read: More rain likely in Gujarat, IMD predicts cyclonic storm Asna
Vadodara, where the swollen Vishwamitri River caused flooding in several areas amid torrential downpours, is slowly returning to normalcy as the water has receded from most parts of the city.
The river's water level has come down to 12 feet above the danger mark from the previous peak of 37 feet.
Gujarat rains
Gujarat, for the past four days, grappled with a massive flood situation amid continuous heavy rainfall.
While rescue operations and evacuations were carried out, at least 28 people died in rain-related accidents in three days.
Six contingents of the Army have been deployed to assist the 14 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and 22 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams for rescue and relief work in the state. State relief commissioner Alok Pandey said that around 40,000 people have been evacuated from the flood-affected areas.
Earlier on Friday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) commenced relief operations for the flood-hit cities in the state. Humanitarian aid and disaster relief were deployed, with transport aircraft delivering relief materials to the nearest airfields and helicopters, reported PTI.
Along with this, MI-17 helicopters air-dropped life-saving essentials to stranded residents in Jamnagar and Vadodara.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
