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Gujarat rains: 10 trains cancelled, rail traffic hit as Vadodara track flooded
A total of eight trains have been cancelled whereas the remaining two partially cancelled, a release from the Western Railway informed.
Amid heavy rain in Gujarat at least 10 trains were cancelled - eight fully so - on Tuesday, according to a statement by Western Railway. Trains in the Vadodara division were affected after tracks between Dabhoi and Ekta Nagar stations were washed out, the statement added.
Gujarat has been badly hit by monsoon rains this year, with 63 people killed since June 1.
"Seven persons died in rain-related incidents (lightning, wall collapse and drowning, among others) in the last 24 hours," Rajendra Trivedi, the disaster management minister, said.
Over 3,000 have been evacuated so far from various corners of the western state. District authorities, including those in Ahmedabad, have also temporarily closed schools and colleges. As of 6 am Monday, Gujarat has already received 36 per cent of its average monsoon rainfall, officials familiar with the development told Hindustan Times.
Dang, Navsari, and Valsad districts are the worst-hit and have reported major flooding. Widespread waterlogging was reported in Ahmedabad with many ground-floor shops, offices and houses submerged. In some places, water seeped into housing societies as well.
Prime minister Narendra Modi and union home minister Amit Shah spoke to Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel over the phone on Monday to take stock of the situation. Both Modi and Shah have assured all possible help from the centre to Gujarat.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) in its latest bulletin has forecast widespread rainfall with thunderstorm or lightning over Gujarat for the next four to five days. It has predicted heavy to very heavy to isolated extremely heavy downpour in south Gujarat on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 13), and in Kutch and Saurashtra on July 14 and 15.
