Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, along with Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, reviewed the flood situation in Surat on Thursday with officials and legislators in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil.
Following the meeting, Sanghavi praised the residents of Surat and the relief agencies for working together during the floods.
“Many areas in Surat had to face a flood situation due to heavy rains on July 7. Looking at the past records of rainfall in the city, this was the heaviest rainfall Surat has witnessed. The people of Surat worked as a team to come out of this difficult situation. They helped the government agencies wherever they could reach. It was a challenging time. There were seven to eight areas where there was severe waterlogging. NDRF, SDRF and other agencies worked hard to evacuate and relocate people. The Chief Minister today held a review meeting in Surat. The Chief Minister has announced ₹500 crore for a project to prevent water from the creek entering the city,” Sanghavi told reporters.
Valsad BJP MP Dhaval Patel said the Chief Minister chaired a high-level review meeting with local representatives and district officials to assess the damage caused by flooding and discuss measures to prevent similar incidents in South Gujarat.
“Due to heavy rains in the last few days, waterlogging was witnessed in low-lying areas of Surat, Navsari and Valsad. This resulted in damage to several properties. In view of this, our Chief Minister visited areas of South Gujarat. He held a review meeting on the situation in Navsari and Valsad. All MLAs, mayors and district administration officials attended the meeting. The State government is ready to take all measures to prevent this from happening again,” Patel said.
On Wednesday, teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) carried out rescue operations and evacuated 85 people, including 36 men, 27 women and 22 children, from Sriram Nagar Society in Surat.
Several parts of Surat continue to face the impact of flooding following heavy rainfall. (ANI)
