Gujarat flood death toll crosses 200 mark
At least 213 lives have been lost and over 80,000 have been relocated due to floods in Gujarat. As many as 4,000 animals have also been killed in the flood, with an estimate of over a million households and farmlands being affected. PM Narendra Modi recently assured relief operations were being carried out on massive scale in the flood-affected areas.
Widespread flooding in Gujarat has killed more than 200 people and paralysed infrastructure, with tens of thousands of cotton farmers also suffering heavy damage.More than a million households had been affected and losses to farmlands were being assessed. Over 4000 animals have been killed due to the floods. More than 50,000 cotton farmers are struggling to drain water from their land and homes.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that flood-affected areas are being closely monitored and relief operations are being undertaken on a massive scale. Army, Air Force and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescued 12,798 people, of which 825 were airlifted by the IAF.As many as 80,000 people were relocated to safer places, including 38,241 in Banaskantha and Patan, it said.Several of the affected roads are still under water which will delay the construction work, it said. The damage is assessed at Rs 10 crore for national highways and Rs 26 crore for state highways.The airport in Ahmedabad, the main commercial hub of Gujarat, was partially flooded, forcing airlines to divert flights. More than 150 factories were forced to shut down. According to the state-run India Meteorological Department, rains have been 4 percent above average since the four-month monsoon season began in June.ALSO READ:Help those affected in Gujarat, Assam floods, Aamir Khan appeals on Twitter