Millions of women and children affected by unprecedented floods in Surat
By Gurinder Gulati Gandhinagar, August 10: “No drinking water, no food, no milk, no electricity and no telephones”. That’s how most of the residents have spent the last four days in Surat, known as the Diamond City located in the south of Gujarat State. Surat is also one of the fastest growing cities of India and a textile hub of the country. 3.5 million People, including women and children in Surat were marooned on Monday by the swirling waters of Tapi River, which flows in the middle of Surat city. With the release of more than 1.0 million cusecs of water from the overflowing Ukai dam, banks of Tapi River were burst and almost ninety per cent of the city was in water upto 20 feet. The residents moved to higher floors to protect themselves from the rising water. An unprecedented situation, never seen or heard of in the last 200 years of the history of Surat. Heavy spell of rains in and around Gujarat has caused havoc in the South Gujarat region, with Surat city being the worst affected. Life in the city has come to a grinding halt. All the shops and establishments, industrial units, hospitals and schools have been closed indefinitely. Both rail and road traffic between Surat and Mumbai has been disrupted. Six persons are reported to have died so far because of floods. Economic loss has been estimated at Rs 5,000 crores or USD 109 million. The lives of thousands of children is threatened by contaminated water and vector-borne diseases. Therefore, as soon as the water recedes, preventive measures need to be in place on a war-footing basis to prevent any disease outbreak. In view of this, Dr Yogendra Mathur, UNICEF State Representative met the Health Minister and other senior officials of the State Government to assess the needs of children affected by the floods and as requested by Government of Gujarat. UNICEF is gearing up itself to supply ORS packets, chlorine tablets, Auto Destruct Syringes, portable generators and fogging machines to meet the flooding situation. These measures will provide protection to thousands of children and help them return to their normal routine. Shortages of food and drinking water have been reported in most parts of the city. People in other parts of the state are anxious about the well-being of their relatives staying in Surat. “They are starving and we can’t do anything”, said Himanshu in Vadodara about his sister and her family The State Government has launched massive rescue and relief operations. A high level meeting of the Cabinet was held by the Chief Minister to review the deteriorating situation. He also did an aerial survey of the Surat city and asked the Railway Ministry to send a special relief train to deliver food and other relief supplies to the flood-affected people. Extensive damage has been caused to both life and property. Assessment in this regard is being made by the State Government. In the meanwhile, the Chief Minister has issued an appeal to industrialists, NGOs and UN Agencies to extend a helping hand. The Army has been called in to assist in rescue operations. Sixteen army columns, 32 boats have been deployed in the area. The army had so far rescued more than 4,000 marooned people and around 118 persons have been airlifted to safer places by Indian Air Force Helicopters. Mr S.R. Rao, Principal Secretary, Urban Development and former Municipal Commissioner of Surat, who changed the face of the city during the plague in 19xx, has been asked to take charge of the relief and rescue efforts of the State Government. Around 383 medical teams, with 221 medical officers and 1035 paramedical staff, deployed for the relief , are waiting to move in as soon as the water recedes.
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