Banaskantha (Gujarat) [India], September 11 : Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday visited flood-affected areas of Banaskantha district, including Suigam, which had been severely impacted by heavy rainfall, to review the situation on the ground, as per CMO release.
At the Suigam Community Health Centre relief camp, the Chief Minister met with flood-affected citizens taking shelter, enquired into the facilities being provided to them, the losses they had suffered, and reassured them that the Government stood firmly by their side in this crisis.
The Chief Minister also visited rainwater-inundated areas of Sui village and the Jalotra sub-station to assess the situation caused by the heavy rainfall. On Thursday night, the Chief Minister stayed at Vav in Banaskantha district, engaging directly with villagers and obtaining details of the prevailing circumstances.
Later, at the Suigam Sub-Divisional Office, he convened a meeting with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Shankar Chaudhary; the District In-charge Minister, Balvantsinh Rajput; Members of the Legislative Assembly Swaroopji Thakor, Aniket Thakar, and Pravin Mali; former MLA Shashikant Pandya; senior office bearers; the Additional Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister, MK Das; and officials.
The Chief Minister reviewed the rescue and relief operations undertaken by the administration and issued necessary guidance.
He commended the efforts of the district administration and urged them to continue working with the same sensitivity and urgency until normalcy was fully restored.
The Chief Minister directed that the disbursement of relief assistance to flood-affected citizens commence from Thursday evening itself. He further instructed that household assistance be provided in line with a structured SOP. In the case of livestock mortality, he directed that compensation be given only after due verification by the Veterinary Officer.
He stressed the need to accord priority to restoring connectivity in Suigam and other border villages.
The Chief Minister also highlighted the importance of developing long-term mitigation measures to prevent the recurrence of such flood situations.
During the review meeting at Suigam, the Banaskantha District Collector, Mihir Patel, through a presentation, reported that 296 villages across 3,416 square kilometres in Suigam, Vav, Tharad, and Bhabhar talukas had been affected by the heavy rainfall.
The presentation further detailed the rescue and evacuation measures, noting that a total of 228 persons had been rescued across the four talukas, and more than 6,800 affected citizens had been safely relocated. In addition, two NDRF teams and three SDRF teams had been deployed to assist the local administration.
The State Government has dispatched 18,000 ration kits, each containing 15 kilograms of food grains, to be distributed amongst citizens in the affected areas. Furthermore, 2.5 lakh food packets and 3 lakh water bottles have already been supplied.
Electricity supply has been restored to all sub-stations in the affected talukas. Of the 213 villages where power supply was disrupted, restoration has been completed in more than 181 villages.
With regard to drinking water, the District Collector reported that supply has been restored in 168 out of 295 affected villages across the four talukas, including Suigam. Intensive efforts are underway to ensure the provision of potable water in all villages.
To prevent the outbreak of epidemics and disease due to stagnant water, 207 medical surveillance teams are operational in affected villages. More than 7,600 chlorine tablets and 1,040 ORS packets have been distributed, while door-to-door health surveys are being conducted on a priority basis.
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Shankar Chaudhary, advocated for chlorination of water at the source itself to ensure safe distribution.
Later in the evening, following his visit to Suigam and Sui, the Chief Minister travelled to Nagla and Khanpur villages in Tharad taluka, where he met with affected citizens and provided guidance to the local population regarding drainage of accumulated rainwater.