final report

DISASTER MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY: SURAT FLOODS 2006

EFFORTS BY: CHINTAK PATEL (1503), RUSHANG SURATIA (2803)

KUSH VYAS (3003), AMIT TINDWANI (3303)

1. HISTORY & SET UP

1.1. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

India is a democratic republic having federal structure consisting of 29 states and 6 Union Territories. It is the largest democracy where powers and responsibilities for governance are shared between Central and State Governments. At district level, Zila Parishad and at local level Panchayats are the forms of self governments. India exhibits striking contrasts with enormous ethnic and socio cultural diversities. There is considerable difference in population densities between the sates, their pattern of development and other socio-economic and demographic profiles. The geological, broadly following the physical features of the country may be grouped into three parts: the Himalayas and their associated group of mountains, the Indo Gigantic Plains and the Peninsular shield. India has wide range of soils. Two important soil types from point of view of Agriculture are alluvial and black cotton soils. Climatically, India is a tropical country but due to great attitudinal variations, almost all climatic conditions exist in India. It can be broadly described as being mostly tropical, tropical monsoon and temperate climates. The south west or summer monsoon is responsible for 80% of total precipitation in India. Average rainfall of the country is 1200mm/ year but it varies from about 300mm in western Rajasthan to 2000mm in North Eastern states. Agriculture contributes around 30% of GDP to form major portion of Indian Economy. India supports approximately 16% of worlds population with only 2.5% of worlds geographical area. Population density varies from 43 per sq.km in Andaman and Nicbar Islands to over 650 per sq.km in Kerala. 1.2. VULNERABILITY

Due to its geographical position, climate and geological setting, India is among the top 10 countries in term of life loss due to natural disasters every year. As per the World Disaster Report 2002, during last two decades (1982-2001), around 107813 people were killed due to disasters (on an average 5340 people per year) in the country. The country is highly vulnerable to droughts, floods, cyclones, avalanches, forest fires and land slides. Out of 35 states/UT, 27 are disaster prone. This sub continent is amongst the world’s most disaster prone areas with more than 55% of land vulnerable to earthquake, 8% area prone to cyclones, 5% vulnerable to flood and 50% forest cover prone to fire. More over large population in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh face recurring droughts. In recent past the frequency of natural disasters in India has increased drastically. Tsunami in South India, floods in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, earthquake of Gujarat, Chamoli, jabalpur and Latur, landslides in Garhwal and Kumaon, cyclones in Orissa, AndhraPradesh and Gujarat, tornadoes in Balasore and Midnapore, droughts in Rajasthan etc are the examples of recent catastrophes in India. Gujarat lies in the western part of the country with population close to 50 Million (5 Crore). Most of the parts of Gujarat including North and Central Gujarat, Kutch and Saurashtra come under semi arid to arid climatic zone. The worst drought accounted were of 1986-87 and 1999-2000 Erratic and scanty rainfall results in recurring droughts in the region. Kutch and parts of North Gujarat also fall under Zone V of seismic severity, while major parts of Gujarat including Ahmedabad fall under Zone III – posing




moderate threat of earthquake in this region. Devastating earthquake of 2001 was one of the worst disasters in the history of Gujarat and even India. This earthquake claimed more than 13000 lives and damaged more than three million houses. Gujarat also has the longest coastline of 1600Km in India, making the coastal belt and Kutch region vulnerable to cyclones also. In 1998 cyclone devastated Kandla Port (second largest in the country) and lead to loss of hundreds of lives. Gujarat also faced worst epidemic of recent past when much hyped and so called Plague broke out in Surat in 1994. Though there were only 54 deaths in the city due to plague, but it created unprecedented havoc nationally and internationally. Almost 75% of population (then population of 23Lacs) including doctors; fled from the city. Damage to business and image of the country was hard to estimate. Gujarat is not characterized by frequent and disastrous floods. Though many devastating floods have perished thousands of people and huge loss of property in the history of Gujarat. Disaster of Machchu Dam burst in 1978, frequent floods in Narmada and Tapi before late sixties, deluge in Ahmedabad in 2000 and flash floods of 1998, 2004 and 2005 in South and Central Gujarat are some of the examples of Gujarat’s Vulnerability to floods and deluge. Thus Gujarat has witnessed an array of disasters over last decades. As if they were not enough, the manmade disasters of riots in 1992 and 2002 added to the agony of people of Gujarat. Annual Damage due to disasters Year Number of people

affected (in crores0

Number of buildings/houses partially or totally damaged

Amount of Property damage (Rs. In crore)

1990 3.17 1019930 171.0 1991 3.477 1190109 190.0 1992 1.909 570969 205.0 1993 2.624 1529916 580.0 1994 2.353 1051223 183.0 1995 5.435 2088355 473.0 1996 5.499 2376693 543.0 1997 4.438 1103549 NA 1998 5.217 1563405 NA 1999 5.017 3104064 NA 2000 4.162 2736355 1020.9 2001 7.882 846878 12000 Source: Ministry of Agriculture

India’s Disaster Vulnerability

State/ UT Drought Flood Cyclone Earthquake Total Andhra Pradesh Yes Yes Yes 3 Arunachal Pradesh Yes Yes 2 Assam Yes Yes 2 Bihar Yes Yes Yes 3 Chhatisgarh Yes 1 Gujarat Yes Yes Yes 3




State/ UT Drought Flood Cyclone Earthquake Total Haryana Yes 1 Himachal Pradesh Yes Yes 2 Jammu & Kashmir Yes Yes 2 Jharkhand Yes 1 Karnataka Yes 1 Madhya Pradesh Yes Yes 2 Maharashtra Yes Yes Yes 3 Manipur Yes Yes 2 Meghalaya Yes Yes 2 Mizoram Yes Yes 2 Nagaland Yes Yes 2 Orissa Yes Yes Yes 3 Punjab Yes Yes Yes 3 Rajasthan Yes 1 Sikkim Yes Yes 2 Tamilnadu Yes Yes 2 Tripura Yes Yes 2 Uttar Pradesh Yes Yes Yes 3 Uttranchal Yes Yes 2 West Bengal Yes Yes Yes Yes 4 Andaman & Nicobar Yes Yes Yes 3 Total 14 19 6 16 (Source; Indu Prakash, Disaster Management) 1.3. OVERVIEW OF THE NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Keeping in view the new developments and initiatives, the disaster management setup in India is trying to orient itself towards a strong focus on preventive approaches, mainly through administrative reforms and participatory methods. Preparedness measures such as training of role players including the community, development of advanced forecasting system, effective communication, and above all a sound and well networked institutional structure involving the government organizations, academic and research institutions, the armed forces and the non governmental organizations have greatly contributed to the overall disaster management in the country. Identification of vulnerable communities, integrating disaster prevention into habitat planning and developing a culture of prevention are new emerging approaches for disaster management and has been propagated by High Powered Committee on Disaster Management. The Government of India, after the Gujarat Earthquake has established a National Committee on Disaster management (NCDM) – now called National Institute of Disaster Management under ministry of Home Affairs, headed by the Prime Minister, to provide a forum to political parties to share and discuss the issues related to disaster management and mitigation. This committee is supposed to suggest the institutional and legislative measures to strengthen the existing disaster management structure of the country. The Planning Commission has incorporated, for the first time, disaster management as one of its areas of concern. A chapter titled ‘Disaster Management- The Development Perspective” has been included in the Tenth Plan document to make whole gamut of planning process sensitive to various dimensions of disaster management. The Tenth Plan also addresses the community based disaster preparedness and management




by the way of strengthening and capacity building of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). A special mention has been made about the role of youth in disaster management, not only through educational institutions but through youth movements like Nehru Yuvak Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS), Bharat Scout and Guides (BS &G), etc. 1.4. INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Central Level Central Government plays a key role for providing financial and logistic support in case of major disasters and coordinates the effort of Central Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations. Cabinet Committee on Natural Calamities is placed at apex level. The scope of the Committee has also been enlarged so as to address mitigation and preparedness measures also. National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) headed by Cabinet Secretary gives direction to Crisis Management Group (CMG), Ministries and Departments for specific action needed in mitigating the crisis situation. CMG, chaired by Central relief Commissioner annually review contingency plans formulated by various ministries/departments/organizations in their respective sector coordinates activities of Central Ministries and State Government in relation to disaster preparedness and relief and obtains information from nodal officers. In event of disaster, CMG meets frequently to review relief operations and extend assistance to the affected. State. It is proposed to create Disaster/ Emergency Management Authorities at State and National level with representatives of relevant Ministries/Departments and experts to have a multidisciplinary team. State Level The states have been asked to set upto Disaster Management Authorities under the Chief Ministers with Ministers of relevant Departments as members. 11 States and UTs – Tamilnadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Orissa, Gujarat, Kerala, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Delhi, A&N administration and Chandigarh administration have notified the authority. At the state level, the work of post calamity relief was being handled by the Departments of Relief and Rehabilitation. The Government of India is working with the State Governments to restructure the Departments of Relief and Rehabilitation into Departments of Disaster Management with an enhanced responsibility to include mitigation and preparedness along with relief and rehabilitation. The states have been advised to restructure the officers/staff within the department with definite functions to pursue holistic approach to disaster management. The four functional groups to be assigned with specific tasks are Functional Group 1: Hazard Mitigation Functional Group 2: Preparedness and Capacity Building Functional Group 3: Relief and Response Functional Group 4: Administration and Finance District Level At the district level, the District Magistrate who is the chief coordinator will be focal point for coordinating all activities relating to prevention, mitigation and preparedness apart from his existing responsibilities pertaining to relief and response. The District




Coordination and Relief Committee is being reconstituted/ re-designated into Disaster Management Committees with officers from relevant departments being added as members. District Disaster Management Committees have been constituted in 256 districts. Block/ Taluka/ Tehsil Level Similarly, Sub divisional Disaster Management Committees are being constituted. At village levels such committees and teams will help drawing Disaster Preparedness Plan along with youth organizations, CBOs and NGOs. Role of Armed Forces In a disaster situation or an emergency, armed forces are looked upon for the immediate rescue operation and maintaining law and order in the region. India has not been able to develop a separate trained and specialized indigenous groups or teams for rescue operations in case of natural hazards. Though some of the efforts have been made by Central government and some of the state governments to prepare a trained group for such operations, but these are too little to carryout such a specialized job. In case of Gujarat earthquake we have witnessed the expertise and efficiency of foreign rescue teams which are far more and better equipped than their Indian counterparts. Role of Local Community Local communities are the first to respond in case of disasters. Locales are the first persons for rescue of people trapped in a disastrous situation. Hence community based disaster preparedness and developing a culture of disaster preparedness will have far reaching implications on disaster management. Role of NGOs NGOs play vital role in coping with disasters. They enhance the outreach for relief and rescue immediately after the disaster. They also play crucial role in rehabilitation ensuring participatory methods, community well being and acting as a bridge between the community and the government. In recent years, role of NGOs have become even more proactive and articulate. NGOs have been given decisive roles in some of the government relief schemes ensuring more transparency and effectiveness of the programmes. They are now playing the roles as partners in development and not seen as mere activists to oppose the government. 1.5. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE SYSTEM

Strengths 1. Panchayati Raj: According to 73rd Constitutional Amendment Panchayat has been given financial and administrative powers to control the emergency situation. This ensures quick decision and help to the worst hit communities. 2. Strong Independent Media: Media and NGOs play an active role in bringing crucial issues like corruption, inefficiency of government systems and concerns of communities to the Government. 3. Communication: Improved communication systems helps in disseminating the information quickly. Set up of state wide network, use of internet, networking all district




offices with state capital, e governance initiatives and extensive use of mobile phones have helped in quick and better communication and coordination. 4. Administrative set up: Clear line of information and orders. 5. Funds: with improved economic condition in the country, we have large pool of reserves to cop with huge disasters. A recent rejection of international aid for Tsunami relief is the sign of self confidence and sufficient funds for natural calamities. Multi level funding by Centre and the State also helps. 6. NGOs: There is a conducive environment for NGOs to work independently in the country. Many development programmes focus on promotion of CBOs and youth clubs which can contribute to development as well as disaster management at grass root level. After Gujarat Earthquake, there were around 200 NGOs working in the region, while in event of Tsunami, Andaman and Nicobar Island received aids from more than 50 NGOs. Weakness 1. Too bureaucratic and long process: As a democracy, we cannot by pass the bureaucracy. The time taken in decision making and passing the needed aid to the disaster victims sometimes takes too much time and proves fatal for the victims. 2. Lack of coordination between different government agencies: even in the disaster situation, we can see the lack of coordination between the government agencies. This results in duplication of efforts and wastage of money. 3. No Standard Operating Procedure or trigger mechanism: there is total chaos everywhere when a disaster strikes. Government does not have a standard procedure to take control of the situation and manage the chaos. 4. Many states yet to set up a nodal agency for disaster management: There is a central apex body in place for disaster management and the states are suggested to for a nodal agency for disaster management. But except few states like Orissa and Gujarat, no other states have constituted the authority for disaster management. Maharashtra is now gearing up for the formation of authority after recent deluge in Mumbai. 5. Corruption: it is cancer to any system and has spread in each and every corner of the society. Corruption reduces the effectiveness of any relief and rehab operations and induces stress, anger, dissentient, violence and exploitation in the society. 6. Lack of participatory disaster management plans: most of the times disaster management plans or rehabilitation plans are made in central offices with no stake of community for which the plans are intended. This results in inconsistency with the need, culture and living habits of the community and ends up as a failed plan. There are many such instances in Gujarat and Latur after the earthquake. We haven’t learned from the big disasters too. Lack of participatory approach kas also led to discontent of the locales in Andaman and Nicobar after Government came up with designs of intermediate shelters. 7. Disaster management not a part of planning: Till recently, disaster management was not a part of any development plans or schemes by the government. It is only in Tenth Plan that Planning commission have incorporated disaster management as a part of planning process. 8. Faulty land use planning in rural and urban areas: A major factor for any loss of life or property in an event of disaster is the faulty land use planning. This is evident by mindless construction in catchment areas of the river, on the drainage streams, village ponds etc. Deforestations has also led to potential disasters. Recent deluge in Surat and Mumbai are the glaring examples of faulty land use planning. Redundant village ponds in




Rajasthan tells the story about devastated catchments by construction activities resulting in severe scarcity of water in already water stressed region. The awful conditions of lakes of Udaipur (City of Lakes) and many other urban centers across country, is also result of faulty land use planning. Non confirmation of coastal area regulations, residential colonies near industries, habitat in potential flood areas near rivers are at risk of potential hazard. 9. Low technology use and lack of skilled personnel: India is still confronting with low technology, less research and lack of experts in disaster management field. Disaster management has yet not found place in secondary education. The specialization courses are also not comprehensive (mostly correspondence courses) to produce experts in the field. 1.6. HISTORY OF DISASTERS IN GUJARAT:

Given the intensity and frequency of disasters in India, the need for a comprehensive approach to the prevention and mitigation of hazards and the need for mainstreaming the concept of disaster risk management into ongoing developmental activity cannot but be emphasized more strongly. Especially so if development gains made over the years through painstaking effort and the precious lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable sections of society are to be protected. The prosperous industrial state of Gujarat experiences droughts, flash floods, cyclones and earthquakes with depressing regularity. Some of the most devastating disasters which have stuck the State in previous decades include the Morbi flood of 1978, the plague in Surat of 1994, the Kandla cyclone of 1998, the floods which swept across Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat and Mehsana in 2000, and the killer quake of January 26th 2001.




1.7. HISTORY - SUART:

The city of Surat in Gujarat is known for its textile trade, diamond cutting and polishing industries and, since 1994, for the Plague, is today known for its strength to convert adversity into advantage. The outbreak of pneumonic plague in Surat during September 1994 created worldwide panic and severely affected the city as well as the entire nation’s economy. About 60% of the population fled the city and the industry suffered an estimated loss of Rs. 12 Billion. Though the disease was controlled within a week, it raised many serious issues of public heath and the capacity of the local government to




manage the city. Subsequent to the Plague of 1994, the city authorities undertook one of the most massive clean-up operations in recent times and revamped the entire administration of the city. Within two years, Surat had been transformed from the one of the filthiest cities to the second cleanest city in the country. A systematic process to upgrade infrastructure, both quantitatively and

qualitatively, has been made by the local government. The city governance has come to be recognized as an example of a good governance system. The experience of Surat has demonstrated that urban local governments in developing countries have the capacity to face the challenges of rapid urbanization and improve the quality of life of all residents.




2. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED…

The unprecedented floods of Surat city and district in South Gujarat in western India earlier this month and the damages of over Rs 21 000 crores (according to Gujarat govt estimates) were completely preventable. Had the authorities released even 3 lakh cusecs of water from the Ukai dam starting from Aug 1, Surat may not have experienced such a disaster. There was sufficient specific information available to take such an action, as is evident from the rainfall figures in Tapi basin talukas in Maharashtra. Due to lack of timely release of water by the Gujarat water resources department, the storage in the Ukai reservoir was allowed to go up beyond the levels it should have, leading to sudden release of unmanageable quantities of water from Aug 7, for prolonged periods. Since this coincided with the days of high tide when the river’s drainage capacity is further reduced, the floods brought catastrophic results.

Rainfall 97.85 % of the catchments area upstream from the dam site is in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh over 81.3 % in Maharashtra alone. Here compiled list of dates is given when rainfall in the Tapi basin talukas in Maharashtra was more than 25 mm, during June 1, 2006 to August 14, 2006. It shows that such instances were spread all over July & Aug ‘06.

It is clear from these figures that Ukai was going to get large inflows in the days to come and there was sufficient actionable information available with the Gujarat water resources dept to release water from Ukai Dam in July itself.

Ukai Reservoir Level This was all the more important considering the rapid rise in water level at Ukai dam as shown in the graph below.

Level at Ukai Dam

80

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

98

100

102

104

106

108

106

506

706

1406

1806

2006

2206

2506

2806

3006 207

407

1007

1307

1807

2407 208

608

808

1008

1508

Date

Leve

l (m

)

2006 2005 FRL-105.16 m MDDL-82.30 m




Highest pre monsoon, highest July end levels at Ukai When we compared the Ukai reservoir levels just before the monsoon and at the end of July for the last four years (for which we could get the data from Central Water Commission and Central Electricity Authority bulletins) we were surprised to find that the levels at Ukai dam were the highest this year in last four years, both with respect to the level just before the monsoon and also at the end of July, as is clear from the table below.

Lowest level Before monsoon Year Level, m Date

Level (m) at the end of July

2003 89.91 June 17 94.56 2004 88.02 July 25 88.16 2005 85.37 June 24 94.26 2006 90.71 June 29 97.8 Source: Central Water Commission, Central Electricity Authority, Govt of India, bulletins of various dates Water release figures from Ukai reservoir While the project authorities have yet to make public the hourly or even daily figures of inflows, outflows, levels and usage of water at Ukai throughout this monsoon, we could gather following figures from the Govt. statements and media reports.

Date time Inflows, cusecs

Outflows, cusecs

Water level, m

Aug 5 0800 am 85 958 26 664 102.20 0800 pm 48554 23 640 102.26 Aug 6 0800 am 75 087 124 920 102.14 0800 pm 330 216 254 780 102.57 Aug 7 0800 am 853 679 409 004 103.46 0800 pm 1 072 680 816 036 104.22 Aug 8 0800 am 1 053 133 844 092 104.97 0800 pm 961 466 907 316 105.33 Aug 9 0800 am 856 000 850 000 105.34 0800 pm 711 757 650 000 105.38

It is disturbing to know that even as late as on Aug 6 evening, the water releases from Ukai reservoir were just 254 780 cusecs when the level had already built up to 102.57 m, that is reservoir was 83.6% full at 5.528 BCM live storage. A day earlier the releases were shockingly low at 23640 cusecs. This was when during the eight days preceding this, all the talukas of Nandurbar district had received over 25 mm rainfall at least for 4-5 days including an instance of 260 mm rainfall in a day and seven instances when rainfall was over 100 mm. Surgana taluka in Nashik was also getting similar pattern of rainfall. Mismanagement and negligent operations of the large reservoirs on Tapi, Narmada, Kirshna, Godavari, Mahi and Sabarmati Rivers have created man made disaster in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The Big dams that were expected to reduce the floods have actually been responsible for the flood disaster visiting these states now, the states that also happen to have the largest number of big dams. Reservoir storage before the monsoon: Consider the first set of facts. Following are the figures of the % water storage in live capacities of respective




dams JUST BEFORE the monsoon 2006; all figures are from the Central Water Commission, Govt of India: This situation reservoirs having substantial water JUST BEFORE the onset of monsoon is a big loss to the nation in a number of ways. Firstly, this means that the water available in live storage before the monsoon could not be used (e.g. for irrigation, water supply, power generation). With the onset of monsoon, since the reservoirs had that much less capacity to absorb monsoon flows, they were bound to release large amount of water witho ut use. The SUDDEN release of LARGE quantities of water from these dams has lead to big disaster in the downstream areas, thus DAMS in the current case are DIRECTLY responsible for the flood damages, and dam operators are responsible for this state of affairs.

Releases from the reservoir The second big factor that decides the floods in the downstream region is the releases from the dams AFTER the onset of the monsoon. Here this information is generally kept a state secret, so unless the Dam operators and governments make public as to how much water was released, say for irrigation, power generation, water supply and for the downstream areas since the onset of monsoon, it cannot be said if the dam operation has been done in an optimal manner. However, available evidence suggests that the dam operators are responsible for criminal mismanagement in this respect also. Let us take two stark examples. UKAI, SURAT Even as the Ukai dam on Tapi river upstream of Surat city was filling up very fast (the dam was already 51% full on July 20, 77.54% full on Aug 3, ’06 and 100% full on Aug 7, ’06) and the dam was getting high inflows of up to 9-10 lakh cusecs, the authorities waited for the dam to fill up before starting to release water. This meant sudden release of up to 10 lakh cusecs of water from the dam, for several days running. This when the authorities all along knew that the Tapi river downstream from dam has drainage capacity of only about 3.5 lakh cusecs. Secondly, the releases also coincided with high tide, le adding to prolonged flooding. All this shows that the dam operators are solely guilty for the floods that Surat is now experiencing. Here it should be noted that Surat city has experienced just 12% excess rainfall this monsoon till 0800 hours on August 9, 2006, so sudden high intensity rainfall or cloudburst is certainly not the reason for floods in Surat.




Sardar Sarovar On August 2, its been widely reported, SSP main canal was open by just 0.5 m, releasing just about 580 cusecs of water, when the dam was getting inflows of over 98000 cusecs and downstream releases were just around 21 000 cusecs. This lead to build of water behind the dam, up to 128 m, when it need not have gone much beyond 119 m. As a direct consequence of this build up, lands, houses and habitats of thousands of families faced avoidable and illegal submergence. This seemed like the state bent on using submergence as a weapon to terrorise the affected people into accepting unjust displacement. SSP authorities need to answer as to what were the hourly releases into canals, riverbed power house and inflow and overflow from the dam along with water level behind the dam. If Gujarat did not have the capacity to use water, why was the increase in dam height from 110.63 m to 121.92 m pushed? The story is similar in Krishna, Godavari and Sabarmati basins that are also facing floods. A related issue is the siltation of dams, which is also leading to reduction if available capacity at reservoirs, and nothing is being done to arrest the siltation. According to the report of the Govt of India’s National Commission for Integrated Water Resources Development, the country is losing 1.4 BCM storage capacity every year, and the loss is about Rs 1600 crores of rupees. The least one can demand is a credible, independent enquiry as to why such a situation arose which could have been substantially avoided with more optimal operation of projects. The dam authorities also will have to come out with full facts and figures about inflows, outflows, releases and reservoir levels and storage capacities on daily basis, so that those responsible for mismanagement can be identified and necessary action is taken. The Nation has paid huge costs in creating these reservoir capacities and negligence of the dam operators is leading to disastrous consequences which are entirely avoidable.




3. SURAT FLOODS- FROM THE EYE OF MEDIA

One inch rainfall can trigger a flood in Surat The filth left behind by the recent flood has choked the storm drainage network. SURAT: If there's even one inch rainfall in an hour, Surat would see another flood, fear civic authorities of the city, as the capacity of the storm drainage system has been reduced to 50 per cent due to heavy silting during the recent floods. According to Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) authorities, because of the unprecedented floods witnessed in Surat recently, there is more than three feet of muck deposition in the storm drainage network. "The water carrying capacity of the storm drainage network has been reduced by the muck, and it has also got damaged at several places, thus preventing the flow of rain water into the river," said V D Patel, additional city engineer of SMC. The removal of muck has become a major problem for the officials. "It is very difficult to remove the filth from the drainage network, more so because it has dried as there was almost no rain after the floods. The work cannot be done manually. We are also facing shortage of sewer jet machines, which can be used to pump out the filth from the drainage network," a SMC official said. Officials said that SMC has made arrangements to bring some sewer jet machines from Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Vadodara, to add pace to the work of removing filth from the storm drainage system. "Heavy deposition of muck and filth in the storm drainage line should be removed as early as possible, because if Surat receives good amount of rainfall in the coming days, the city would again be flooded. The authorities should initiate early steps in this regards as Surat has a history of receiving rainfall till September end," said Dhiru Gajera, MLA from Surat North constituency.

Virang Bhatt

Sunday, September 03, 2006

INDIAN EXPRESS, August Wednesday 30th 2006 (20h38):

THE MAN MADE FLASH FLOOD OF SURAT- GUJARAT- India

Handling of KATRINA in U.S. has become the model for the ruling class in India. The developments minus human face in the so-called golden age! Of Globalization and liberisation has brought miseries after miseries of the people and opening the gate of all out privatization of service sectors. The recent man made flood in Surat of Gujarat of India can be an eye opener.

THE MAN MADE FLASH FLOOD OF SURAT- GUJARAT

The danger of second flood is lurking. First it was the district of Kheda where 140 school children were trapped. Then the devastating flood in Surat followed by the floods in Kheda, Baroda, Bharuch, Narmada, Panchamahal, Godhra of Central Gujarat, Ahmedabad district, followed by the Sabarkantha, North Gujarat. In some place it is the first spell of flood and most of the places it is the second one. All the dams have crossed the danger mark. The excess release of water will be a horrible disaster. Due to the lack of preparedness and laxity on the part of the Government, the people of Gujarat are suffering.




In normal times the air of the state is filled with the slogans of Vibrant Gujarat by Mr. Narendra Modi. It appears everything in the state is very normal and smooth. The adjectives are coined to eulogize the state as developing Gujarat, investor-friendly, Vibrant Gujarat etc. But whenever natural or human disaster occurs, the entire Government and its machinery are in slumber. It is a usual practice of Modi to discover the villain for the disasters and hood wink the people and soon spring back to stage manage things and chant the Mantra of Vibrant Gujarat and every thing becomes sacred in the name of development and investments. Not a single calamity, be it 1998 flood in Surat, Kandla Cyclone, Killer earthquake 2001, floods in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, severe flood in Baroda in 2005 and acute droughts, had never been handled efficiently, leave alone the 2002 carnage. Every catastrophe is followed by this or that social cleavage in the form of riots. More the calamities, more the entry of the fundamentalist organisations in the society to absorb and divert the anger of the people against the Government. Calamities are followed by saffronisation. The intra party rivalry of BJP matures after one or another calamity with fresh attempt for a come back. They have not lost the opportunity this time too of passing scathing remark against Modi. The Congress, too, wants to regain their lost pockets in South Gujarat. The Surat flood has become the political game for the survival of not the flood victims but the survival of the BJP dissidents, Congress and finally Modi. Under these circumstances, what will be the fate of R&R in the flood affected areas can easily be guessed. The Government of Gujarat is thinking to impose flood cess similar to the earthquake cess. The Government has not announced the reduction of administrative expenditures, or the diversion of the pay of the ministers but invests the easiest way to tax the people. People had been similarly taxed earlier but there was no transparency to the income and expense. Most of disaster funds are left unspent or diverted. Now the unprecedented flood of Surat has become the main focus. The Surat flood has virtually overshadowed the floods in other parts of the state which in normal term has destroyed lives and property. The face saving administrative attention on Surat has left other parts unattended. Overall flood situation in Gujarat is very grim, leaving the people to their own so-called ‘Fate’. The BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu demands to declare Surat Flood as National Calamity. When they were in power they did not care to declare the Super Cyclone of Orissa and the Killer Earthquake of Gujarat as National Calamity. When the Senior BJP leader is for National Calamity, at the same time the Government of Gujarat is floating Tenders for the Navaratri Festival(Vibrant Gujarat) on the River Front of Sabarmati, Ahmedabad which was under water recently due to flood in the river Sabarmati. The Surat Flood is the classic case of callousness, scant respect for the people added with the ignorance. This needs a thorough understanding of the genesis of the flash flood and the aftermaths. THE GENESIS FLOOD The whole state was reeling under severe hot summer and droughts were prevalent in Saurashtra region of the state. There was no rain till the 2nd week of July. The patchy clouds were moving here and there in the sky. All were scared about the incoming danger of droughts and scarcity of drinking water. The spell of rain in the second week of July brought a sigh of relief. But this very first spell of rain caused floods in the Central Gujarat, wherein 40 to 50 villages were badly affected. The people of Kheda were worst effected. 140 school children were under water and could be rescued only after three days, which attracted all India media attention. This district of Kheda was the worst affected district last year due to the unprecedented water logging caused by the construction of 90 kms. long Express Highway no1. Golden quadrilateral. This time the same district is badly affected. Except Saurashtra and the district of Kutch, medium and heavy rainfall was predicted by the meteorological department followed by incessant rain in adjoining Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In spite of the first warning of the flood in the district of Kheda and district of Central Gujarat, the rain was welcomed and taken as a sign of prosperity. FLOOD AND TOURISM-The Narmada Dam tourism was promoted. People from outside the state were pursued to visit the overflowing of Narmada Dam and the comments of the tourists were telecasted in the electronic media. This promotion of tourism to watch the overflowing of water from the Narmada Dam was with utter disregard to the plight of people of the upper basin areas on Narmada basin. Apart from that, the




overflow led to floods in the districts of Narmada and Bharuch. It is difficult to understand that in spite of the rise of the height of Narmada Dam there is flood in Narmada and Bharuch districts. It appears that allowing the dam to overflow is the hidden agenda of the administration and the Government of Gujarat and so no attention was paid to the incoming danger of flood. In the mean while the Government of Gujarat was preparing for the mega show on the day of 15th August, which has become a normal practice of Modi for last five Years of his tenure to exhibit the so-called vibrant Gujarat. Modi uses all the National days like 15th August, 26th January and days like Navaratri, Kite flying, Kutchi New Year etc. to go for all out Mega events. The entire administration is geared up for all these events. Modi believes all these mega events will enhance the vibrant image of prosperous Gujarat and draw the attention for investments in the state which has dropped after the carnage 2002 due to the absence of law and order situation in the state. So the entire Government machinery was busy for the mega events on 15th August whereas there was continuous rain in the state as well as in the adjoining states. The whole attitude of the Government was to let all the dams and the reservoir be filled with the rain water to the overflow which became counter productive in the case of Ukai Dam causing unprecedented floods in Surat. Ukai is one of the hydro electric generating dams constructed in 1970 on the border of Gujarat and Maharashtra to save Surat and the adjoining villages. Its Catchments area is Maharashtra. The height of the Ukai Dam is 351 feet having a capacity of 345 feet. There was torrential rain in the upper basin, which is Maharashtra . Ukai is the only dam on the river Tapi. It is roughly 200kms from Surat and the water takes six hours to reach Surat. It is to be noted that there is Akhnoor weir in Maharashtra- which has no gates to control the inflow of the water. The heavy rain started in Maharashtra from 5th of August. When the rain started in Maharashtra, the Ukai Dam was half empty. FAILED TO LEARN FROM PAST FLOOD- 1998 The Indian Express comments “The floods have taken the people of Surat by surprise. There was hardly any excessive rainfall in the period preceding the deluge. The level of Tapi started rising on a calm Sunday evening after the Irrigation Department started releasing 8 to 10 lakh cusecs of water from the upstream Ukai dam as against the normal outflow of 6 lakh cusecs. Soon, the swirling Tapti inundated the fastest-growing town of Gujarat. Apparently, officials haven’t learnt their lesson from the 1998 deluge, when release of only 6.73 lakh cusecs of water had caused the worst-ever flood in a quarter century. If 6.73 lakh cusecs was enough to cause havoc in the diamond city in 1998, one can easily imagine the magnitude of the catastrophe brought in by the release of 50 per cent extra water. Apparently, it is not a natural calamity. The Irrigation Department says it was forced to release water in unprecedented quantity because Ukai dam was facing grave danger, having already crossed the full reservoir level of 345 feet. Could they have not released water in a phased manner? Irrigation officials say they were misled by Central Water Commission, which supplied them with unrealistic figures about inflow of water upstream. A miscalculation that cost heavily. Floods normally connote nature’s fury. In the present instance, it is man’s foolishness. The citizens of Surat are angry and blaming the administration, and rightly so. According to Central Water Regulation- the water level in the Ukai Dam be maintained as follows: On 1st July 321 meter, 1st August 333meter, 1st September 340 meter water level be maintained. The warning level of the dam was marked “after consultations with the Central Water Commission, the warning level was reduced from 10.5 m to 9.5 m to afford more time to administrators to prepare for any flooding of Surat” -India Express 13-8-06 The water level in Ukai dam on 30th June was only of 29.44% of its capacity. On 5th of August it was 82.95%, on 6th August the position was same. On 7th August the water was filled to the capacity of 88.92%. In one day, there was an increase of inflow to 6%. On 8th August it became 98.37%. In 24 hours, the water level rose by 9.45%. In a nutshell, from 5th August to 8th August the water level rose by 15.42%. The high alert was declared on 8th August. On the rest of the previous day it was declared alert If the water would have been released from 5th August The Water levels on 5th. August 335.29’ in the morning-335.50’ evening 6th. August- morning. 335.12’ evening. 336. 50’ 7th August- Morning, 339.45’ evening. 341. 92’




8th.August Morning, 344. 40’ Evening 345, 65’ The way the water has been received and released. in Cusec Received released 5th.Morning 85,958 23.664 5th. Evening 48.554 23.640 6th Morning 75.087 1.24.920 6th Evening 3.30216 2.54,780. 7th. Morning 85,3679 4,09, 004 7th. Evening10.72680 8.16036 8th. Morning 10,53,137 8,44,092 8th. Evening9,61,466 9,07316. 9th. Morning 8,56,000 8,50000 8A.M (Mumbai Samachar-13-8-06) OPINIONS ON THE RELEASE OF WATER Let us take a stock what are the general opinion on the release of the water from the Ukai Dam “....... The water level at Ukai should have been released as soon as they realized that there was heavy inflow from the catchments areas. They waited till the last minute.”- a Surat administration officials said. “ When they finally decided to open the flood gates , it was too late.”, the official said. Indian Express10-7-06 According to the District collector of Surat, Vatsala Vasudev “---the release from Ukai into Tapi leading to Surat flooding, was not done in a phased manner.” She is learnt to told state officials that, given the amount of rainfall in the upstream area, it was possible to asses the danger ahead. Surat flooding has happened because of a “late decision” of releasing over 9.02 lakh cusecs. Times of India - 10-8-06 Interestingly, the State Government has not disclosed the official log of the dam containing data related to inflow and outflow of water since August 2. Revenue Minister Kaushik Patel refused to share the details at a press conference held in Gandhinagar and walked out in a huff when media persons questions pertaining to releasing water. State Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Narottam Patel had tried to justify his department’s decision. Indian Express 10-8-06 What Surat is facing today cannot be compared to anything before, except probably 1998. The Former Surat Municipal Commissioner S R Rao who handled the 1998 floods is now principle secretary, Urban Development, in Gandhinagar. He was rushed to Surat on Monday night to coordinate the activities between the various agencies. ‘‘If you go by Surat’s flood history, post-dam it has experienced less floods. Of course, 2006 will probably be the worst after the dam was constructed,’’ he says. Rao describes flood as an ‘‘act of God.’’ ‘‘I have checked all statistics. None including you could have prevented this,’’ he says, refusing to admit any mismanagement of Ukai reservoir. Indian Express13-8-06. Irrigation Chief Engineer J B Patel says that according to the manual they prepared after the 1998 floods, if the inflow was 11-12 lakh cusecs, they had to release 7 lakh cusecs. Though, the exact log is not available, it seems they miscalculated and released only 4.5 lakh cusecs earlier. The result was that reservoir was full even before the main spell of rain began in the area, forcing them later to release all the excess water I. E 13-8-06 Surat MP belonging to BJP Kashiram Rana says, ‘‘All of us had forgotten that Ukai was meant to be a flood control device and not a reservoir. As Surat expanded, power and irrigation demands compelled authorities to start using it as dam to store all the rainwater that flowed in. The level to be maintained in the dam before the inflow starts during monsoon was always a matter of contention.” Indian Express13-8-06 The leading citizens of Gujarat has criticised the callous attitude of the Government and castigated it as “criminal negligence” and demanded Judicial Inquiry. SAFFRONISATION OF RELIEF After the flash flood many social organisations, people came forward with relief materials , depositing them in the circuit house in Ahmedabad where the relief materials were to be collected and supposed to be sent. With much fan fare and publicity stunt the relief materials were sent, which reached late due to closure of both Rail and Road. When those materials reached Surat it bore the picture of Narendra Modi and BJP state President Vajubhai Vala along with the symbol of BJP. This was the style of functioning of BJP and the Sangha Parivar during killer earthquake in 2001 and in other calamities in the state. In true tradition of the people of Gujarat, they came spontaneously to help the victims in whatever way they can. But their emotion and enthusiasm and the aid are taken for granted as the Government Relief. The people of Surat were without water, food and electricity for more than 96 hours. The rescue operation shown in media time and again was very marginal in comparison to the magnitude of devastation There are 16 Army columns, 32 boats, four engineering task force, 15 heavy motor vehicles, 6 helicopters. 4000 people have been evacuated. 118 were airlifted. Times of India 10-8 06




The few helicopters that roared above dropping food packets, or of the handful of boats moving about trying to rescue people looked like a drop in literally an ocean. (The Times of India -10-8-06 ) POLITICS OF AID AND INTRA PARTY RIVALRY The verbal war between the ruling BJP State Government and Central Government headed by UPA centering on aid and relief package by the Central Government has compounded the administrative indecision. Both Modi and Congress are hurling criticism on each other. Modi is tactfully trying to divert the attention to the point of callous indifference of Central Government whereas Congress is trying to take political mileage out of the situation and focusing on Sonia Gandhi’s visit and the Central relief package and thereby gain political mileage in Surat and South Gujarat which was once their bastion. Sensing the political motive of Congress, Modi has become more aggressive. The dissident group of BJP headed by the ex Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel are trying to wrest political advantage out of the situation.They have started parallel relief work because they are sidelined by Modi. They are criticizing Modi and the Government for the present catastrophe. Ironically, Keshubhai Patel was not allowed to land from his helicopter in the last 1998 Surat flood. This time when Modi was visiting in a Military boat, he was jeered by the people. In 1998 all the present dissident leaders including Kashiram Rana were jeered by the people of Surat. The political rivalry between BJP and Congress and the intra- group rivalry will have very bad impact on the R&R work. One of the MLA utters “From being the number 1 CM in good administration, he has become number 1 mismanagement.” Another MLA said “He said vote me to power and sleep for 5 years as I will be awake. People have realized at a heavy cost that they have to keep awake as Modi sleeps.” I.E 14-8-06 Keshubhai Patel hit out at Modi, “people in some areas are complaining even today that they are yet to see the Government Relief.’ The sudden rise of the dissident group of BJP has worried Modi more than the criticism of Congress and media and the people of Gujarat. THE ENCHROACHMENT OF RIVER The flood provides the best opportunity to demolish the slums as it happened last year in Baroda. There is the same approach in Surat too. The obstruction of the releasing of flood water is blamed on the slums but not on the town planning and the encroachment of the river basin by the builders lobby abetted by administration with utter disregard to the environment and ecology. The narrowing of the Tapi river is revealing one. 40 years back it could carry 10 lakhs cusec of water. It has been reduced to 3.5 lakhs cusec. After the flood it can not accept more than 3 lakhs which can be further reduced if there is high tide to 2.5 lakhs. I. E 14-8-06 The general width of Tapi is 600 meter which is 400 meters at Adajan. 200 meters has been reduced because of encroachment of Tapi by the builders. Again when Ukai dam was constructed, there was no Hazira Complex. The Hazira Industrial complex raised 2 to 3 meter reducing the releasing of water of Tapi to the sea. During the last Municipal election, Modi promised the Tapi River Front project similar to the Sabarmati River front Project of Ahmedabad. The Sabarmati River Front Project which is inundated in flood water this time has been the only plank in the last Municipal Election in Ahmedabad which was held prior to Surat and Baroda Municipal election. This high profile River Front project on Sabarmati is developed spending crores of rupees to beautify the city, and attract the investors in lies of vibrant Gujarat. This type of development minus human face has been the catastrophic for the people. The Present situation The water has started receding. The entire city looks like a garbage dump. The dead bodies of the animals are lying here and there. The human dead bodies are lying in the vicinity of 20 kms. Till now the unofficial figure is that 300 people have died. Hundreds dead bodies are lying in the morgue of civil hospitals unclaimed. No attempt is made to identify them and the dead bodies are disposed off without proper record. It is believed that those who could escape to sky rise buildings, could save their lives but people staying in the low line areas, mostly the poor, met the watery grave. About 70% people of Surat are from different states working in power loom sectors, diamond industries and other unorganized sectors. Their identity has always been denied by the employers and the local administration which we have been fighting for years. This will be the key to hide the real figures of the dead. Hiding figures of the dead is the usual practice of the ruling party of Gujarat. The numbers of dead of Kandla cyclone, killer earthquake were suppressed, such that there won’t be any claimant for the financial assistance.




Now much of the workers coming from outside the state are leaving Surat.The power looms , diamond industries, and other work in the unorganized sector are yet to start. Most of them are daily bread earner. Under the chaotic situation prevailing in R&R, they have no confidence on the Government and its machinery. Again there are all chances of epidemics. The Government has failed to provide at even the drinking water. There are no relief camps to take care of the flood victims. The insensitive and rude behaviour of the administration towards the victims is alarming. The victims are scared to approach the administration apprehending inviting the wrath. The loss in the industry will have its direct bearing on the common people too. Crumbling City, Mounting Losses Rs.21,875 Crore -- Total losses according to a preliminary estimates submitted to the Prime Minister on Friday, 11th August ’ 06 . Rs. 1,700 Crore -- estimated production loss in Surat’s diamond & textile sectors in the last few days. In Surat, there are 10,000 diamond units & 7,000 textile units. Hazira Hit - Captive power plant at Essar Steel in Hazira had to scale down due to a cut in gas supply from the ONGC & GSPC grids. Production at the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is also disrupted. ONGC has suffered a production loss of nearly 80,000 barrels of oil at its Hazira Processing facilities. In brief, the recent flood has exposed the inefficiency of the BJP Government led by Narendra Modi, its lack of preparedness, publicity hunger, saffronisation of relief works, love for mega events, refusal to learn from past, inventing ways to indulge in blaming game to create euphoria and divert the real issue, ability to stage manage, and lack of proper knowledge of the subject. ALL PEOPLES RELIEF COMMITTEE- What is needed is to develop All People’s Relief Committee for the R&R work with the mandatory power to keep watch on the functioning of the administration. It will take time to heal the wounds. The short term relief as well as long term relief has to be continued. IMMEDIATE CONCERN-There are so many demands to be raised for justice and restore human dignity of the flood affected people. Few vital demands are of much importance for the present situation. • A white paper giving all details about the Surat flood and responsible persons be punished. • The R&R work should be supervised by People’s committee wrested with legal power. Total R&R packages and tax holiday should be declared for the common people also. • Judicial and expert inquiry committee to find out guilty for this manmade flood . • The workers coming outside the state be assured of R$R and unidentified or unclaimed bodies be identified with publishing of the photographs in the dailies all over India and proper compensation be given to the members of the families. • Long term planning including design of reservoirs, sub canalling of reservoirs and to suspend all construction activities on the mouth of rivers and dredging of the rivers be done in regular interval . • The financial aid as per the old manual be scraped, the loss be assessed as per the present market valuation and aid be given. If necessary, the old manual on Relief be replaced new manual though legislation. • The attitude of sab thik hai (every thing is normal) be guarded. The Right To Information be used to provide all the details of the R&R. • The accountability of the administration must be ensured

D- 16-8-06 By : Dwarika Nath Rath

August Wednesday 30th 2006

Devastating flood takes Surat city 25 years backward Aug 19,2006 The floods that ravaged Surat has taken the city 25 years backward economically and it is likely to remain so for the next five years at least, according to industry experts who have watched the economic progress of the diamond-cutting city. Phenomenal progress in the last two decades had established Surat as one of the foremost cities on the financial map of the country, which has been washed away in five days of devastating floods. The question being asked by experts is, will Surat regain its




lost place? Surti Lalas are banking on the indomitable Gujarati entrepreneurial spirit to help Surat bounce bank from this crisis. "As per our estimate, the worst floods in the history of Surat have eroded the progress, the city had achieved in the last 25 years," President of Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pravin Nanavati told PTI. Economist and professor M D Desai said the city could remain in a bad patch for the next five years. "The diamond and textile industry of Surat and neighbouring Hazira's progress has not only been halted but they have also taken a severe financial setback. Entrepreneurs will hesitate before investing in the city due to it's vulnerability to floods," he added. "Development of the city will suffer a solid break due to the economic losses, degradation of living conditions of the people and psychological effects of floods. It will take a lot of time for Surat to regain its lost position," Desai said. "We have seen in history that floods have ruined cities and civilizations that have grown on the banks of rivers. Many of us might find it difficult to believe it while reading history books. But Surat's floods have proved that the fury of water can destroy cities. Surat has survived the flood due to modern RCC houses and technological advances but it has received a tremendous blow," Satyakam Joshi of city based Centre for Social Studies said. "Though people are giving different figures, losses faced by the city cannot be counted as every family has suffered some or other kind of loss," he added. Former Textile Minister and Surat MP Kanshiram Rana said, "I request the Central and state governments not to allow the city to die. In the past, the people of Surat have spiritedly fought disasters like floods and spread of plague and have overcome them successfully. They still have the spirit to fight this disaster also. The Central and state governments should give two years of tax holiday for Surat." State government appointed chief coordinator for relief and rescue S R Rao said, "we will restore normalcy in Surat in the next few days." Rao who as Municipal Commissioner of Surat after the plague had changed the face of the city, also believes that the city will regain its position on the economic map of the nation. Surat Mayor Kanu Mavani is optimistic that after Diwali one would see Surat functioning as it was before the floods. Industry and retail business will start functioning normally, migrant population, who are leaving the city at present would come back as normalcy is restored since the city provides maximum job opportunities for labour," he added. A textile businessmen said, "our people will not depend on government help but work hard to attain normalcy and industrial progress.

Parag Dave, Surat,




4. IMPACTS OF THE FLOOD TO SURAT

Overflowing Tapi submerges parts of Surat TIMES NEWS NETWORK Surat/Vadodara: With constant release of water from Ukai dam into river Tapi since Saturday night, several low-lying areas along the river in Surat were inundated and about 600 people had to be shifted to relief camps by Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) on Sunday evening. Over a 100 people took shelter on Nehru Bridge near Bapu Nagar. The worst affected areas in the city included Bapu Nagar, Shital Nagar, Subhash Nagar and Nehru Nagar, all located on the banks of Tapi, said municipal commissioner Pankaj Joshi. On Sunday evening, the water level in Ukai dam was around 335.73 ft, about nine ft below the danger mark of 345 ft. About 1.85 lakh cusec water was released from the dam into the Tapi throughout the day on Sunday and about 2.5 lakh cusec was released at about 7 pm. Landslide near Ambaji: Several towns in Banaskantha, Sabarkantha, Mehsana and Patan in north Gujarat were lashed by rains on Sunday. According to reports, Balaram and Banas rivers in Banaskantha district were in spate, even as animals at Balaram sloth bear sanctuary in the district were affected due to the downpour. Vehicular traffic from Data to the temple town of Ambaji was affected following a landslide. Authorities had to rush in bulldozers to clear the huge rocks that had fallen on the road. Ajwa lake overflows: The Ajwa Lake in Vadodara overflowed yet again at 211 feet on Sunday owing to heavy rainfall in the rural areas of Vadodara district. However, VMC officials said that it was a minor overflow and Vishwamitri River would not be affected by it. This is second time within a week when the lake has overflowed due to excessive rains.

People watch the rising water level of Tapi in Surat on Sunday.




Sparkle lost Surat floods hit diamond industry Monday, August 14, 2006 (Surat): The floods in Surat have hit the multi-million dollar business centre of western India. The worst hit is Mahidurpura - the biggest diamond hub in the country. "There is no point talking about business. Everyone is worried. Water has entered the vaults in the basement," said Praveen Khatri, Diamond Merchant. Irreparable loss The loss is irreparable with business papers gone, export commitments failed and cash worth at least Rs 1,000 crore ruined. Diamonds worth a few more thousand crores have been washed away. Now the diamond merchants also fear losing their clients. And in the face of sheer helplessness, tempers are running high. "Surat is the most progressive city of Gujarat. But neither the SMC nor the government is providing any relief. We pay the largest amount of tax. But the choppers are just hovering over, providing no help," complained Naresh Panchal, Diamond Merchant. The Rs 74,000 crore diamond trade of Surat is the single largest contributor to the country's foreign exchange. Basements ravaged The valuable diamonds are stored very safely. Uncut pieces are airlifted from South Africa and Antwerp under tight security and stored in safety vaults in basements. There is just one entrance to the vaults, in which only owners and trusted workers are allowed entry. Highly skilled labourers work round-the-clock, polishing diamonds.The entire area is under a 24-hour police cordon and no worker, family member or owner can enter without a special ID check. The floods, however, have breached this traditional security of Mahidurpura. It has ravaged the basements of these 100-year-old houses, reducing security vaults about 70-years-old to rust. In all likelihood, the most expensive cut diamonds, which are miniscule in size, and the diamond dust, have slipped through the cracks. Only the large uncut diamonds will be safe, but these are not half as expensive. Units shut down As per the Diamond Promotion Council estimates, the losses amount to nearly Rs 4,000 crore, excluding the time it will take to get back to business. Mahidarpura is known worldwide for its polished diamonds. Today, the sparkle is gone, submerged under floodwaters, forcing thousands of diamond units to shut down. "All the documents, agreements and currency notes in the vaults are ruined," said Jeetubhai Sariwala, Diamond Merchant. Experts further say exports may be affected by as much as 20 per cent.




HEAVY DOWNPOUR DROWNS GUJARAT (TIMES NEWS NETWORK) 8TH AUGUST. Ahmedabad/Vadodara/Surat: Heavy spell of rains and floods wreaked havoc in south, central and north Gujarat, with Surat faring the worst as the Army was called out on Monday as swirling waters of Tapi river submerged several localities. At least six deaths were reported, three from Surat, including an 11-yearold boy who slipped and fell into the river, two from Panchmahals and one from Banaskantha district. While nearly 1 lakh people were evacuated in Surat city and district, another 20,000 were shifted to safer places in Bharuch, Navsari, Vadodara and Anand districts. Vehicular traffic between Surat and Mumbai remained disrupted, while many trains were delayed. Residents of Surat faced one of the worst nightmares ever since the city was flooded in 1998. The prevalent situation took a turn for the worse as huge quantity of water was released into Tapi river from Ukai dam, which has been witnessing massive intake of water on account of downpour in its catchment area in Maharashtra. It was a nightmare for residents in the affected localities. Satyakam Joshi, a professor at Centre for Social Studies and a resident of Survi apartments in Piplod said, “We have no drinking water as water in the pump below our apartment is contaminated. We have no electricity and water levels have risen to about five feet at our apartment.” A team of senior officials led by SR Rao, former Surat municipal commissioner, has reached Surat to monitor the floods situation. The government has also requisitioned four IAF helicopters to deal with the situation.

Vadodara, on the other hand, became a victim of water-logging for the second time within a month even as Vishwamitri river was in spate and Ajwa dam overflowed on Monday. “Our area is completely submerged and hence we have not been able to move out for the last 16 hours,” said Girish Mehta, a

resident of Sama. Nearly 25 villages in Bharuch district and several villages in Ankleshwar taluka too were flood-hit, with waters reaching a level of 125.85 metres in Sardar Sarovar dam, nearly 7 metres over its current height of 119.11 metres. Gujarat director of relief DA Satya said more floods were likely in Surat, Navsari, Bharuch and Vadodara as rivers like Tapi, Purna, Damanganga, Dhadhar, Vishwamitri and Mahi were in spate.




SURAT IS AT SEA NOW

Scared and scarred, Surat is also hungry and angry TOI Team (10TH AUGUST,2006) Surat: No electricity, drinking water, food or milk. Hunger in the belly and hot in the head. That is how most Surtis spent the last two days, fighting pangs of hunger and bouts of fear alternating with a seething rage against the rulers. It has been a close brush with death, with the child crying out of hunger and an old mother running out of her medicines. And you don’t know what to do. The more fortunate ones are with family, friends and neighbours. Others were stuck miles away from home, unable to take one step in 10 feet of water which has made even sports utility vehicles and first floors of houses disappear. They watched the water level rising menacingly and even the jammed phone network did not prevent rumours from flying thick and fast about the gushing waters breaching Ukai dam. Apart from the nervous wrecks, there were also those baying for the blood of those who perhaps erred by not releasing the waters and were now sailing around in Army boats not knowing what to do next. The jeers and the Surti-style abuses which greeted Chief Minister Narendra Modi as he went around in an Army boat in some of the worst-hit areas on Wednesday evening were a sign of the growing frustration and anger behind the cries for food, milk and water. The few helicopters that roared above, dropping food packets, or the handful of boats moving about trying to rescue people looked like a drop in what was literally an ocean. The boats did not help Manisha Pradhan and her family members, who have been surviving without food for the past three days at their residence near Katargam. For Manisha’s brother Hemant Indulkar in Vadodara, the only worry was how to send food packets and water pouches to his sister. “They are starving and I can’t do anything,” he said helplessly. Many in Surat had started facing the pinch of the shortages from Tuesday itself. Mayur Patel, a resident of Adajan, said persons residing in the nearby apartment were sent food by a rope hung across the street. Anant Desai, a student of Vivekananda College has not reached his home in Sayan for the last three days. He went to Rander Road for an NSS meeting on Sunday and has not returned home since. His family is frantic. “We can’t go out to find him and are unable to get through to his mobile,” said his elder brother Manish Desai. Instances of separated families like Desai’s were plenty. Jeetendra Sodvadiya, a medical intern separated from his family, said, “We have no clue about each other, I am just praying.” GOC blames lack of planning Ahmedabad: General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Golden Katar division Major General SN Handa stated on Wednesday that lack of planning may have caused Surat floods. According to Handa, in all the discussions on the flood situation with the government there was no talk about releasing water from Ukai dam. Addressing mediapersons on the third day of the Indian Army’s rescue and relief operations in the flood-affected areas of Surat district, Handa said, “Foreboding a situation similar to that of the last year, the state government had this year conducted several high-level meetings with Army officials to plan and organise rescue and relief




operations in case of an emergency. Release of water from the dam was, however, never discussed.” The Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority had called for the Army to help in rescue and relief operations in Surat since Monday. Indicating that the release of water from the dam will continue for a few more days, Handa said, “Now the accumulated water has to be released, in order to avoid a catastrophe.” According to him, even without rains eight lakh cusecs of water will have to be released from Ukai.

Surtis fight it out for food as water recedes TIMES NEWS NETWORK , 11TH AUGUST,2006

Surat: Trapped for over 76 hours on rooftops and upper floors of multi-storeyed buildings, a majority of those who had to make do without water and food, rushed out on the streets as flood waters receded on Thursday, to forage for whatever they could lay their hands on. People on Ghod Dod Road reported instances of shop break-ins. Not many could resist breaking open a cold drinks refrigerator at Coffee Culture on Ghod Dod Road to wet their parched throats. However, not all were desperate. Vandals were also at work and seized the opportunity, even as flood water swirled around them. There were some instances of arson, as people in some areas broke into neighbouring shops to get eatables and water,




said joint commissioner of police SK Saikia. “We have only 60 per cent of our staff, as the police force is as badly affected as the others,” he said, adding that almost all their vehicles were out of order, after remaining under water for many days. Saikia had himself reached the flood control room in a military vehicle. Meanwhile, in areas like Amber Nagar near Bhatar, serpentine queues of people could be seen in front of a municipal water tanker, even as in areas like Chowk, where water level was ankle to knee-deep, people rushed out to take stock of the situation and to procure eatables and water. But not all in Surat had food or water on their minds — some of them wanted to cremate or bury the bodies of their family members and relatives, which had been lying in their homes for the last three days or more. As Afroz Bidiwala, a pharmacist who was in touch with marooned people of Adajan Patiya, said, “It is okay if you don’t give the Patiya residents food and water, but please have the bodies removed. They deserve a decent burial.” At 6 pm on Thursday, some men were seen pleading with officer on special duty SR Rao, to ensure the removal of three bodies from Shilp Raj Towers in Adajan Patiya, which is still under six to 12 feet water. Rao said that municipal boats would not be able to take the strong currents in the area and he would try to convince the military to help.” “We have no choice, but to wait till the waters recede. We will help the family complete the last rites as soon as possible,” Rao added. And then there were people from Kamrej, who wanted to go to the Tapi banks to cremate a body. However, additional collector, AK Parmar, who was approached by people from Kamrej, told them that they could not be allowed to do so in the present situation.




Epidemic fear makes people flee Surat By Himanshu Kaushik, Yagnesh Mehta & Anil Pathak/TNN , (13TH AUGUST,2006)

Surat/Ahmedabad: Flood-ravaged Surat is witnessing an exodus. Both within the city — with people fleeing to the lesser affected areas — and to other places in the state. Majority of people from Rander, Adajan, Katargam and Navapura, who are fleeing, do not want to be caught in the 1994 situation following the outbreak of plague, when Surtis were unwelcome in other cities. And some were angry at the failure of the government machinery in providing succor. Says Harish Patel from Varachha, “Not only are we afraid of an epidemic break-out, but are also apprehensive that people in other cities may not welcome us after an epidemic outbreak, like they did after the plague.” Yusuf Motiwala of Adajan Patiya, who was noticeably relieved to have reached the railway station with his family and luggage, says, “I have never seen such abject disregard for human life. I am leaving for Mumbai. Helicopters roaring above appeared to be on an outing rather than to drop relief material. If that is the way they treat us then it is better to leave.” Pinakin Jani, working at a diamond unit in Surat says, “My family is in Mehsana and with the water receding here an epidemic is likely to break out. So we decided to go to Mehsana.” Looking to the unprecedented rush, Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation has pressed into service over 200 buses on Friday. Till 5 pm on Saturday nearly 180 buses had left the city and there was demand for more, says GSRTC general manager JM Luni. The rush was more for Saurashtra, north Gujarat and Godhra, he adds. Meanwhile, there were reports that some private bus operators were minting money by charging extra. Manubhai Mehta, a diamond trader who wanted to go to Jetpur in Saurashtra, says private buses to Saurashtra were charging Rs 1,500 for a seat whereas the usual rate is Rs 250. On the contrary, Dinesh Mehta from Adajan, who reached here from Bhavnagar, said bus operators there are willing to bring passengers to Surat at half the rate as long as they get passengers to the flood-affected city.




5. PHOTO GALLERY




References: www.indianexpress.com www.enewspaper.com www.timesofindiatv.com www.ndtv.com www.gsdma.org www.google.com Other library literatures

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