Gujarat govt disburses Rs 8.04 crore cash assistance to over 169,000 citizens in 14 flood-affected districts

In response to the Chief Minister’s instructions, district administrations are arranging cash assistance and household support payments for affected families in both rural and urban areas. This is being done through comprehensive surveys of the affected regions. The State Government is assisting individuals and families whose livelihoods have been affected and whose household assets have been damaged or destroyed due to heavy rains.

Addressing reporters at the State Emergency Operation Centre, Relief Commissioner Alok Kumar Pandey said that a total of 1,120 teams have carried out survey operations in Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Anand, Kutch, Kheda, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Devbhumi Dwarka, Narmada, Navsari, Porbandar, Morbi and Valsad districts.

Till September 3, a total of Rs 8.04 crore cash assistance has been disbursed to 1,69,561 people in these districts. Around 1,160 teams have surveyed families whose household items, including clothing, were damaged or destroyed by the floods. Till date, Rs 20.07 crore as household and clothing assistance has been disbursed to 50,111 affected families in these districts, he added.

The Relief Commissioner added that during this period, the families of 22 deceased persons have received a total of Rs 88 lakhs in assistance from the state government. Besides, a sum of Rs 1.78 crore has been disbursed to the owners of 2,618 heads of cattle that perished.

In addition, surveys have been conducted in the rain-affected districts to assess the damage to temporary and permanent houses, including those that were partially or completely destroyed. As a result, a total of Rs 3.67 crore has been distributed as relief to the owners of 4,673 affected houses and huts, he said. The Relief Commissioner further said that due to heavy rains over the last two days in south and central Gujarat, survey operations are still underway in several districts. “As details of the number of affected families and individuals become available, the district administration will continue to make further payments for household items, clothing assistance, emergency cash assistance, compensation for human and livestock deaths, as well as damage to temporary and permanent houses,” Alok Kumar Pandey said.

In the wake of heavy rains across the state, 17 teams of NDRF, 27 of SDRF, along with 9 Army columns and additional teams of Air Force and Coast Guard have been deployed.

These teams have successfully rescued a total of 37,050 people and relocated 42,083 people to safer locations. In addition, 53 people have been airlifted to safety.

Providing details about the ongoing rehabilitation efforts to restore normalcy in the state, the Relief Commissioner said a total of 2,230 kilometres of roads damaged by heavy rains will be repaired in the next 10 days, making all roads motorable.

“Out of 6,931 villages and 17 towns affected by power outages due to heavy rains, power supply has been restored in 6,927 villages and 17 towns. Full-scale efforts are on to restore power supply in the remaining villages. A total of 88 substations were shut down as a precautionary measure due to flooding, out of which 86 have been reactivated,” it said.

He also said that continuous efforts are being made to repair damaged roads and eliminate waterlogging in urban areas. In addition, a clean-up drive is being carried out and disinfectants are being sprayed.

“The Urban Development Department has allocated a grant of Rs 700 crore under the Mukhyamantri Sadak Yojana to municipal corporations for repair of roads and related works,” he added.

The Relief Commissioner said a total of 48,695 people, including 602 pregnant women, have been relocated to 880 shelter homes across the state, where they received medical screening by health teams.

In addition, 216 successful births have been carried out in hospitals in flood-affected areas, he said.