The Ganapati festival, too, has been affected by the flash floods. On a visit to the town, Express Newsline saw a pandal half-submerged in water in the Dandia Bazaar area. Devotees were hard-pressed to approach it.

``I have not been able to open my shop for the last seven days, ever since the water entered Dandia Bazaar'', said bakery operator Shankarbhai. Ghulam Qadar of Naaz Radio Company in the Char Rasta bazar said that he had been unable to visit the Madarshah Dargah, since it had been cut off by the swelling waters on September 16.

Waters of the overflowing Narmada have also choked the city sewage lines in the low-lying areas. The river has been receiving a large quantity of water from the Narmada dam in Madhya Pradesh following heavy rains in the catchment areas.

Elderly Sakinaben of the Dandia Bazaar said she had witnessed such a flood only twice before: in 1970 and 1994. ``But the city was never waterlogged for more than three days earlier. It's been seven days now, and it shows no sign of receding'', said Rashidbhai, whose ground floor house in Dandia Bazar is under water.

Several people from the waterlogged areas complained that they had not received any monetary assistance at all from the administration. Mangubhai and Raju Shankar, daily wagers of Char Rasta area, and Ghulambhai of Dandia Bazaar said that though they had been jobless since the onset of the floods, the authorities had not declared any compensation for them.

Boat operator Ranjitbhai Sadhubhai, who ferried this reporter over various submerged streets, said the water level rose by at least a foot every morning and evening due to the high tide.

``The situation will worsen if the water does not recede within two days. The level will go up by two to three feet due to high tide for over 12 hours because of the full moon on Saturday night'', Ranjitbhai predicted. District Collector B B Swain also expressed the same fears.

Quoting the forecast of the Central Water Commission, the collector said the water level at Golden Bridge was likely to fall to 31.5 feet by 9 a.m. on Thursday. ``This will ease the situation'', he said, adding that relief operations were in full swing.