AHMEDABAD, June 27: The death toll in the current flood related incidents in Gujarat today rose to 154 with 43 more deaths reported today. Giving details about the alarming situation, Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela told mediapersons that thousands of people were marooned following a breach in the Kharikat canal in eastern parts of Ahmedabad. He said the situation in Viratnagar and Muthia village was grim where people were being evacuated.

Army has been called for evacuating lakhs of people marooned in five talukas of Mehsana district.

Vaghela said 27 persons died due to house collapse, electrocution, lightning and drowning, while 16 others - six in Mehsana district, one in Banaskantha, eight in Ahmedabad and one in Kheda district - were washed away by swirling flood waters.

Eleven lakh people in Mehsana, Diddhpur, Visnagar, Vijapur and Mansa tehsils of Mehsana district were marooned as 500 villages were inundated due to floods.

Five helicopters have been pressed into service in the worst-hit areas of Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Ahmedabad and Surendranagar districts and the army has been kept stand by to meet any eventuality, the Chief Minister said.

One column of army with boats has been pressed into service at Ladol and Vijapur to rescue the marooned people, while State Reserve Police jawans were engaged in relief and rescue operations in other parts, Vaghela said.

The government has undertaken rescue operations on a war footing and so far over 10,000 people in Mehsana district have been shifted to safer places and provided food packets. Vaghela said that two columns of Army have been deployed in the north Gujarat's Mehsana district to assist the civil authorities in rescue operations. He said that about 29,000 food packets were distributed in the district.

The overflowing Khari river flooded the villages of Kansara Kui, Savala and Randala near Mehsana district town. About 500 cattle were reported to have perished in the rains.

Revenue Minister Atmaran Patel and Energy Minister Vipul Chaudhary today made aerial surveys of the marooned villages of Mehsana district. The Chief Minister said that more than 150 reservoirs in Kutch, Saurashtra and Gujarat were saturated due to fresh intake of water following incessant rains.

Sabarmati, Vishvamitri, Tapti, Damanganga, Vatrak, Shedhi and Banas rivers were in spate and their level was steadily rising. Vishvamitri river which passes through the heart of Baroda city was flowing 0.27 metre below the danger mark.

Vijapur taluka in Mehsana district recorded 273 mm rain in the last 24 hours followed by Ahmedabad 250 mm, Dehgam 243 mm and Gandhinagar 159 mm.

Vaghela said that a damage of more than Rs 150 crore was caused to the roads in the state. He said that repair works would start soon after the water receded.

He said that 15 main road routes were still closed due to water logging. However, water level was receding in many areas due to decrease in rainfall today, the Chief Minister said.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.