Anger Mounts Among Flood-Affected Residents in Ankleshwar and Bharuch

Ankleshwar/Bharuch : Residents of the flood-affected areas in Ankleshwar and Bharuch towns are growing increasingly frustrated and angry as they grapple with the aftermath of devastating floods that wreaked havoc in their communities. Three days after the floodwaters receded, the lack of sanitation workers provided by the district administration and local municipal bodies has left the affected people to clean up their neighborhoods and homes on their own.

In a striking display of their frustration, residents of Borbhatha Bet in Ankleshwar taluka surrounded Ankleshwar BJP MLA Ishwarsinh Patel during his visit to assess the situation in his constituency on Thursday. The villagers bombarded the MLA with questions, venting their anger over what they perceive as negligence by the State Government and the Sardar Sarovar Dam authorities. They accuse these authorities of intentionally releasing over 22 lakh cusecs of water, leading to the widespread flooding of the entire Bharuch district.

The residents’ anger was so palpable that they rejected the BJP MLA Ishwarsinh Patel’s offer to arrange a team of sanitation workers from the district administration to clean up the primary school and their homes.

Sensing the tense situation in the village, BJP MLA Ishwarsinh Patel had to drive off from the village.

Similar sentiments are being echoed in Bharuch, where residents are directing their ire at government officials and elected representatives for failing to provide food packets when their homes were submerged in floodwaters.

Shop owners in the Furza area of Bharuch are also demanding compensation from the State Government for the substantial losses incurred during the devastating floods. Jaysukh Patel, a shop owner in Bharuch, expressed his plight, stating, “I have suffered losses amounting to Rs 15 lakh as all the dry fruits stored in my shop and warehouse have been damaged in the devastating floods. We paid Rs 5,000 to laborers to clean up the shop from muck and debris, but there has been no assistance from the district administration or the local municipality.”

The flooding, which was triggered by the release of a massive volume of water from the Sardar Sarovar Dam, has left communities in Ankleshwar and Bharuch reeling. While the immediate threat of rising waters has subsided, the long road to recovery is proving arduous for residents who are struggling to rebuild their lives and properties.