Creek Flooding Wreaks Havoc in Surat, Thousands Stranded

Surat : The memories of the devastating 2006 floods in Surat have re-visited tens of thousands of residents in Limbayat, Parvat Patiya, Khatodra and Sania Hemad in the diamond city following the heavy to heavy rains coupled with severe flooding in the five creeks passing from these areas. From the last three days, the entire Sania Hemad village near Surat is submerged in about eight feet deep waters due to the floods in the creeks. 

For three days, the heavy rains and creek floods have been creating havoc in most parts of the city. Heavy rains on Sunday and Monday have caused flooding in Surat. Police stations, schools, houses, shops have been inundated due to the flood. Rescue boats have been deployed in Parvat Patiya, Sania Hemad and Limbayat for the rescue and relief operation. 

The situation is aggravated by the creek flooding. For the second consecutive day, the condition of Surat has become dire due to the flooding of the creeks.  The situation has worsened on Parvat Patia, Godadara road in Surat. The flood waters of the creek have entered the houses, forcing the residents to flee. 

The water of the creeks backed in several areas including Varachha, Limbayat and the residents are blaming the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) for the lack of cleaning and dredging in the creeks. Due to the negligence of the SMC administration, a flood-like situation has been created in Surat. The Limbayat area is also troubled by creek flooding. 

Municipal Commissioner Shalini Agarwala visited the flood-affected areas in Surat. Agarwal took stock of the situation and instructed the officials and municipal staff to devise ways and means to flush out the flood waters from the affected areas. 

The Mayor of Surat and the Chairman of the Standing Committee also reached to meet the people affected by the creek floods. Necessary food packets and boats have been arranged for them. Creek flooding has arisen in many places in the city. There has been public outcry over the lack of advance planning in the wake of the monsoon. However, MLA Sangita Patil said that the SMC authorities have installed pumps for water disposal.

Mahendra Singh Rajpurohit of Parvat village said,” I have been living in this area for the last two decades. This is a man-made disaster. Calling this a natural disaster is a big lie. At present, the corrupt officers and office bearers of the corporation are calling this as a natural disaster” 

Residents said that the creek would overflow when there was 15-16 inches of rain in the catchment areas. Since the project named Tapi Shuddhikaran (Tapi Cleanliness) came up, the area is facing flash floods. The situation is dire in the Mithi Khadi area due to the flash floods. The area from Kangaroo Circle of Parvat village towards Maharana Pratap Chowk is flooded and the water level in the Mithi Khadi has increased. 

Textile traders and workers residing in Limbayat and nearby areas are unable to visit the textile markets on Ring Road due to the flood waters on the road. The number of traders especially involved in the textile market is very huge in Pandesara, Khatodara and Limbayat area. . People are saying that this situation has arisen because the cleaning of the creek has not been done well by the corporation.

About 20,000 people are affected at Godadara road following the flash floods in Parvat Patia. People living in Madhavbagh, Krishi Vihar, Nandanavan, Vrajabhoomi, Sri Vardhan, Satyam Shivam and Suman housing are trapped in water. From cloth merchants to people of different trades, they could not even go into business. Water has surrounded 15 to 20 thousand people of about 5000 houses living in this area. The children could not even go to school for three days. People are making allegations that the creek  is not natural but man-made. People said that earlier this area did not receive water even after 15 inches of rain. In the last four-five years, the  houses have been waterlogged in four inches of rainfall. 

Sania Hemad village is in the most dire situation. Here entire huts and houses are submerged in water. Also, the temple located in the middle of the village is completely submerged in water. The first floors of the houses are about to sink. People said that earlier the village used to come under the village panchayat, and the District Panchayat team used to give cash in case of damage. Now, the village is included in the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) area and not a single officer or staff is visiting for the rescue and relief operation. 

The municipal corporation has set up dewatering pumps in the residential societies in the affected area to pump the water back into the creeks. But as the water level of the creeks are at danger level, the dewatering pumps are of no use. However, the affected people from the low-lying areas in Mithi Khadi and other areas are being shifted to safer locations.