Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar

Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar, Jul 3: Fresh monsoon showers intensified across Gujarat, raising seasonal rainfall figures and improving water levels in reservoirs, while Ahmedabad continued to function normally despite overnight rain, with civic authorities reporting no major rain-related disruptions.

According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, Gujarat had received 76.92 mm of cumulative rainfall by 6 a.m. on Friday, accounting for 8.46 per cent of the state's average seasonal precipitation.

Among the regions, Saurashtra recorded the highest share of normal monsoon rainfall at 10.45 per cent, closely followed by South Gujarat with 10.39 per cent. East-Central Gujarat received 7.58 per cent of its seasonal average, North Gujarat registered 4.10 per cent, while Kutch remained the driest region with just 0.40 per cent rainfall so far.

Rainfall distribution across the state showed one taluka receiving between 500 mm and 1,000 mm this season. Sixteen talukas recorded rainfall between 250 mm and 500 mm, while 37 talukas received 126-250 mm. Another 68 talukas registered rainfall in the range of 51-125 mm.

In Ahmedabad, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said the city had recorded an average seasonal rainfall of 15.81 mm (0.62 inches) till 10 a.m. on Friday. Overnight showers between 4 p.m. on Thursday and 10 a.m. on Friday contributed an average of 12.54 mm of rainfall across the city.

The North West Zone received the highest cumulative seasonal rainfall at 37.92 mm, followed by the South West Zone with 21.72 mm and the West Zone with 19.27 mm. The Central Zone registered the lowest seasonal rainfall at 4.27 mm.

The heaviest spell during Thursday evening was recorded in Thaltej Ward, where 15.50 mm of rain fell between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Science City received 15 mm during the same period, while Bodakdev recorded 11 mm.

The civic body said all major roads, streets and underpasses remained operational, and no rain-related complaints were received by the city's Monsoon Main Control Room between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

Officials said the Vasna Barrage water level stood at 133 feet, with an inflow of 600 cusecs into the canal, while all barrage gates remained closed.

The rainfall has also improved water storage across the state. The Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada River held 2,13,605 million cubic feet (mcft) of water, equivalent to 63.94 per cent of its total storage capacity. The reservoir recorded an inflow of 16,853 cusecs and an outflow of 616 cusecs as of 8 a.m.

The remaining 206 dams across Gujarat collectively stored 2,00,846 mcft of water, representing 36 per cent of their total capacity.

Official data showed that nine dams were filled between 70 and 100 per cent of capacity, 20 reservoirs were between 50 and 70 per cent full, 58 were between 25 and 50 per cent, while 119 reservoirs continued to remain below the 25 per cent mark.

Authorities placed two dams -- Dholidhaja in Surendranagar district and Wanakbori in Mahisagar district -- under High Alert. Seven other reservoirs, including Venu-II (Rajkot), Vansal (Surendranagar), Ranghola (Bhavnagar), Saran (Porbandar), Sukhi (Chhota Udepur), Kalaghogha (Kutch) and Bantva-Kharo (Junagadh), were placed under warning status.

Meanwhile, the AMC said it had identified 1,416 potholes across Ahmedabad since the onset of the monsoon. Repair work has already been completed on 1,310 potholes, while restoration of the remaining 106 is underway using multiple repair technologies, including cold emulsion injection patching, jet patchers, cold mix, wet mix, hot mix and infrared methods.

The West Zone accounted for the highest number of potholes at 477, followed by the North Zone with 377 and the East Zone with 216.

To tackle monsoon-related emergencies, the municipal corporation has deployed 76 desilting teams, 314 personnel, 69 tractors and utility vehicles, two JCB machines, two tractor-mounted trolley pumps, 25 fighter pumps and 30 Varun pumps.

Emergency response teams remain stationed in every ward, while heavy-duty pumps have been installed at vulnerable underpasses. Stormwater pumping stations are being monitored round the clock through the SCADA system from the Monsoon Main Control Room.

Officials added that civic infrastructure is being monitored through a network of 1,139 CCTV cameras, including 44 installed at major underpasses.

As a precautionary measure, the state government has also deployed nine National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and 24 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) platoons across rain-affected regions of Gujarat to respond swiftly to any emergency arising from the ongoing monsoon.