Valsad: The week-long heavy rains in Gujarat's Valsad district from July 10-17, which has caused extensive damage to vehicles, has come as a blessing in disguise for the automobile mechanics who are witnessing a rush of the damaged vehicles. While the vehicles were inundated on a large scale in the flood like situation, some were damaged in accidents as well due to inclement weather.
Local sources said that eight to ten cars are turning up at various garages daily for repairs. While most of the vehicles are insured, some have to pay for it from their pockets. Motorbike riders usually take insurance for the first two years when they get a new bike. But as the motorbikes get older, most of the drivers take third party insurance only.
So, in case of damage to the vehicle, they cannot get the vehicle replacement. Third party insurance helps only at the time of accidents with very few such incidents taking place in the recent rains. Ashok Thakur, who runs a service center called JR Motor in Valsad district, said that since last one week, many drivers have been visiting him for repairs with cases of wheel ring bends and cases of broken suspension.
Many motorists are calling for help in the middle of the night regarding tire burst incidents with potholes on the roads being blamed. South Gujarat has received 75 inches of rain in the last 17 days causing extensive damage to highways and internal roads. There are 4,10,313 two-wheelers, 1,20,598 cars, 35,234 goods carriers and other vehicles found in the district, and there are approximately 6,24,134 RTO registered vehicles.
